Bad Bunny Takes Over America

About this episode

<p>At the Grammy Awards tonight, the Puerto Rican pop sensation Bad Bunny is the first Spanish-language artist to be nominated for album, record and song of the year simultaneously. For most artists, this would be the high point of their year, if not their career. For Bad Bunny, this is just an appetizer for what’s in store for him next week.</p><p>Next Sunday, he will headline the Super Bowl halftime show. His performance comes in the middle of a nationwide crackdown on immigration — an issue he’s been vocal about — and follows a backlash against the N.F.L. for booking him in the first place.</p><p>Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, the hosts of The Times’s pop music show “Popcast,” discuss Bad Bunny’s rise to the heights of pop stardom, and explore what it means for a Puerto Rican artist to headline the world’s biggest stage.</p><p><strong>On Today’s Episode:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/jon-caramanica" target="_blank"><strong>Jon Caramanica</strong></a><strong> </strong>is<strong> </strong>a pop music critic at The New York Times and a co-host of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/popcast-pop-music-podcast" target="_blank">“Popcast.”</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/joe-coscarelli" target="_blank"><strong>Joe Coscarelli</strong></a> is a culture reporter for The New York Times who focuses on popular music and a co-host of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/popcast-pop-music-podcast" target="_blank">“Popcast.”</a></p><p><strong>Background Reading:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEJ_f17VRoc" target="_blank">Grammys 2026: Who Should Win the Biggest Awards</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFuR3nW1mRQ" target="_blank">Bad Bunny Talks Coming Back Home on His ‘Most Puerto Rican’ Album Yet</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/arts/music/amplifier-newsletter-bad-bunny.html" target="_blank">Get to Know Bad Bunny in 9 Songs</a></p><p>Photo: Mario Anzuoni for Reuters.</p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>