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The Super Bowl Halftime Show is one of the most watched events of the year, drawing an audience of more than 100 million views. At this year’s 2020 halftime show, headliners Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are teaming up with reggaeton singer Bad Bunny to perform a track and pay tribute to late basketball star Kobe Bryant.
Super Bowl 54 is the first time that the Super Bowl Halftime Show will have two Latina headliners, and multiple other LatinX artists and groups are expected to make appearances during the performance. Bad Bunny is anticipated to join Shakira onstage during the halftime performance to sing the track “I Like It Like That.”
Tribute To Bryant During Halftime Performance
Earlier this week at the Pepsi pregame press conference, singers Shakira and JLo announced their plans to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant during their performance at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show. It is expected that Bad Bunny and the other halftime performers will also take part in the tribute.
This past Tuesday, Bad Bunny released a new single titled “6 Rings.” The track is a tribute to Kobe Bryant, who reigned at the top of the basketball world for 20 years. In the song, Bad Bunny sings, “Congratulations, you also won 6 rings … Five in the NBA, a marriage that gave you your daughters. Thinking that one left with you makes me lose control, but, nah it’s for you to have someone to play with in heaven.” The name of the song is a reference to the five NBA championship rings that Bryant won during his basketball career, with the addition of his wedding ring that symbolized his dedication to his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and their four daughters.
Super Bowl 54 Is The Year Of Reggaeton
Bad Bunny is known for his musical styles rooted in Latin trap and reggaeton. His performance at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show is part of a larger representation of reggaeton and Latin music. BBC has called this year’s game the “most Hispanic Super Bowl yet.”
Known as the “Modern King of Reggaeton,” J Balvin is one of the LatinX artists slated to make an appearance during the halftime performance. Balvin, who has collaborated with some of the top names in music including Justin Bieber and Pharrell Williams, has spoken openly about his desire to bring reggaeton and Latin music to a global audience. Of his desire to share Latin culture with the world, he has said, “I want to change the perceptions about Latinos worldwide. I think people don’t know yet how cool we are. When you see a movie, they always put the Latino on the bad side or in a tacky way. It’s not like that. Latinos are shining like a diamond.
The Hill has reported that this year’s Super Bowl halftime performance is “seen as win for diversity.” With two Latina artists, JLo and Shakira, billed as headliners and multiple other LatinX performers set to perform, the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show is representative of the way in which Latin music has gone global. JLo said earlier in the week at a pregame press conference that “Two Latinas doing this in this country at this time is just very empowering to us.”
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Will Bad Bunny Pay Tribute to Kobe Bryant at Super Bowl 2020 Halftime?