Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a Puerto Rican musician and actor born on March 10, 1994 in Almirante Sur, a district of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.

Bad Bunny began his music career by sharing individual productions on digital platforms and has gained international recognition through his primarily Spanish-language works. He is known for his studio albums, singles, and live performances. He has also appeared as an actor in films and television series and performed as the headliner at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.

Early Life and Origins

Bad Bunny was born on March 10, 1994 in Almirante Sur, a district of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. He spent his childhood and teenage years in Puerto Rico. His father is a truck driver and his mother is a teacher.

Bad Bunny was exposed to music at an early age. He joined a church choir at age five and began singing during this period. While growing up in Puerto Rico, he worked at a supermarket before launching his professional music career.

Origin of His Stage Name

Bad Bunny uses the stage name “Bad Bunny” in his music career. This name is based on a childhood photograph in which he is seen wearing a rabbit costume, with his facial expression in the photo inspiring the name.

Music Career

Bad Bunny began his music career by sharing solo productions on digital platforms. He first released his music on the SoundCloud platform and began uploading songs under the name “Bad Bunny” as of 2016.

These SoundCloud releases quickly gained a listener base. His tracks caught the attention of Noah Assad, founder of Rimas Entertainment, which marked the transition to his professional music career. After entering the professional music industry, Bad Bunny’s music reached a broader audience.

Initial Breakthrough and Recognition

Bad Bunny’s first major widespread recognition came through collaborative releases in 2018. That same year, he entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time with the track “Krippy Kush”, which reached number 75 in January 2018.

Bad Bunny’s first number-one hit on the Billboard charts was the song “I Like It”, featuring Cardi B and J Balvin. The track reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 2018.

Studio Albums

X 100PRE

Bad Bunny’s first studio album, X 100PRE, was released in December 2018. The album entered the Billboard 200 chart and peaked at number 11.

The album is recorded as his first comprehensive work in his solo career.

YHLQMDLG

Bad Bunny’s second studio album, YHLQMDLG, entered the Billboard 200 chart upon release and reached number 2, achieving a higher chart position than his debut album.

El Último Tour del Mundo

Bad Bunny’s third studio album, El Último Tour del Mundo, reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart upon release. It is recorded as the first all-Spanish-language album to top the Billboard 200.

Un Verano Sin Ti

Bad Bunny’s fourth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, spent 13 consecutive weeks at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It became the top album of 2022 on the Billboard 200.

Un Verano Sin Ti became the longest-running number-one album on the Billboard 200 by an all-Spanish-language album. It was also the first all-Spanish-language album nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

Debí Tirar Más Fotos

Bad Bunny’s sixth studio album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, was released on January 6, 2025. The album is entirely in Spanish.

Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first all-Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards. The same album sold approximately 48,000 vinyl copies in its debut week, setting the highest weekly vinyl sales for a Latin album since 1991.

The tracks “DTMF” and “Baile Inolvidable” from the album entered the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was named Spotify’s most-streamed album of 2025.

Collaborations

Throughout his career, Bad Bunny has undertaken numerous musical collaborations with other artists, including Cardi B, J Balvin, Drake, Farruko, Nicki Minaj, Rvssian, 21 Savage, The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Becky G, and Rosalía.

Cardi B and J Balvin’s collaboration with Bad Bunny on “I Like It” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2018. The collaborative track “Mia” with Drake also charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

Farruko, Nicki Minaj, Rvssian, and 21 Savage’s collaboration with Bad Bunny on “Krippy Kush” became his first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100.

Awards and Nominations

Throughout his music career, Bad Bunny has been nominated for and won various international music awards.

At the Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny won the Best Latin Pop or Urban Album category in 2021 for YHLQMDLG and the Best Música Urbana Album category in 2022 for El Último Tour del Mundo.

Un Verano Sin Ti became the first all-Spanish-language album nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first all-Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

Bad Bunny has also appeared on year-end lists from the Latin Grammy Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Spotify.

Digital Platforms and Commercial Success

Bad Bunny has achieved high streaming and engagement metrics on digital music platforms. According to Spotify data, he was the most-streamed artist globally on the platform in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2025.

As of 2025, his songs have surpassed 19.8 billion streams. The album Debí Tirar Más Fotos was named Spotify’s most-streamed album of 2025.

Bad Bunny has appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with 113 different songs. Of these, 15 tracks reached the top 10 and one song reached number one.

His music videos have also achieved massive view counts on video-sharing platforms. During the 2020s, he became the only solo male artist with multiple music videos surpassing one billion views.

Acting Career

In addition to his music career, Bad Bunny has appeared as an actor in various productions, using his real name, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.

The artist appeared in the 2020 film Casusum. In 2022, he was part of the cast of the film Suikast Treni. In 2025, he appeared in the production Suçüstü.

Bad Bunny also portrayed a character in the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico. Among his film projects is Bullet Train, alongside Brad Pitt. He has also appeared as an actor in the films Cassandro and Happy Gilmore 2.

Activities in Sports and Entertainment

In addition to music and acting, Bad Bunny is active in the field of professional wrestling. Since 2021, he has performed and competed as a wrestler in various events under the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) organization.

Bad Bunny won the WWE 24/7 Championship on February 2021 but lost the title a month later.

Connection to Puerto Rico

Throughout his music career, Bad Bunny has created works centered on directly Puerto Rican themes. He has incorporated references to Puerto Rico’s history, cultural elements, and social issues into his albums and projects.

Debí Tirar Más Fotos features official visual content accompanying its tracks that include textual narratives on Puerto Rican history. These materials were released as historical slides for each track, providing information on Puerto Rico’s colonial past, cultural identity, and historical processes.

Political Statements

Bad Bunny has made public statements on various political and social issues. Following the impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico in 2017, he voiced criticisms of the U.S. government’s disaster relief response.

In 2020, during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”, Bad Bunny addressed the murder of a transgender woman in Puerto Rico by wearing a T-shirt with the message “Mataron a Alexa, no a un hombre con falda”, meaning “They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt.”

The artist has made various statements regarding Donald Trump; following a response to Trump’s remarks about Puerto Rico in 2024, he publicly declared his support for Kamala Harris.

Super Bowl Performances

Bad Bunny has performed multiple times at the Super Bowl. In 2020, during the halftime show of Super Bowl LIV, he appeared as a guest performer alongside Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. The performance included segments of the songs “Chantaje” and “Callaíta”.

Super Bowl LX Halftime Show (2026)

On February 8, 2026, Bad Bunny performed as the headliner at the halftime show of Super Bowl LX, held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The show took place during the New England Patriots – Seattle Seahawks matchup.

Bad Bunny’s performance opened with a sugarcane field theme, featuring dancers wearing traditional pava hats. The performance consisted largely of Spanish-language songs.

During the show, Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, and Jessica Alba joined him on stage. In the center of the stage, a house party atmosphere was created; during the song “Titi Me Pregunto”, a wedding ceremony was staged on stage.

The performance repertoire included “Titi Me Pregunto”, “Baile Inolvidable”, and songs from different periods of Bad Bunny’s career. The show also featured brief appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.

In the final segment of the performance, Bad Bunny sang “God Bless America”, then listed the names of countries in North, Central, and South America, with their flags projected onto the stage. This was the only English phrase used throughout the entire performance.

The Super Bowl LX halftime show occurred during a period when operations by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were ongoing. The performance emphasized themes of unity, identity, and social visibility.

Following the Super Bowl LX halftime show, U.S. President Donald Trump made public statements about Bad Bunny’s performance. Trump described the show as the “worst performance ever” and a “slap in the face to our country”. He stated that he did not watch the halftime show live but followed the game from an event in Florida.

On the platform Truth Social, Trump posted that regarding Bad Bunny’s performance, “No one understands a single word he says, and his dancing is disgusting, especially for young children watching from all over the United States and the world”.