Bad Bunny has won his first Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. The Puerto Rican artist was recognized during the first night of the 78th Emmy Awards on Sept. 5, with The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny winning Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
The halftime special became the biggest winner of the night, taking home seven Emmy Awards from the categories in which it competed. In addition to Outstanding Variety Special (Live), the production won for music direction, choreography, sound mixing, lighting design, technical direction and camerawork, and directing.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was credited as both a performer and producer on the special. Director Hamish Hamilton also received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, while the show’s production team collected the other technical and creative awards.
The Super Bowl LX halftime performance took place in February and ran for approximately 13 minutes. The production incorporated elements of Puerto Rican culture and imagery, including a sugar cane field, a bodega, a wedding celebration and a casita. Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin also appeared during the performance.
The performance was also notable for its language and cultural presentation. It was described as the first Spanish-language Super Bowl halftime show, with the production incorporating Puerto Rican references throughout the staging. The broadcast attracted an audience of about 125 million viewers, according to the Television Academy.
The seven Emmy wins followed a record-setting nomination haul for the halftime special. It received nine nominations, making it the most-nominated Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy history before the awards ceremony. The production ultimately won seven of those nine categories.
The Outstanding Variety Special (Live) victory also placed Bad Bunny’s halftime performance among a small group of Super Bowl halftime productions to win that category. His Emmy adds a major television award to a year that has already included significant recognition for the singer following the success of his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos.
The 78th Emmy Awards continue with the televised ceremony scheduled for Sept. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies, which began Sept. 5 and continued Sept. 6, are being followed by the main Primetime Emmy presentation.
