Super Bowl 2026 Halftime Show Appears to Draw in Over 20 Times More Viewers Than Turning Point USA Concert Chris BarillaFebruary 10, 2026 at 12:40 AM 0 Bad Bunny performs during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show (left); Kid Rock performs during Turning Point USA's AllAmerican Halftime Show Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty; Turning Point USA/YouTube There was a considerable difference in the total viewership of the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show and the Turning Point USA AllAmerican Halftime Show According to The New York Times, Turning Point's performance racked in ...
- - Super Bowl 2026 Halftime Show Appears to Draw in Over 20 Times More Viewers Than Turning Point USA Concert
Chris BarillaFebruary 10, 2026 at 12:40 AM
0
Bad Bunny performs during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show (left); Kid Rock performs during Turning Point USA's All-American Halftime Show
Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty; Turning Point USA/YouTube
There was a considerable difference in the total viewership of the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show and the Turning Point USA All-American Halftime Show
According to The New York Times, Turning Point's performance racked in 6.1 million concurrent viewers, while the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show is projected to meet or exceed 135 million viewers, according to a preliminary CBS report
Even Donald Trump — whose press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted "would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny" — was seen watching the latter's performance at the official halftime show
There was a stark difference in the viewership numbers of the two halftime performances during the 2026 Super Bowl.
In response to the NFL's decision to have Bad Bunny perform at the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk and now chaired by his wife, Erika Kirk, announced their own take on the storied tradition. For their rendition, Turning Point tapped country musicians Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert and Gabby Barrett to take part in a roughly 27-minute-long performance.
However, with all said and done and both shows concluded, the numbers seemingly tell a story of a substantial gap in viewership between the concerts.
The Turning Point USA halftime show livestream peaked at roughly 6.1 million viewers, according to The New York Times. As of the time of publication, the uploaded video recording of the live performance on YouTube has racked up about 19 million views.
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga on Feb. 8, 2026
Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty
In contrast, the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show featuring Bad Bunny seems to have exceeded that by a magnitude of over 20-fold. Though a final figure has not yet been released, early reports from CBS note that viewership exceeded 135 million. The uploaded footage of the performance shared by the NFL on YouTube has over 21 million views as of the time of publication.
Nielsen released figures in 2025 that stated 127.7 million viewers watched Super Bowl 59, the largest audience for a Super Bowl ever, and a continuation of an upward trend in viewership of the event over the last five years.
Additionally, according to Apple, there was a seven-fold spike in Bad Bunny's listeners directly after his performance, and "within the first 48 hours, the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Press Conference with Bad Bunny became the most watched in Super Bowl history with more than 63 million views across an array of related content, including the live stream and social clips."
It appears even Donald Trump — whose press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted "would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny," and who himself openly criticized the Puerto Rican artist, calling his performance "absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!" — was seen watching the official halftime show at an event in Palm Beach, Fla.
The artists participating in the Turning Point performance each touted their affiliation with the event, either before or after their performances took place. Kid Rock said in an interview that the Turning Point show was "for people who love football, love America and love Jesus."
Similarly, Brice told Brietbart that "he wants to be able say what he wants to say unapologetically," adding, "when Charlie was assassinated, it just rang to me that he was grounded in his faith."
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
In his own Instagram post, Gilbert said, in part, "I'm a Christian, and I love our country, despite its flaws," while maintaining his decision to participate was not "to be divisive" and that "the way I treat people isn't conditional based on what our differences may be."
As for Barrett, she collaborated with Turning Point on an Instagram post sharing photos of her performance, which were captioned, "One of the good ones, @gabbybarrett_💜" by the organization.
Bad Bunny on Feb. 8, 2026
Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty
On newsstands now, PEOPLE's latest special edition issue covers his groundbreaking career, from his earliest days to headlining the Super Bowl LX halftime show and making history at the Grammys. The 96-page issue is now on Amazon. A print edition in Spanish is available exclusively here.
During Bad Bunny's performance, the Grammy award-winning artist called for love and unity. At the end of his performance, an array of North and South American flags were showcased, with the "DtMF" singer saying "God bless America, be it Chile, Argentina," and other countries throughout the Americas, closing with the U.S. and "my motherland, Puerto Rico" in both English and Spanish.
Simultaneously, a large video board displayed over the stadium showed the message "The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate is Love," in plain black text over a white background.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 09, 2026 at 09:36PM on Source: ANDY MAG
#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle