Bad Bunny’s thrilling halftime show was a celebration of his catalogue, Puerto Rican music, the modern Latino identity, and … Lady Gaga. Midway through the 13-minute performance, and following the (real) proposal, Benito’s show arrived at the couple’s wedding. And there was Gaga, singing a salsa version of her song with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile.” Gaga and Bad Bunny danced together for a bit before the show moved on. To the uninformed, she may seem like a left-field pick, but real Benito-heads know this is a relationship that goes back years. Bad Bunny is a true Little Monster who understands why Gaga is so important to queer communities.
The first time people associated the two was in 2020, when Bad Bunny explained his introduction to drag culture by way of his cousin. “He would come to my house so I could make his mixes,” Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone. “He explained the choreography to me. They were all Lady Gaga songs.” Given his personal knowledge of Gaga’s influence and the choice to have male dancers grind on one another (and feature Ricky Martin), Bunny including her in his show feels like part of a larger mission to be inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.
Bunny has always been a supporter of queer people. In 2020, he dressed in drag himself for his music video for “Yo Perreo Sola,” (meaning “I Twerk Alone”), a song about a woman facing sexual harassment. “I did it to show support to those who need it,” he told RS. “I may not be gay, but I’m a human who cares.”
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Gaga’s work also holds personal meaning for the singer. Later in 2020, he went to vote in the Puerto Rican gubernatorial elections while wearing an Urban Outfitters–exclusive Lady Gaga Chromatica T-shirt. He explained his love for that particular album to E! News in December 2020. “In that moment where I feel sad, it’s Chromatica [by] Lady Gaga,” he said. “That album makes me feel more happy. When she dropped that album, I was in a really good moment, enjoying my life. I love that album.”
The admiration goes both ways. Lady Gaga came out to introduce Bad Bunny on Saturday Night Live when he was a host and musical guest in 2023. More recently, she got emotional watching him win Album of the Year for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS over her album, Mayhem. “I’m just so happy for him,” she told Entertainment Tonight in January. “What he means to people is so incredibly important. He’s a brilliant musician and human being. He’s so incredibly kind. I thought what he said was incredibly important right now and so inspiring. What’s happening in this country is incredibly heartbreaking, and we’re so lucky to have leaders like him.” Just one week later, she was performing with him on an international stage. No matter what the intent of their performance together is, Gaga and Bad Bunny are two artists who understand both the musical and the political implications of each other’s work.
