Bad Bunny Wins First Emmy as Super Bowl Halftime Show Takes Seven Awards

Emmy voters answered Bad Bunny's Super Bowl message of love with a record-setting show of support on Saturday night. The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny won seven awards at the first night of the Creative Arts Emmys, making it the most-decorated halftime performance in the ceremony's history. The Puerto Rican superstar took home his first Emmy as both lead performer and producer, winning outstanding variety special (live) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

The show swept all seven categories in which it was nominated, according to Pitchfork. Beyond the top program award, it won for music direction, choreography, sound mixing, lighting design, technical direction and camerawork, and directing. The previous record holder was the 2025 halftime show starring Kendrick Lamar, which had been the most-awarded Super Bowl performance until Saturday. The 2022 all-star hip-hop show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent won three Emmys.

Billboard reported that Bad Bunny's show is only the second Super Bowl halftime performance to win outstanding variety special (live), following the 2022 Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. It is also the first Spanish-language program to win that category. The artist's win comes seven months after he became the first musician to win album of the year at the Grammy Awards for a Spanish-language album, taking the prize for Debí Tirar Más Fotos.

The show received nine nominations overall, making it the most-nominated Super Bowl halftime show in Emmys history, according to Variety. On Saturday, it also became the most-awarded program of the night, surpassing The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which won five awards. Jay-Z, who served as an executive producer on the halftime show, picked up another Emmy for his work; he previously won for Kendrick Lamar's 2025 performance.

The halftime show aired during Super Bowl LX in February, when Bad Bunny delivered a 13-minute performance that drew on a wide range of his hits, including "Tití Me Preguntó," "Eoo," "BAILE INoLVIDABLE," "El Apagón," "CAFÉ CON RON," "MONACO," "NUEVAYoL" and "DtMF." The performance ended with a message displayed on screens inside Levi's Stadium: "The only thing more powerful than hate is love."

The first night of the Creative Arts Emmys also brought first wins for Sabrina Carpenter, who took outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for The Muppet Show on Disney+, beating Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour | The Final Show. A second program starring Bad Bunny won an Emmy as well: the Season 51 opener of Saturday Night Live, which he hosted, won for outstanding makeup in a variety, nonfiction or reality program. The Primetime Emmy Awards will be presented on September 14, with Mariska Hargitay hosting.