"You won without erasing your roots": Ricky Martin showers praise on Bad Bunny ahead of Super Bowl LX halftime show

Bad Bunny’s historic sweep at the Grammy Awards sparked a rare, emotional response from one of Puerto Rico’s most global voices. Ricky Martin publicly praised the rapper’s success after he won three Grammys, including Album of the Year, for a Spanish-language record. The moment mattered far beyond trophies. It spoke to representation, language, and pride at the highest level of global music.The reaction came in the form of an open letter published in Puerto Rico’s El Nuevo Día on February 3. Martin, who has carried Latin pop onto world stages for decades, framed Bad Bunny’s wins as a shared victory for Puerto Ricans everywhere. Ricky Martin addressed Bad Bunny directly, grounding his praise in personal truth and cultural memory. “Benito, brother, seeing you win three Grammy Awards, one of them for album of the year with a production entirely in Spanish, touched me deeply. Not only as an artist, but as a Puerto Rican who has walked stages around the world carrying his language, his accent, and his story,” he wrote.Martin expanded on the weight of that choice. “I know what it means to succeed without letting go of where you come from. I know how heavy it is, what it costs, and what is sacrificed when you decide not to change because others ask you to. That’s why what you have achieved is not just a historic musical accomplishment, it’s a cultural and human victory.”Bad Bunny’s 2026 Grammy run included Best Global Musical Performance for “EoO” and Best Música Urbana Album, alongside Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos. It marked the first time an entirely Spanish album claimed the top honor. Martin highlighted the significance with clarity. “You won without changing the color of your voice. You won without erasing your roots. You won by staying true to Puerto Rico.”The letter also focused on Bad Bunny’s words during the ceremony. “What touched me most about seeing you there on the Grammy stage was the silence of the entire audience when you spoke,” Martin wrote, referencing the rapper’s defense of immigrants and families living between borders. Bad Bunny dedicated his win “to all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams” and thanked Latinos worldwide.Martin closed with a message aimed at the next generation. “This achievement is for a generation to whom you taught that their identity is non-negotiable and that success is not at odds with authenticity.” He added, “From the heart, from one Boricua to another, with respect and love, I thank you for reminding us that when one of ours succeeds, we all succeed.”The bond between the artists is longstanding, from sharing the Latin Grammy stage in 2019 to Martin presenting Bad Bunny with the GLAAD Vanguard Award in 2023. Bad Bunny now prepares to headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, carrying the same message to an even larger audience. “What I'm feeling goes beyond myself,” he said when the performance was announced. “It's for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”