We're still months away from Super Bowl LIX, but it's making headlines due Bad Bunny being confirmed as this coming season's halftime performer. Although many have expressed excitement over the singer's hiring, others have pushed back. The President of the United States weighed in and a petition advocating for another act has since surfaced online as well. Now, former halftime show performer Joey Fatone of NSYNC is dropping some advice for the pop star.
Fatone was one of many performers onstage during the 2001 Super Bowl halftime performance, amid a night that featured NSYNC, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Mary J. Blige and Nelly. It was a different time, and I can imagine different than what Bad Bunny has planned. Amidst all the drama surrounding this upcoming performance, Fatone told TMZ what he'd tell the Puerto Rican icon ahead of the moment:
Have fun!! . . . I would tell him just enjoy it and embrace it, because it does go by so fast. All the preparation, all the rehearsals. Everything just boils down to those few minutes -- not a whole lot of time, and it's just one big blast to see how much performance you can do to wow everybody.
That's excellent advice from Joey Fatone, who notes that the whole event goes by so fast. With so much conversation happening in the months ahead of the performance, this is possibly something that Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Ocasio, needs to hear. At the end of the day, this should be remembered as a career milestone for any performer, as not everyone gets the opportunity to do this.
For all the criticism, however, Bad Bunny has a fair amount of support as well. Adam Sandler, who recently teamed up with him for Happy Gilmore 2, had nothing but kind words to share about him.
Bad Bunny hasn't taken the criticisms toward his upcoming performance lying down, perhaps adding even more fuel to the fire with a recent Saturday Night Live appearance. In his opening monologue, the performer said he would share his thoughts on the Super Bowl halftime headlines, and then proceeded to speak the rest of the time in Spanish. The response was a tongue-in-cheek jab at critics, who were upset that a majority of his songs aren't performed in English.
As for the NFL, it's no stranger to stirring the pot when it comes to Super Bowl halftime performance choices. Kendrick Lamar took the stage last year, towards the end of his high-profile feud with Drake, and the world moved on several months later. I think it'd be fair to imagine the same will happen with Bad Bunny, and I doubt the momentum and backlash about the decision will continue as the playoffs approach toward the start of 2026.
Super Bowl LIX isn't happening until February, and there are still quite a few shows on the 2025 TV schedule to enjoy before then. I'm not sure how much we'll see of Bad Bunny or Joey Fatone on it, but there's nothing I love more than enjoying some great TV shows in between the stress of football games on Sundays.
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