Country singer Kacey Musgraves is taking sides in the dueling Super Bowl LX halftime show battle.
“Well. That made me feel more proudly American than anything Kid Rock has ever done,” Musgraves, 37, wrote via X on Sunday, February 8, after watching Bad Bunny’s cameo-filled Apple Music performance.
Bad Bunny, 31, was joined by Lady Gaga and a slate of Latinx stars, including Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Karol G, Ricky Martin and Jessica Alba in his big game concert. At one point, Bad Bunny exclaimed, “God bless America” before singing in Spanish.
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love,” a billboard displayed on the Levi’s Stadium jumbotron read at the end of the set.
At the same time, Rock, 55, headlined the All-American Halftime Show alongside Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett. The alternative concert was organized by Turning Point USA, the conservative political organization, founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
Turning Point declared late last year that their show was meant to celebrate “faith, family and freedom.”
“We plan to play great songs for folks who love America,” Rock said in a statement earlier this month. “We’re approaching this show like David and Goliath. Competing with the pro football machine and a global pop superstar is almost impossible … or is it?”
He added, “[Bad Bunny] said he’s having a dance party, wearing a dress and singing in Spanish? Cool. We plan to play great songs for folks who love America.” (Bad Bunny did not wear a dress on Sunday, rocking a white pantsuit with a jersey-style “Ocasio 64” on the back.)
While Rock was excited to perform at the Turning Point show, many social media users questioned the appropriateness of his music especially considering his 2001 hit “Cool, Daddy Cool” is about liking underage girls.
“I really didn’t change, like, I came out with middle fingers on my CDs, running my mouth,” Rock previously said on a 2024 episode of the “This Past Weekend” podcast, defending his music. “I always say, and I sound redundant probably, but I haven’t changed — the times have changed. I’ve been doing the same thing since day one.”
Musgraves, for her part, is not affiliated with either halftime show but has long been candid about her political ideologies and her fervent allyship of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Growing up, the acceptance of people in the queer community was kind of nonexistent where I grew up,” Musgraves recalled to NPR in September 2024. “I could count on one hand the amount of times I encountered an openly gay person. There was a very kind of typically majority one-way view of, ‘It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,’ that kind of mentality. And so I, kind of, left Texas with sort of this kind of idea that, well, ‘People choose to be that way.’”
According to Musgraves, she “started making friends” in the queer community after moving to Nashville to jumpstart her musical career.
“I actually had a boyfriend at the time who did me a huge favor. He was from a completely different upbringing than me,” she added at the time. “He was from a liberal family, like upstate New York, and he had a ton of gay friends. He just sat me down one day, and we had a real hard and honest conversation about it. … He just helped me completely open up my eyes and see.”
Rock, for his part, is a noted supporter of President Donald Trump and the conservative moment that often feel differently.
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