Bad Bunny Makes Emmy History With First Primetime Win for Super Bowl Halftime Show
Bad Bunny has officially added a Primetime Emmy to his growing list of major achievements — and his historic Super Bowl halftime performance has made an even bigger mark in television history.
The Puerto Rican superstar won his first Primetime Emmy on Saturday, Sept. 5, during the first night of the 2026 Primetime Emmys, formerly known as the Creative Arts Emmys. The ceremony took place at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
Bad Bunny won outstanding variety special (live) for The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny, which aired on NBC. He was recognized both as the show’s lead performer and as a producer.
A Record-Breaking Super Bowl Halftime Show
The Emmy victory was only part of the night’s achievement.
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny collected seven awards, making it the most-awarded Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy history.
The show surpassed the previous record held by The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, which won three awards in 2022.
It also became only the second Super Bowl halftime show to win the top program Emmy, following the 2022 hip-hop spectacular.
Among the other nominees for outstanding variety special (live) this year were the 83rd Annual Golden Globes on CBS, the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS, The Oscars on ABC and the 78th Annual Tony Awards on CBS.
The win also marked another milestone: the Bad Bunny special became the first Spanish-language program to win outstanding variety special (live).
Seven Emmys for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Show
In addition to the top program prize, the halftime show won awards for:
- Outstanding music direction
- Outstanding directing for a variety special
- Outstanding sound mixing for a variety series or special
- Outstanding choreography for variety or reality programming
- Outstanding lighting design/lighting direction for a special
- Outstanding technical direction and camerawork for a special
The seven-award haul made the halftime show the biggest winner of night one of the 2026 Primetime Emmys.
The achievement continues an extraordinary year for Bad Bunny. Just seven months earlier, he became the first artist to win Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards for a Spanish-language album, taking home the honor for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.
The Emmy Connection Behind the Halftime Show
The 2026 victory also reunited several of the creative forces behind the Emmy-winning 2022 Super Bowl halftime show.
Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, Desiree Perez and Jesse Collins won as executive producers of both productions. Dave Meyers also received recognition as co-executive producer of both shows.
Another member of Bad Bunny’s team, Miguel Gandelman, won outstanding music direction for the halftime show. The award made him just the third person to win that category for work on a Super Bowl halftime production.
Adam Blackstone previously won for the 2022 all-star hip-hop performance, while Kendrick Lamar and Tony Russell won the award last year for The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar.
Director Hamish Hamilton also added another major honor to his résumé, winning outstanding directing for a variety special for the third time in four years. He previously won the category in 2023 for co-directing the Super Bowl halftime show starring Rihanna and again in 2024 for directing the Oscars.
Bad Bunny’s Emmy Night Didn’t End There
The singer was connected to another Primetime Emmy winner that night.
The Season 51 premiere of Saturday Night Live, which Bad Bunny hosted, won outstanding makeup for a variety, nonfiction or reality program.
Meanwhile, another major music star, Taylor Swift, was nominated for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show on Disney+. She ultimately lost to The Muppet Show, which also featured Sabrina Carpenter, Maya Rudolph and Seth Rogen.
Swift is already a Primetime Emmy winner. In 2015, she received a non-competitive juried award for outstanding creative achievement in interactive media — original interactive program for AMEX Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience. She has also won 14 Grammys.
Other Big Winners From Night One
Bad Bunny’s seven awards topped a night filled with major wins across television.
The Traitors collected six awards, while The Late Show With Stephen Colbert won five. The Muppet Show followed with four, and Love on the Spectrum earned three.
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay won two awards, as did Ocean With David Attenborough.
Hargitay won for producing and directing the documentary about her mother, 1960s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield. She will also host the 78th Emmy Awards telecast.
A total of 49 categories were presented on Saturday, with another 53 categories scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6. Only 19 categories will be presented during the live Emmy broadcast.
The 78th Emmy Awards will air live coast-to-coast on NBC on Monday, Sept. 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live, with streaming available on Peacock.
Highlights from the two non-televised pre-telecast ceremonies will air on FXX on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. PT, with the program becoming available to stream on Hulu the following day.
For Bad Bunny, however, the headline is already clear: his Super Bowl halftime performance has moved beyond a major music spectacle and into Emmy history, earning seven awards and giving the superstar his first Primetime Emmy.