Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show has triggered a wave of travel searches to Puerto Rico.
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According to data from Expedia shared with Billboard, flight searches for Puerto Rico increased by a staggering 245 per cent in the days after the halftime performance.
As well as a general surge of interest in flights to Puerto Rico and Latin America, flight searches to the capital, San Juan, skyrocketed by 240 per cent, while Bad Bunny’s hometown, Vega Baja, spiked to a 1,450 per cent increase, as compared to searches made on the same days as last year.
It comes after the triumphant set from the ‘DTMF’ artist pulled in over 120 million viewers across the globe last week (February 8), later being ranked as the fourth biggest in Super Bowl history. His set was a celebration of Latin music and saw him perform with dozens of dancers while moving through a complex sequence of staged set pieces.
The power of the show also saw several Latin American countries experience similar flight search surges, such as Mexico, which was up by 210 per cent, Brazil and Colombia by 120 per cent, and Argentina with 70 per cent.
It also appears that the show has inspired more fans to look into attending his shows abroad – which is particularly notable after he said he would not play in continental US over fears that ICE may target his fans.
Flight searches to London spiked 90 per cent ahead of his upcoming show in June, while searches for Madrid and São Paolo have increases of 20 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.
Elsewhere at the halftime slot, Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Jessica Alba and Karol G were all spotted among the dancers at the show, while Bad Bunny initially appeared to deliver one of the three Grammys he won last week to a young boy during the performance, whom many thought was ICE detainee Liam Conejo Ramos. It was later revealed that he handed it to a child actor called Lincoln Fox Ramadan.
Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance to deliver a Latin version of her Bruno Mars collaboration ‘Die With A Smile’, and was joined by Bad Bunny’s backing band Los Pleneros de la Cresta. Ricky Martin, meanwhile, was on hand to introduce ‘El apagón’ with an excerpt of ‘LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii’.
Donald Trump – who has been vocal about his disproval of Bad Bunny’s booking since it was announced – hit out at the show, branding it a “slap in the face” for America.
“It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence,” he said following the performance. “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.”
Despite that, footage later showed that Trump’s Super Bowl Party aired Bad Bunny’s halftime show instead of Kid Rock’s, leading fans to criticise the US President for making “hypocritical” comments about the Puerto Rican superstar.
Over the weekend, it was confirmed that the show had not violated any rules, following an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission after a number of Republican congressmen called for a probe.
They had accused the star of potentially violating broadcast decency standards despite the fact he censored or omitted his most explicit lyrics from the show.
