Bad Bunny has admitted he is struggling to sleep leading up to his Super Bowl halftime performance, as America waits to see if the rapper uses his show to attack Donald Trump.
The Puerto Rican star, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, held a press conference about Sunday’s hugely anticipated show in San Francisco where he teased special guests and vowed to pay tribute to his roots.
But days after attacking ICE at the Grammys after winning Album of the Year, the artist at times seemed daunted by the prospect of his 13-minute performace at Levi’s Stadium.
Bad Bunny added: ‘I wasn’t looking for the album of the year at the Grammys, I wasn’t looking for the Super Bowl halftime show.
‘To be the biggest stage of the world is something that I never thought (possible). You always have to be proud of who you are and feel comfortable being yourself, being proud about your history and where you are from and don’t let that limit yourself.
‘I feel very blessed, every step of my career I get to another level, it’s how I feel. It has been a beautiful and tough journey. I worked for it.’
His selection has drawn huge criticism from the Trump administration, ever since it was announced last September.
Corey Lewandowski, a Department of Homeland Security advisor, said the choice of the Puerto Rican superstar – a US citizen – was ‘shameful’ because he ‘seems to hate America so much.’
Trump, who attended the Super Bowl last year but is staying away this time, recently called this year’s entertainment lineup ‘a terrible choice’ that will ‘sow hatred.’
Without naming Trump, Bad Bunny said that when the show is over, ‘everyone will be happy’.
He added: ‘The world is gonna be happy this Sunday. The whole country. There’s a lot of people that love me around the world, not just the Latino people.
‘A lot of people stop me at the street or the airport, Americans in the United States, Mexico, French and say “I know you’re going to do a great performance at the Super Bowl”.
‘People that stop me on the street only wish good things to me and I know the world is going to be happy with me on Sunday. It’s going to be a huge party, what people can expect with me, that it what I want to bring.’
Also featuring in the opening ceremony of Super Bowl LX – in which the New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks – will be rock band Green Day, who have likewise been vociferous critics of Trump for years.
Right-wing political organization Turning Point USA has organized an alternative ‘All-American Halftime Show’ featuring artists including Kid Rock.