Popular Band Emerges As Contender For Super Bowl 61 Halftime Show

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Mar 25, 2026 1:11 PM ET

The NFL has plenty of time to determine who'll be its halftime performer for Super Bowl 61, but a candidate for the gig has already emerged.

Bad Bunny didn't disappoint as the halftime performer for Super Bowl 60. Despite all the controversy surrounding his show at Levi's Stadium, he averaged 128.2 million viewers on NBC. He also generated over 4 billion social views in the first 24 hours, making it the most-consumed halftime show in NFL history.

“Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world and that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. “But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on and this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents and to be able to use this moment to do that and I think artists in the past have done that.”

Although it'll be tough following up Bad Bunny's performance it's pretty evident that a top-tier artist would embrace pressure.

J-Hope, a member of Korean pop band BTS, revealed that performing at the Super Bowl is his "dream stage."

Super Bowl 61 will take place at SoFi Stadium in California. For what it's worth, there are plenty of BTS fans on the West Coast.

Do NFL fans have a preference?

A little over a month ago, VegasInsider.com surveyed 3,000 NFL fans to see who they’d want as the halftime performer for Super Bowl 61. Though it's not a huge surprise, Taylor Swift received the most votes.

“According to a poll of 3,000 NFL fans, Taylor Swift is the most wanted headliner for the 2027 Super Bowl halftime show,” a spokesperson for VegasInsider.com said. “Not only is Taylor Swift the overall top choice, but she also ranks as the #1 pick in the most U.S. states (22 states), the most NFL fandoms (13 NFL fanbases), and she also leads among both male and female respondents. Additionally, over the last four years we have been conducting the Super Bowl halftime show survey, Taylor Swift has been named the most wanted headliner every single year, showing that demand for her to perform isn’t fading. Rounding out the top three most wanted halftime show headliners for 2027 are British artists: Elton John – who has surprisingly never headlined before – in the second spot and Adele at No. 3.”

There's no question the NFL will get a star for its Super Bowl halftime show. We're just not sure who it'll be.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: