Drake has turned down the opportunity to appear at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, February 8. According to a report from The Sun, halftime show headliner Bad Bunny offered Drake the chance to appear during his performance but the Canadian rapper has chosen not to take part in the spectacle in order to not take any of the spotlight away from the Grammy-winning Latin musician.
Drake Reportedly Doesn’t Want to Steal Any Attention at the Super Bowl Halftime Show
The Sun reports that Drake rejected the chance to perform at the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara this weekend. Insiders told the outlet that Bad Bunny wanted to collaborate with Drake but politely turned down the offer as he didn’t want to take any of the attention away from the Puerto Rican rapper.
“He said no because he wants everyone to focus on his brother Benito,” said the source. “He wants Bad Bunny to enjoy the moment, to do his thing and to not have his moment surrounded by noise about any kind of revenge on Kendrick.”
The source is referencing the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, which Kendrick Lamar headlined. The two musicians are involved in a long-running feud and Lamar made what many assumed to be references to Drake in his performance. In this case, it appears that Drake doesn’t want any controversy between him and Lamar to overshadow Bad Bunny’s performance.
“He wants his friend to shine,” explained the source, “And to pay tribute to the Latino world his way, without Drake being the center of attention.”
Drake and Bad Bunny have previously collaborated, with Drake appearing on the Latin rapper’s breakthrough single “MIA” in 2018. They subsequently performed together on the 2023 track “Gently,” from Drake’s “All for the Dogs” album.
Bad Bunny Turned Down Grammy Performance This Week
With Bad Bunny set to headline the upcoming halftime show, he avoided performing at this week’s Grammy Awards
The artist, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was present at the ceremony where he received six nominations. However, he told Trevor Noah during his appearance that a clause in his Super Bowl halftime contract prevented him from taking part in any performances.
“Whoever’s doing the Super Bowl is contractually obligated to only do the Super Bowl,” Noah told Bad Bunny. “So, you can’t perform at the Grammys. Is this true?”
“I wish,” Bad Bunny replied. “But I can’t.”
When Noah added that he expected to see him perform, the singer answered, “Me too!”
Bad Bunny also shared that he originally believed he would be part of the show.
“I came here [and] I thought I was performing, but now I can’t,” he said.
