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I didn't have any expectations, as I don't follow this Bad Bunny guy, but wanted to see what the hype was about. So while I heard rumors about a "history-making performance" and how he was controversial, I wanted to see if he could perform. The guy can sing, he has the moves (except for the crotch grabbing - so Snoop Dog, so yesterday), but it was a let down for a few big reasons.
Yes, he sang the whole show in Spanish to a primarily American audience at the biggest American sports event of the year. My husband said it would be like watching the presidential inauguration or the State of the Union entirely in Spanish. It's televised worldwide, so if he wanted to pick up more fans, he should sing mostly in English and partially in Spanish. The lyrics are just as important, if not more so, than the melody. However, I saw old stereotypes that really bothered me more than that stunt. Many of the young women, bumping and grinding and grabbing their rears, in ripped and scantily dressed outfits, don't portray women in a good light, under the star dressed like a pimp. For a worldwide television event, it cheapened the female Latino culture, and any other culture.
I live in a border state - Florida. As I crossed into Georgia recently and stopped at a tourist information spot, there were signs in the ladies' room, both in English and Spanish, entreating the trafficked, harmed, threatened or held against their will, please call this number for help, and it was an official number. I have never seen that in a public bathroom before. Not in my entire life. It was posted in every stall. Prostitution and trafficked young women are set up at every major sports event. I never knew that either. The sexualizing of young women in the music business is rampant, pathetic and demoralizing – popular mostly in rap, hip hop and pop. Hispanic women are already beautiful, and yet they are being used by this industry, and so are other females, even by female performers.
From AI Overview:
It is a documented reality that women and girls are victims of human trafficking, and this crime occurs in connection with large gatherings, including major sports events. While experts widely agree that trafficking is an everyday issue that happens year-round, not all studies support the claim of a significant statistical spike in sex trafficking rates specifically caused by major events like the Super Bowl or Olympics. However, increased awareness and law enforcement efforts surrounding these events often lead to more identified victims and arrests.
The news stories I have read said there is a spike during these events.
Having a sign behind the entertainers that promoted love over hate should start with that. There were a lot of fans who did not understand one word, so all you could do was "watch."
Then there's Roger Goodell: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended having Bad Bunny as the performer earlier this week.
"Listen, 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," 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."
Mr. Goodell, he didn't demonstrate greatness or bring people together. You would have had to be fluent in Spanish. Besides a foreign language, he didn't bring anything we haven't seen many times before from other artists in the same genre.
Lastly, another kick to Americans was the choice of opening song, "American Idiot" by Green Day. Just the title pissed me off. The lyrics are worse, contain profanity, but worth looking up. This punk song was released in 2004, so they've been unhappy for a long time. Again, for kids and families, not a good choice.
No, Mr. Goodell, not promoting love here, especially to all the kids watching your NFL entertainment choices. The music industry and the sports world made their money, so what do they care? Maybe we are idiots.
Discussion (72)
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Thanks for your review. Sorry you had to watch.
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I'm not sorry Bob - I'm glad I saw that there was nothing new there, and I am interested in what is being promoted to young kids.. Maybe next year AI will do the honors.......
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This was an F.U. to America. I guess using a language of southern European colonizers instead of the northern European colonizers is a way for Leftists to fight oppression. Idiots.
I am told by Spanish speakers the lyrics of the songs were very offensive and definitely not for children. Good choice NFL--not!
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I was kind of listening to him while I was taking a light nap. Only saw a few visuals and didn't listen too closely.
Fwiw from my somewhat sleepish memory. I like that he doesn't sound over produced. His voice didn't sound heavily auto-tuned. I know none of it was live but it did sound like real instruments were being played on the recording. I hope that's coming back. Hearing real brass playing is cool. Nice Latin grooves but none of it sounded very original. I like Latin music but I was sort shocked at how generic and mundane it was. I might have to go on a deeper dive on this Bunny fella. I wasn't troubled by it being in Spanish. I'm not really a lyrics guy and I think vocals sounds better in Spanish anyway. I think every song should be sung in French. That's just my quirky little fetish.
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The sports world has gotten very wealthy from a gusher of online sports betting. But I think the advertising from those places has peaked. There is industry consolidation and a shakeout and that means less advertising by gambling sites trying to gain market share. There is also new competition from "prediction" markets. I think that means less money for sports leagues.
The sports business is kind of at a crossroads. They have all this money and yet ticket prices have made attendance impossible for normal families (Super Bowl tix were $6,000 on avg). No families means no future customers. Other advertisers are financial services and high-end cars. I think younger generations care much less about cars and financial services and sports in general. The sports industry is seeing slower income growth and might be on the edge of a downward slide. Perhaps that explains the desperation to attract people from Latin America and Australia.
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