(October 2, 2025) – The Super Bowl halftime show isn’t just a concert anymore — it’s become a battleground for today’s culture war between the right and the left. This week’s announcement that Bad Bunny will headline Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara lit up social media not just with excitement but with outrage. MAGA types wasted no time framing the choice as divisive, while younger, more progressive fans celebrated the Puerto Rican megastar as an obvious, global pick. This blog obviously falls in the latter camp, but it goes to show that in today’s climate, even pop stars can become political statements once the NFL puts them on the halftime stage.
Which begs the bigger question: is there anyone left who could headline and actually bridge the divide? Is there an act with the kind of broad, bipartisan star power that could get a cheer from both your cousin in a red state streaming Morgan Wallen on repeat and your niece who hunts Taylor Swift Easter eggs for sport? The pool of candidates shrinks every year, not just because so many big names have already done it, but because fame itself has become partisan currency.
To be “Super Bowl worthy,” the criteria seem simple on paper: global reach, a stack of instantly recognizable hits, the ability to fill a stadium with energy, and, ideally, a track record of avoiding scandal. But in practice, it’s a minefield. Beyoncé crushed it years ago, but drew political fire. Springsteen and U2, both of whom have done it before, have long been rumored for encores, but their social activism makes them dicey. Even today’s biggest superstar, Taylor Swift—who reportedly turned down a bid for the next big game—would set off MAGA’s outrage machine the second she took the field.
Still, the NFL has options—some safe, some thrilling, some that could actually work as “bridge-the-divide” fantasy lineups. From Chris Stapleton’s soul-stirring voice to Dua Lipa’s global disco-pop domination to country’s biggest-selling star Garth Brooks, the question isn’t whether the NFL can book someone big enough. It’s whether they can book someone big enough without breaking America in half in the process.
The Safe Shortlist
Garth Brooks – The biggest and safest of the safe. With more than 150 million albums sold, Garth is arguably America’s biggest untapped halftime star. His songs are universal: “Friends in Low Places” could turn the stadium into the world’s largest karaoke bar, while “The Dance” still has the emotional weight to stop people in their tracks. He’s a unifier by default — loved in red states, known by blue states, and respected across generations. The only hurdle? His 1993 Super Bowl standoff with the NFL (he infamously delayed his performance of the National Anthem over a pre-show dispute about the NFL’s airing of his music video for the protest song “We Shall Be Free”). But that was 33 years ago. If both sides can move past that, plus his recent legal troubles involving sexual assault allegations that haven’t resulted in convictions or a known settlement, Garth may be the biggest bridge-builder still left.
Chris Stapleton – Soulful, authentic, and one of the rare country acts who crosses over into R&B, rock, and pop spaces seamlessly. His national anthem in 2023 already proved he can own a Super Bowl moment. The only knock is spectacle — Stapleton is more about vocal firepower than pyrotechnics, but with the right guests he could carry the show. Besides, not every Super Bowl performance has to be about spectacle.
Dua Lipa – Dance-pop’s reigning global star, and one of the few newer acts who feels Super Bowl-ready. Her disco-inspired pop catalog is packed with hits, her live performances are sharp, and she’s avoided major controversy. Lipa may not have decades of nostalgia yet, but as a co-headliner or centerpiece, she’d nail it. Another hit album would definitely put her in the conversation.
Foo Fighters – Rock’s most enduring modern band. Dave Grohl’s universal likability—at least until recently—coupled with their deep catalog of anthems, makes them one of the strongest choices to represent a genre that’s been missing from halftime for too long. Pair them with a pop or soul guest and you’d have a show that feels both classic and current. In fact, the Foos have been in the conversation in the past. After having come so close on several occasions, Grohl may have tanked his band’s chances when he accidentally revealed some sour grapes to the wrong person one night. In a 2018 interview to Ultimate Classic Radio, he was quoted as saying, “I actually got really hammered at this party in France once and got to meet the dude that does the Super Bowl thing, and I was like, ‘I don’t even want to do the Super Bowl!’” he said. “I used to want to do it. Now I don’t want to do it anymore!’” But that was 2018. Surely Jay-Z isn’t carrying whatever grudge existed before he took the reins in 2019.
Bon Jovi – Surprisingly absent from halftime history despite being one of America’s quintessential stadium-rock acts for four decades. Their choruses (“Livin’ on a Prayer,” “It’s My Life”) were made for 70,000 fans belting them out. Jon Bon Jovi has gone on record to say that he would never do one (he turned down an opportunity years ago) and he may not be as vocally bulletproof as he was decades ago, but nostalgia and showmanship could more than carry his band if he were to change his mind.
Shania Twain – Country-pop’s sass queen. Shania’s biggest hits (“Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much”) are pure singalong fodder. She’s playful, she’s familiar, and she’d be one of the rare women to headline a halftime show post-2010s. She may not be as globally dominant as Dua, but she brings nostalgia, charm and instant recognition. Teamed with other female country artists, and this could be a show for the ages.
Interestingly, the above list doesn’t include R&B/Hip-Hop/Latin music artists, but that’s owed mostly to the fact that the pool of Super Bowl-worthy acts has been largely exhausted in recent years during the Jay-Z era, unless the NFL takes seriously Cardi B’s recent assertion that she’d gladly accept a future offer after claiming that she’d turned down previous ones. But Cardi’s left political leanings aside, I don’t think the NFL could ever get past her sexual content in the wake of the 2004 wardrobe malfunction by Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake.
Other untapped hip-hop superstars with mass appeal—like Lil Wayne or Drake—could also take the grand stage, but the Cash Money/Young Money camp might have sour grapes over Wayne being “snubbed” for Super Bowl LIX in his hometown of New Orleans. Recent MAGA convert Snoop Dogg was a co-headliner just three years ago alongside Dr. Dre and Mary J. Blige, but he’s never done a solo headliner. However, his recent MAGA leanings make him a political choice, which might satisfy the right but would draw ire from the left.
If the NFL really wants to bridge divides while still making headlines, the answer may not be a single artist, but a pairing (or trio) that pulls from different genres and demographics. For instance, pairing the Foo Fighters with Fall Out Boy or having a cross-genre mashup of performances by Stapleton and Dua Lipa or Alicia Keys, would increase its appeal to multiple audiences without offending or alienating others, and without becoming political.
The Verdict
At the end of the day, the NFL is in the impossible position of trying to stage a show that both sides of America can cheer. Maybe that’s no longer realistic. In 2025, the most obvious choices come with baggage. But maybe the beauty of halftime isn’t in pleasing everyone — it’s in creating a spectacle so undeniable that, at least for 12 minutes, the music drowns out the noise.
If that means Garth Brooks leading a stadium-wide “Friends in Low Places,” Dua Lipa turning the field into a disco, or Foo Fighters shaking the rafters, so be it.
Because the only thing worse than a “divisive” halftime show… is a boring one.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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Oh, come now, DJRob. You wouldn’t want to see Up With People do their thing again?
Lol, oh you’re trying to piss off BOTH sides! At least they’d be united. Lolol