Bad Bunny Makes Emmy History with 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show Win!

Bad Bunny achieved a significant milestone by winning his first Primetime Emmy Award on Saturday, September 5, during the first night of the Creative Arts Emmys at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The Puerto Rican superstar was honored with the outstanding variety special (live) award for “The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” (NBC), recognizing his contributions as both the lead performer and a producer.

This marks a historic moment as it is only the second Super Bowl Halftime Show to ever win the top program Emmy, following “The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent,” which won four years prior. Notably, Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), Desiree Perez, and Jesse Collins served as executive producers for both award-winning shows, with Dave Meyers also contributing as a co-executive producer for both.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX Halftime Show truly dominated, securing seven awards in total, making it the most-awarded Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy history. This surpassed the 2022 hip-hop show, which garnered three awards. Furthermore, it holds the distinction of being the first Spanish-language program to win outstanding variety special (live) and was the most-awarded program on the first night of the Creative Arts Emmys. In addition to the top honor, Bunny’s Halftime Show also received Emmys for outstanding music direction, outstanding directing for a variety special, outstanding sound mixing for a variety series or special, outstanding choreography for variety or reality programming, outstanding lighting design/lighting direction for a special, and outstanding technical direction and camerawork for a special.

Beyond his Super Bowl triumph, Bad Bunny also celebrated a second Primetime Emmy win for the Season 51 opener of “Saturday Night Live,” which he hosted. This episode earned an award for outstanding makeup for a variety, nonfiction or reality program.

Other notable moments from the Creative Arts Emmys included Taylor Swift's nomination for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show” (Disney+). She was ultimately bested by another Disney+ program, “The Muppet Show,” which paid tribute to the beloved series. “The Muppet Show” also saw Sabrina Carpenter win her first Primetime Emmy as an executive producer and performer on the special, alongside contributions from Maya Rudolph and Seth Rogen. For the record, Taylor Swift is already a Primetime Emmy winner, having received a non-competitive “juried award” in 2015 for outstanding creative achievement in interactive media – original interactive program for “AMEX Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience.” She has also won 14 Grammys.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” garnered five awards, two of which were for episodes featuring rock royalty. The series won outstanding picture editing for variety programming (segment) for an episode with Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello, and outstanding lighting design/lighting direction for a series for an episode featuring Bruce Springsteen and special surprise guests.

Individual achievements included Miguel Gandelman, who won outstanding music direction for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, marking his first Primetime Emmy. Tyler Strickland also earned his first Primetime Emmy for outstanding music composition for a documentary/nonfiction or reality program for “John Candy: I Like Me.” Hamish Hamilton secured his third outstanding directing for a variety special award in four years, this year for Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime show, having also won for co-directing Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2023 and directing the Oscars in 2024.

Mariska Hargitay received two awards for producing and directing “My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay,” a film about her mother, Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay is set to host the 78th Emmy Awards telecast.

A total of 49 categories were presented on Saturday, with 53 more scheduled for Sunday, September 6. Only 19 categories will be featured on the live Emmy telecast on Monday, September 14. Highlights from the Creative Arts Emmys ceremonies will air on Saturday, September 12, at 8 p.m. PT on FXX, and will be available to stream on Hulu the following day.

Programs that won multiple awards on night one of the Creative Arts Emmys included: The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny (7), The Traitors (6), The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (5), The Muppet Show (4), Love on the Spectrum (3), My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (2), and Ocean With David Attenborough (2).