Late night comedy found its perfect target this week when Stephen Colbert and Michael Kosta took aim at Kid Rock’s alternative Super Bowl halftime show.
The Turning Point USA-backed “All-American Halftime Show” is positioning itself as counter-programming to Bad Bunny’s official NFL halftime performance on Sunday, February 8th.
Both hosts mercilessly mocked the stark contrast between the two events, with Colbert joking about Rock’s “powerhouse” lineup and Kosta questioning whether Americans would want to watch “the most popular musician in America.”
The numbers tell a story that even the most creative spin can’t rewrite.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
When comparing Kid Rock and Bad Bunny’s cultural footprint, the gap becomes almost comical.
Bad Bunny commands 85 million monthly Spotify listeners compared to Rock’s 5 million. On Instagram, Benito boasts 50.7 million followers while Rock sits at 1.7 million.
The disparity extends to career achievements as well. Bad Bunny has accumulated approximately 100 million equivalent album sales throughout his career, dwarfing Kid Rock’s 27 million.
Perhaps most tellingly, Bad Bunny has claimed six Grammy awards while Kid Rock has never won one.
Comedy Gold From Late Night
During Tuesday night’s cold open, Colbert had particular fun with the alternative show’s promotional materials.
He described the event’s aggressive, all-caps font as reminiscent of a “T-shirt on a quiet, angry dad at Disney World.” The Late Show host also dubbed Rock a “terrible bunny” in his sendup of the competing halftime shows.
Colbert read off a fake lineup that included “Gary Lee Grant, Gilby Brantlet, Dilly Barrett, Tandy Breitbart, Billy Gidly and Baby Biblo” before revealing the actual supporting acts: country singers Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.
The Daily Show’s Michael Kosta delivered his own variation on this theme.
Yeah, there’s no way Americans are going to want to watch a performance by the most popular musician in America.
Kosta’s fictional lineup riff included “Garby Billet, Billy Garbett, Breely Grabbers, Bobby Glaberd, Goggy Bobbles, Barnacle Gaspardy, Babette Gingletree, Hologram Hulk Hogan.”
Where You Can (Maybe) Watch
Details about Rock’s show remain fuzzy at best.
As Colbert noted, it remains “unclear what venue will host” the event. What is known is that it appears to be a non-ticketed livestream scheduled to air on conservative-friendly outlets including DW+, Real America’s Voice, TBN, CHARGE!, The National News Desk, Rumble, and TPUSA’s YouTube and X channels.
Colbert jokingly added fictional streaming platforms “Crunch, Kramble, Hunkle, Crampus” to the list, along with a dig at his soon-to-be-former employer, Paramount+.
Bad Bunny’s Dominant Year
Billboard recently named Bad Bunny the Greatest Pop Star of 2025, recognition earned through an extraordinary run of achievements.
Benito dropped three No. 1 albums and racked up more than one billion Spotify streams for his song “DtMF.” His 30-show residency in Puerto Rico last year sold an unprecedented 400,000 tickets in just four hours.
He’s also been named Spotify Wrapped’s most-streamed global artist a record four times (2020, 2021, 2022, 2025).
By comparison, Kid Rock has never topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. His highest placement was No. 23 in 2008 for “All Summer Long,” with his most recent charting single being 2015’s “First Kiss” at No. 66.
Political Controversy Fuels The Fire
Conservative media outlets have spent months criticizing Bad Bunny’s halftime show selection.
Much of their outrage stems from Benito’s decision to exclude continental U.S. venues from his most recent tour. The Puerto Rican artist made this choice out of concern that ICE raids could target his fans during Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.
It bears mentioning that Bad Bunny is an American citizen, as are all people born in Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory.
President Trump recently weighed in on the halftime show controversy.
I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.
Trump specifically referenced both Bad Bunny and opening ceremony band Green Day as being “anti-them,” noting both acts have been vocal opponents of his administration.
Comedy Meets Culture War
Kosta opened his segment by sarcastically labeling Bad Bunny’s show as being for “radical woke communist who hate America.”
He then aired a montage of right-wing media personalities expressing outrage over Benito’s booking, most claiming the artist harbors hatred for America—again, his own country.
Both late night hosts effectively highlighted how political grievances have overshadowed simple entertainment value in discussions about Sunday’s dueling halftime shows.
While Department of Homeland Security plans to have federal agents at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara to “keep fans safe,” officials have stated they will not conduct enforcement actions during the game itself.
Whether viewers tune into Bad Bunny’s official halftime spectacular or Kid Rock’s alternative offering, one thing seems certain: the culture war has found yet another battleground, this time smack in the middle of America’s biggest sporting event.