Turning Point's Super Bowl alternative to Bad Bunny looks like a flop

[marmar]

Turning Point’s Super Bowl alternative to Bad Bunny looks like a flop
The organization won’t reveal the performers until the day of the game

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published January 30, 2026 6:45AM (EST)


(Salon) The Super Bowl is a week and a half away, but the much-ballyhooed alternative halftime show being aired by Turning Point USA has not even announced a line-up yet. To hear the public relations folks at the right-wing fundraising powerhouse founded by the late Charlie Kirk tell it, this silence is by design. Despite insisting they have “multiple performers” lined up, the TPUSA spokesperson has refused to offer any of the allegedly enticing names they promised would draw millions of viewers away from the actual Super Bowl halftime show and decimate it in the ratings. Instead, the “All-American Halftime Show” is starting to smell an awful lot like a flop.

For those who have blessedly forgotten the furor from last fall, in late September the NFL announced that Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper, would headline the official program. To people whose brains haven’t been pickled by MAGA propaganda, this made sense. Bad Bunny is a true superstar, racking up streaming numbers rivaled only by Taylor Swift. The NFL is a money-making organization that wishes to build its brand with young people, so it makes sense that they want to snag the charming performer who mostly raps in Spanish.

....(snip)....

For months, the website for the “All-American Halftime Show” did not change. There was only a survey asking people to vote for what genre of music they’d like to see, with options we’re apparently meant to believe will excite the youth, like “Anything in English” and “worship music.” But this week, TPUSA finally updated the site — not with a dramatic unveiling of a lineup, but with just a list of the media outlets streaming the program, such as One America News and the Daily Wire.

Instead of a list of performers, there are a series of traps to lure you into donating or signing up for TPUSA’s email list. One doesn’t need to be a marketing genius to suspect that this does not bode well for the quality of the upcoming show. Typically, when promoters seek to draw viewers into a televised music program, they will heavily advertise the big name stars they are featuring, believing correctly that people will be excited by stuff they like and tune in. This is why the NFL splashily announced Bad Bunny’s performance well ahead of time, and why commercials for the Grammys or MTV Video Music Awards mostly consist of a voiceover listing a bunch of names of artists with large fanbases. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/01/30/turning-points-super-bowl-alternative-to-bad-bunny-looks-like-a-flop/

[SheltieLover]

1. Grift. It's all repukes are good at

[Diamond_Dog]

2. For an organization that claims to "encourage discussion from all sides"

They sure are narrow minded snowflakes about entertainment.

[3catwoman3]

12. "They sure are narrow minded snowflakes about entertainment."

And pretty much any other topic you might care to name.

I've long thought that people who endlessly bray about how their faith/beliefs are so strong that they just cannot tolerate any exposure to anything inconsistent with that are actually not so secure in what they think. If they were as confident as they like to claim they are, they wouldn't be so easily threatened.

Bunch of wussies.

[Diamond_Dog]

13. Well said, 3catwoman3!

[cloudbase]

3. They can show clips from the Melania movie.

[Dave Bowman]

6. Lol, people would zap to another channel within 5 minutes.

[newdeal2]

4. Nicki

Or whoever else sold their soul recently.

[durablend]

7. I think you're right

That's gonna be their "star" headliner along with Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, Chachi and whoever else (Erikkka Kirk?)

[Dave Bowman]

8. I just learned about that about an hour ago. WTF? She's rooting for nazis who hate her because of the color of her skin.

That's pretty sick imho.

[durablend]

10. "We got somebody you black people will like!"

[GoCubsGo]

5. Who are these assholes trying to kid?

They're not revealing their performers because they don't have anyone that people care about. Not that we should have expected anything different.

I wasn't planning to watch the Super Bowl, but I will tune in for the half-time show. I don't know Bad Bunny, but these idiots have piqued my curiosity about him. I may be an old fart, but not when it comes to music.

[Ocelot II]

9. Maybe Lara Trump will sing, or whatever you call the noises she makes with her face.

[Diamond_Dog]

14. Oh Gawd

[Simeon Salus]

11. Kristy Noem and Puppy Bowl 2026!

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