Although I did not watch the 65th annual Grammy Awards ceremony, I decided to find clips of his performance after reading Gretty García’s enthusiastic review of Bad Bunny as a worthy nominee. His Un verano sin ti [A Summer without you] won the award for Best Música Urbana Album. García’s article—“Bad Bunny’s Grammys Performance Gave Me Literal Chills (I’m not crying, you are!)”—for Cosmopolitan also includes a fun 2022 video of Bad Bunny enjoying the Puerto Rican classic, arroz con salchichas, and other dishes prepared by Chef Guillermo López-Folch.

With his performance, Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) rendered tribute to Puerto Rican culture. As Griselda Flores described in “Bad Bunny Pays Tribute to Puerto Rico at 2023 Grammys” (Billboard):

Bunny was accompanied by a total of eight plena (a genre from Puerto Rico) dancers, seven pleneros and eight cabezudos — giant characters — in tow. The cabezudos — all manufactured and handled by people from Puerto Rico — were an homage to Puerto Rican legends Tego Calderón, Roberto Clemente, Julia de Burgos, among others. “With a lot of love to all of you,” Bunny said at the beginning.

He then went on to perform his hit song “Después de la Playa” with live music powered by the band of Damian “El Apechao,” with 10 musicians all from the Dominican Republic. On stage, there were around 40 merengue dancers. Off the stage, stars such as Jack Harlow and Taylor Swift got up and danced along to merengue.

And now, back to Gretty García (Cosmopolitan):

It seems as though all eyes (mine) were on Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny tonight as he took the stage to perform “Después de la Playa” and “El Apagón” during the 65th annual Grammy Awards. TBH, I’m currently still processing my own range of emotions, so I’ll leave it up to the Twittersphere (and A-LIST CELEBS?!?!) to help convey their own [. . .]

Tonight, the 28-year-old artist snagged a total of three nominations. In addition to Album of the Year, his chart-topping song “Moscow Mule” is up for Best Pop Solo Performance, while “Un Verano Sin Ti” is also up for Best Música Urbana Album. If won, the first award, which can be described as nothing short of a Big Freakin’ Deal™️ already, is particularly meaningful as it would mark the first time in the six-plus-decade history of the Grammy Awards that it goes to a project recorded entirely in Spanish.

Awards aside, it’s impossible to disagree with the fact that Bad Bunny has had a truly iconic past few years. Back in 2021, he was the first artist who performs exclusively in Spanish to be booked as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and took the opportunity to sing alongside Rosalía. He also performed in front of a full-on audience during WrestleMania, had a recurring role on Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, legit just made a cameo in Bullet Train, and is set to co-headline Coachella with fellow global powerhouses Blackpink and Frank Ocean.

Literally, what can’t he do?!

For full articles, see https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a42745332/bad-bunny-grammys-2023-performance/ and https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/bad-bunny-el-apagon-despues-de-la-playa-2023-grammys-1235213031/

Also see https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/bad-bunny-2023-grammys-best-musica-urbana-album-1235213264/, https://remezcla.com/music/bad-bunny-un-verano-sin-ti-wins-best-musica-urbana-album-grammys-2023/, https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-bad-bunny-open-the-2023-grammys-with-despues-de-la-playa/, https://www.primerahora.com/entretenimiento/cultura-teatro/notas/agua-sol-y-sereno-hace-historia-al-ser-parte-de-la-fiesta-cultural-de-bad-bunny-en-los-grammy, https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/124091235.html, and https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/musica/notas/el-colectivo-agua-sol-y-sereno-le-puso-color-a-la-presentacion-de-bad-bunny/.  

[Photos: First—Bad Bunny, February 2023 by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy. Second: photo of los cabezudos by Chris Pizzello; see El Nuevo Día.]