Nashville Gets a Super Bowl. But Will Country Music Finally Get One?
It was made official on Tuesday (5-19). The 2030 Super Bowl is coming to Nashville, TN—a reward for the Tennessee Titans and Nashville constructing a new stadium in the city. And the implications on country music and how it interfaces with America’s biggest annual media event could be significant.
For decades now, a big story has been how the Super Bowl has ignored country music when it comes to its massive halftime performance, which has become just as big of a cultural event as the game itself.
It’s been 32 years since country music was featured on the Super Bowl Halftime. You have to go all the way back to 1994 when Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, and The Judds performed. Since the Super Bowl Halftime became a big deal in 1991 with New Kids on the Block taking the field, country music has really only been featured prominently once. Shania Twain appeared briefly with No Doubt in 2003, but that was over 20 years ago now.
When you consider country is one of America’s popular genres—and arguably the most popular genre currently—this feels like a travesty. The barrier currently standing between a country artist playing the Super Bowl halftime is the NFL’s partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation as their official “Live Music Entertainment Strategists.” This has put country music on the sidelines permanently like a 3rd string quarterback, and relegated it to pregame performances.
With the Super Bowl being announced for Nashville in 2030, lots of people are assuming this will finally be the opportunity for country music to get its Halftime Show. But folks shouldn’t be so quick to assume this is a lock for 2030, while for the NFL and country music, waiting until 2030 might be too late.
Ignoring country music and America’s rural demographic arguably bit the Super Bowl in the butt in 2026 with TPUSA launching its alternative halftime show featuring “country” artists Lee Brice, Gabby Barrett, Brantley Gilbert, and headliner Kid Rock, who some associate with country, and who concluded his portion of the show performing a Cody Johnson song.
Though popular music critics panned the halftime, ratings didn’t really seem to suffer for the proper Super Bowl performance with Bad Bunny, and the “alternative” halftime show featured B-level country talent at best, it did present a problem for the NFL, and for American culture, while it did draw a significant amount of eyeballs.
Though some continue to write off the importance of this stuff, we’re still feeling the cultural reverberations of the alternative halftime show as its become synonymous with country music, and what is perceived to be a right-wing cultural malaise the genre is suffering through.
The NFL shouldn’t wait until 2030 to feature country music during the Halftime Show. They should do it in 2027. If they were business smart and savvy at all, this is the way they could undercut any alternative programming. As TPUSA or whoever fields a bunch of B-level stars once again, the Super Bowl proper could feature Ella Langley with guest Morgan Wallen, or Chris Stapleton, or Luke Combs with appearances by Sierra Ferrell and Billy Strings.
Would that ruin the opportunity for the Super Bowl to feature country music in 2030 in Nashville? Of course not. They could do both. Since it’s been 32 years since country has been featured on the Halftime Show, it would make sense to feature it in 2027 when the genre is hot as ever and dominating the charts, and in 2030 when it’s held in Music City, with two years in-between to feature other genres.
But while some are taking it as a forgone conclusion that the 2030 Super Bowl with be country music-themed, this is far from certain. Super Bowl performers have rarely if ever been geographically specific. Perhaps the branding and logos, pregame and postgame festivities have leaned into representing whatever city the Super Bowl is held in. But the Halftime performance seems to be sequestered from these considerations.
If anything, given the NFL’s track record, there’s a good chance country music is not featured in 2030, especially of Jay-Z is still in charge. Or if country is featured in 2030, it could be some terrible virtual signaling version of country that would be even worse than booking someone not country at all.
Nothing can be taken for granted here. But what can’t be ignored is that as we speak, a country artist in the form of Ella Langley has the #1 song in all of music for a historic 10th straight week in “Choosin’ Texas.” There’s also a good chance it will be there well into the summer. Ella also has the #2 song in “Be Her,” and her album Dandelion is #2 all genre.
Country music ebbs and flows in popular culture. Who knows where it will be in 2030. Right now, it’s hotter than its ever been. This isn’t to say rule out country music for 2030 in lieu of 2027. It’s to say that country music should be considered for the Super Bowl Halftime Show every year if there is an eligible moment and artist.
Bad Bunny was celebrated in 2026 for putting his Puerto Rican culture of music and dance on display for the world during the Super Bowl Halftime. What better time to feature country music and two-stepping at the 50 yard line than this next year?
And yes, these things matter.
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May 19, 2026 @ 11:55 am
It is country music’s own fault. They made themselves partisan in the 2000’s and then made themselves shitty in the 2010’s. I love country music, but I when I think about what a current country halftime show would look like it is hard to get too excited. Elle Langley and Chris Stapleton are best case scenarios, meh. They aren’t going to bring out Sierra farrell and Billy Strings. Wouldn’t be surprised to see like a legends line-up of tim mcgraw, faith Hill, Kenny Chesney , or even Garth Brooks.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:56 pm
And hip-hop and rap: those are nonpartisan, you would say?
May 19, 2026 @ 1:19 pm
It is OK for those genres to be partisan.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:30 pm
Don’t be such a victim all the time.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:37 pm
Pointing out the truth isn’t victimhood.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:29 pm
What makes hip hop and rap partisan? Did they cancel one of their most famous groups because of political beliefs? Did every third hip hop song support (or not support) a foreign war? Popular hip hop didn’t really even talk about George floyd I don’t think. I don’t think popular hip hop has really been political since the 90s. I don’t listen to hip so I don’t really know.
May 19, 2026 @ 8:14 pm
It’s easy for folks to toss out claims like “hip hop is partisan too,” but when it comes to having to defend those claims…crickets.
We all love country music on here (I assume), but I think your point about how the country establishment brought this upon itself is a good one. There’s a prevailing sentiment on here that country music is a victim, but that mindset rests on ignoring the idea that actions have consequences. From the cancelling of the Dixie Chicks to the promotion of bro country to the rallying around Morgan Wallen after he was on camera using the N word, you can see clear examples of actions within mainstream country music that have had cultural consequences. On top of that, other music simply has more cultural cache domestically and globally, especially with the audiences the NFL targets. That’s just reality.
Does that mean the NFL shouldn’t have a country halftime act moving forward? Of course not. But the victimhood mentality is tired and wrong.
May 19, 2026 @ 8:36 pm
Pat C,
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m not trying to act like country music is a “victim” of anything. I wouldn’t use that word. Systemic bias? I think there’s no other way to explain how it could be avoided 32 straight years for the Halftime Show.
“the rallying around Morgan Wallen after he was on camera using the N word, you can see clear examples of actions within mainstream country music that have had cultural consequences.”
For the record, “country music” did not rally around Morgan Wallen in that moment. His songs were removed from radio, just like the Dixie Chicks. He was suspended from his label for about a year. He was disqualified from award shows. He was basically banned from the Grand Ole Opry. And all of these actions, along with the incessant obsession by the media over him that persists to this day, only helped him by turning Wallen into a folk hero type character. One of the big narratives coming out of the ACM Awards on Sunday was how Wallen was “snubbed” once again. He’s the biggest artist in country over the last five years, and has four total awards to show for it. Ella Langley won seven just on Sunday … yet continues to be discounted by the media because she can be associated with Morgan Wallen.
Country music is systemically dealt with as second class in American society. Is some of this warranted due to stuff like Morgan Wallen’s N-word, or the cancellation of the [Dixie] Chicks? Maybe, I guess. But the Chicks situation happened almost 25 years ago, and the Morgan Wallen situation was now over five years ago, and frankly, overblown. So that’s the reason Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, and Alan Jackson never headlined at Super Bowl Halftime, or Chris Stapleton couldn’t when he was blowing everyone away, or Zach Bryan coming out of the pandemic, or Ella Langley can’t now? Bullshit.
If the NFL doesn’t want this criticism, maybe once, just once, in the last 32 years, they should have booked a country act. Even just one of them. But they didn’t. Now Billboard, Whiskey Riff, and a bunch of other outlets are baking in 2030 will be country. There’s going to be a lot of disappointment if the NFL doesn’t follow through.
May 20, 2026 @ 8:47 am
Hey Trigger,
I wasn’t including you in that victimhood mentality comment but was instead replying to what I see from lots of folks on here. I know you didn’t use that word. I’ll admit I’m a bit tired of seeing you rehash this argument again and again, but only because I think you’ve made your point and made it well (even where I disagree with you). That said, it’s your damn job to trot it out over and over again, so I definitely don’t begrudge you doing that! You’re out here with your bullhorn advocating for country music, as you absolutely should be.
I’m not as convinced by the systemic bias claim as you are. I think you can make an equally good argument that in any given year, the act chosen made more sense (or at least as much sense) as any country act would have. Four of the top five highest rated Super Bowl halftime shows have come from the Jay-Z/Roc Nation era, so it’s not like they’re swinging and missing. The NFL has their criteria for an act, and they seem to be hitting the mark for what they want year after year. It’s entirely possible for these to be business decisions every year that don’t reflect a systemic bias against country music, but rather reflect that country music hasn’t fit the bill for what they’re looking for. We may not like that or agree with it as country fans, but it doesn’t necessarily make it biased. I’m not ruling bias out – it’s also entirely possible that does have something to do with this long running trend – I just don’t agree that it’s the only plausible explanation.
Point taken on how the industry responded to Morgan Wallen. Country music culture/fans, however, definitely rallied around him on social media and in the zeitgeist, and that seems to be where the public perception comes from (fairly or not), not the CMAs or the Opry. I disagree about it being overblown, but that’s a different conversation that’s not worth getting into here. In terms of the Dixie Chicks, I wasn’t trying to imply that their cancellation is still playing any role whatsoever, but rather that it may have had an impact for a few years at that point in time.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:14 pm
How is hip hop partisan? Did they push out their number one act over not supporting a war? There are more rappers who are outspoken republicans than hat acts who are liberal (I’m talking about the mainstream artists). Hip hop hasn’t been political since the 90s. Did any popular acts even have songs about George Floyd? I follow hip hop less than I follow mainstream country, so I guess I could be wrong, but I’m not sure of these hip hop/rap acts you speak of who are so political.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:56 pm
I broadly agree with this, with the slight tweak that I think the show will be whoever the mainstream country flavor of the month is in 2030 + some 90s “legend” + a pop/rap act for “balance,” and the music will be some sort of godawful medley.
May 23, 2026 @ 7:55 am
Chris doesn’t lip sync and I believe you have to rely on some prerecorded tracks for the half time show. Imagine Dragons turned down the opportunity for that reason one year.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:18 pm
You seem to forget one very, very, very important factor here, Trigger. And that is how the Halftime Show is the NFL’s main draw to sell the SuperBowl OVERSEAS. As such, its choice of performers has to be as universal as it can be. As huge as a lot of country artists may be in North America, only a very few have GLOBAL appeal.
And guess what? Morgan Wallen, as supernova as his numbers may be in the US and Canada, doesn’t do that well anywhere else. Yes, he did score a #1 album in the UK with «I’m the Problem». And he does have some traction in Oz and NZ. But you know what? Even “Last Night” wasn’t that big of chart success outside North America. His biggest song internationally? His Post Malone duet, which was, first and foremost, a Post Malone song with him as a featured artist. Furthermore, he practically doesn’t tour outside North America – unlike the aforementioned Post Malone.
So yes, you had that all-country show in 1994. But that was back when the SuperBowl was a strictly North American phenomenon. Once 2003 came in, it was already becoming more international in its scope, which is why Shania entered the picture – she’s one of the very few country artists who TRULY made it internationally. I mean, just think back to that 2000 appearance by Aerosmith and all those guests they had – Britney, *NSYNC, Nelly, Maru J. Blige and so on. You know, artists with international appeal, who either tour outside North America frequently or have some sort of consistent success in international markets. Which is why Kendrick Lamar’s and Bad Bunny’s performances make all perfect sense.
So yes, it will be hard for you to see country music represented in the Halftime Show. I mean, it could happen – Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is certainly starting to make waves outside North America. But, for now, that’s it – a fluke; just like Dasha’s “Austin”, which was also a sizeable international hit, but didn’t lead to anything sustainable outside North America after that.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:47 pm
I forget nothing. This international appeal was the point I made when analyzing the Bad Bunny pick. This is also why the folks who think a country music halftime in 2030 is baked in now are fooling themselves. I think we have just as good a chance of getting it in 2027 as we do 2030. Yes, The NFL is trying to appeal to an international audience. But if they hollow out their core demographic in the United States and let TPUSA run unchecked, they risk undermining themselves.
I also wouldn’t completely discount the appeal country music would have with an international audience. Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is currently #6 on the Billboard Global 200. And though people try to continue to define her be one hit, “Be Her” is also a massive hit, and would be a multiple-week #1 right now if it wasn’t for “Choosin’ Texas” standing in its way.
I understand the NFL’s calculus. That’s why I’m not taking anything for granted. I actually think it might be now or never for country music on the Halftime Show. In 2030, chances are country won’t be nearly as popular as it is now, nationally or globally.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:59 pm
There core demographic isn’t going anywhere. As far as letting TPUSA “run unchecked”, they are nothing to worry about as far as the NFL is concerned. This was the first year they held an alternative show, and it was just a few months after the killing of Charlie Kirk. Last years TPUSA was the biggest alternative halftime show they will ever have, and it wasn’t an ingrown hair on Jelly Roll’s ass. The one next year will have less cultural influence and somehow even less viewers.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:22 pm
Fun fact, puppy bowl got better ratings than tpusa. Puppies and kittens will always be cute, but Kid Rock is less appealing every year.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:52 pm
I’d imagine the celebrity death matches that MTV used to do did much better as well. I think there will always be a niche market for an alternative halftime show, but it won’t be politically based, and it will always be niche. One reason a political halftime show won’t do well is because no sane person thinks the current halftime sure is partisan. Normal people don’t watch it and think “liberals have taken over the NFL”. My mom, who thought the liberals were trying to cancel Paw Patrol doesn’t look at whoever the current act is and think “this needs to be more conservative”.
May 19, 2026 @ 8:27 pm
The Puppy Bowl people should get some real SCM regulars to advise them. Who will explode a year or two from now the way Ella did this year? I’m sure we all have our favorites who have “one song” about to hit critical mass.
Book them for the ’28 and ’29 Puppy Bowl now.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:23 pm
Trigger,
The NFL is completely safe. Kaep’s kneeling ran counter to its core base’s patriotism and the NFL wasn’t harmed at all.
People want NFL football and there is no substitute for it. A boycott only works if a group has enough stamina or there is a decent enough substitute. There were plenty of light beer to replace Bud Light. The NFL has no competition.
The NFL regularly pushes DEI agendas and knows its core base is too addicted to quit watching.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:22 pm
Even Bud Light wasn’t that harmed, at the end of the day. They’re still in business.
May 19, 2026 @ 5:15 pm
Sure. I never expected any boycott to kill Bud Light (never drank the stuff in my life) – beer is the swill of the serfs.
Point was, there were options to replace Bud Light. The NFL has zero competition.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:12 pm
You are really overestimating the sticking power of TPUSA in the “mainstream zeitgeist” moving forward that would allow them to continue to pick folks off the main halftime show.
That organization was Charlie Kirk and with him murdered, I just don’t see them maintaining that mainstream audience. Erika Kirk lacks the charisma that Charlie had and they have nobody on their roster capable of filling that role.
Will they still exist? Yes. But I don’t see them maintaining enough cultural relevance to make the alternative half-time show be bigger than it was this year.
And the NFL’s “big risk” has nothing to do with the Superbowl Half-Time show. Their big risk is that consumers get burnt out on chasing streaming services to watch games and/or the growing economic gulf in this country puts middle class folks out of being able to attend games.
Who performs the forgettable half-time show ain’t even on the top 10 list of threats to the sports dominance.
May 19, 2026 @ 5:16 pm
TPUSA is done without Charlie, which is why he was murdered.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:20 pm
«Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is currently #6 on the Billboard Global 200.»
The Global 200 which counts the US. On the Global 200 which excludes the US (and which, by all accounts, is the truer measure of global appeal; I mean, let’s face it, the American market alone accounts for nearly half of the equation, so it’s not even a fair fight), it sits at #62. “Be Her” doesn’t even appear on that chart. So yes, in international terms, Ella Langley is still a fluke. Even in American terms, her career, at this point, is one big question mark. She can go the way of Shania, Taylor or Faith. She could even go the way of Reba or Carrie. And there’s also a third rail: going the way of Gretchen Wilson. All bets are off right now.
May 19, 2026 @ 3:44 pm
So we’re just supposed to completely eliminate the interest of American consumers in this American sport when choosing the Halftime performer, and solely focus on the interests of the global market who is speculative at best of the NFL, and especially this year, anything involving the United States specifically?
This came up with Bad Bunny. A lot of the NFL’s global outreach has been a fool’s errand and has not born fruit. One of the reasons they’re now focusing more on Latin markets is because their outreach to Europe has been a borderline boondoggle.
I understand they’re trying to appeal to a global audience. I made this very point when discussing Bad Bunny. But nobody will ever be able to explain to me how one of the most popular American genres has not been represented on the Super Bowl Halftime in 32 year without purposely excluding it in a systemically bigoted manner. By complete happenstance, they should have had a country performer at one point in the last 32 years, and didn’t.
I’m not saying book Ella Langley on the Super Bowl Halftime. I agree it might be too early for her. But I’m tired of hearing “Country isn’t popular enough” when Ella Langley has a 10-week all-genre #1, with a #2 on its heels. Country music is popular enough to be represented at the Super Bowl, full stop.
May 19, 2026 @ 5:20 pm
Trigger,
I agree with your position but no one but you and a couple of niche country sites are going to fight for the genre. It is considered OK to mainstream thought to marginalize country music. That kind of bigotry is encouraged. Country music is an acceptable target.
The NFL doesn’t care. The country music loving portion of its fan base watches no matter what insult the NFL levies. Every year, fans complain about the game growing softer, the growing number of platforms, and ratings continue to rise. Maybe the significant number of its players who enjoy country music could fight for the genre but they aren’t risking their paychecks.
May 19, 2026 @ 7:58 pm
“That kind of bigotry is encouraged.”
CountryKnight,
I don’t think you understand what “bigotry” means. Right or wrong, marginalizing country music wouldn’t be bigotry. Bigotry relies on judgement/bias based on immutable characteristics. If the NFL chooses not to have a country halftime show, that’s a free market decision, not bigotry. You can disagree with their choice, but that doesn’t make you the victim of bigotry.
May 20, 2026 @ 5:11 am
Let’s get this out of the way, once and for all.
NFL’s expansion doesn’t have much to do with the sport itself – we’re not talking basketball here, which IS a global sport, with professional leagues all over the world and globally watched competitions on both the local, continental and national teams dimensions. Gridiron (as they call it in the UK), as a sport, is niche outside North America. Rugby (which is similar in many ways) has a bigger penetration all-around, including Oz and NZ, where Aussie rules football is the main event when it comes to sports.
What the NFL truly banks on when it comes to bringing in the money internationally is the SuperBowl, period. Not so much for the game itself, but for the halftime spectacle. That’s the main draw – even in North America. It’s no secret at this point. The choice of performers have been reflecting this since the 2000’s, at least. And it’s only grown even more explicit ever since they put Jay-Z in charge of the event. The results speak for themselves: the SuperBowl has been raking in the dough in a way it hadn’t before.
I’d say you, like a lot of Americans, seriously underestimate the power of overseas markets and how much they can function as a sort of cushion, in case things don’t go that smoothly indoors. Hollywood has been knowing this since the 2000’s, at least. The NBA doesn’t have anything compared to the SuperBowl, but nor does it need to, as the sport itself is global, like I said earlier. The NFL is now following that lead – and the financial results speak for themselves.
Besides, let’s face it: country music HAS cultural limitations. Not everything translates well outside borders. Sure, there might be that exotic appeal, here and there. But country music’s subculture is something that’s very specific to North America and North American culture. History serves as proof. For every Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Shania Twain or Faith Hill, you have any dozens of Garth Brooks, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, George Strait or even Carrie Underwood, whose appeal outside the borders has always been very limited. In Garth’s case, it wasn’t for lack of trying – he did do some appearances in Europe by 1994/95; they just didn’t work, period. And all those names I mentioned earlier which DID have international success? They did it by sanding off those country edges, essentially turning AC pop. It is what it is.
One final note. Pretty much every country in the world has its own country music equivalents. You don’t need to do a hell of a lot of research to know it. You know, the kind of traditionalist, rural music, which espouses traditional values while taking on modern production and imaging. Being so, it’s not like there’s a big need to import country music. It’s not like hip-hop, whose universal appeal lies in the fact that there’s always some kind of oppression and injustice going on anywhere, whether felt by minorities or not. And even if the music itself doesn’t address that oppression directly, there’s a shit-kicking quality to it which functions as subtext, which is why it pretty much replaced rock music at some point as the “rebel” music of choice for the youth.
May 20, 2026 @ 3:31 pm
You were for bad bunny so you tell me, bro. It wasn’t me who wrote glowing reviews of the event and oddly bad bunny’s music. Not sure how a pop singer who speaks in Spanish upholds the dictum of saving unheralded country music but you do you, boo. I said it was deeply Anti American and unamerican for bad bunny to be platformed and to perform. You championed it and his music and said it was positive. I didn’t. Bad bunny doesn’t represent country values, doesn’t represent my values and he sure as hell doesn’t represent American values at large. He’s a grifter. Which was why it was so bizarre to see him platformed and given a glowing review by you. And then you whined when those of us like myself who, shocker time, felt so alienated by someone who’s anti trump, anti American and vowed to not speak any English at all, that we felt an alternative to that was Warranted you criticized that. The only pro America and country event was tpusas. If the nfl wishes for my patronage maybe provide a service worth watching. I watched country music so I got what I wanted. Not sure how bad bunny satisfied the ethos of SCM.
May 20, 2026 @ 4:10 pm
Megs Man,
We had these same arguments at the time. Just because I advocate for country music doesn’t mean I want other genres to fail, or for country to dominate other genres. I want to show respect to other genres, and my beef was never with Bad Bunny specifically. It was with the NFL generally not booking country acts for 32 years. Let Bad Bunny have his day. Now, let country. I’m not asking for country to be featured every year. I’m asking for country to maybe get featured once in 32 years.
May 20, 2026 @ 5:06 pm
You seem to imply that Bad Bunny was ONLY chosen for the int’l market, disregarding the fact that he is also massively popular in the US and not just among Spanish speaking people. They aren’t ignoring American tastes, they are just choosing acts that have appeal domestically AND globally. This is smart business. Contemporary country seems to be almost exclusively inward looking (and I don’t mean politically) and that is the real reason why it isn’t a good choice for the halftime show.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:00 pm
We’re so deep into the weeds here. You say that Bad Bunny has international appeal,. you get criticized for downplaying his domestic fans. You say he has domestic fans, you get criticized for not emphasizing his international scope. Because after all, that’s what the NFL is trying to appeal to. These very things have happened in this comments section, and now multiple times.
I completely understand Bad Bunny’s popularity both domestically and internationally. I completely understand why the NFL picked him. As I have said exhaustively, this is not about Bad Bunny. I don’t have a problem with the Bad Bunny pick specifically.I did a whole deep dive into Bad Bunny:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/i-actually-listened-to-the-new-bad-bunny-album-this-is-what-i-heard/
My issue is it’s BEEN 32 YEARS since a country artist played. And frankly, it blows my mind that people who read a website that was set up to advocate for country music find ways to twist reality into how that’s completely 100% justifiable, and in fact, the NFL should NEVER book a country artist, and we should be actively lobbying that they don’t.
What are we doing here? What website is this? What reality am I living in?
May 20, 2026 @ 7:22 pm
We want that too. Im not sure how you could read my comments here or elsewhere and go “gee this guy wants country music to be sidelined and ignored”. I think you are misreading your website here, literally not one poster has said let’s not honor country music.
The disconnect though is you seem to be selective about it. Zach Bryan is a woke weirdo but I’d have no issue with him doing the Super Bowl. Brad paisley became infected with the woke mind virus but I’d love to see him play.
You seem more selective. You weren’t advocating for jayz to select Morgan in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026. Yet he is our genre. He’s literally our figurehead. I’d have loved to see him play it.
You spent early this year touting the Credentials of an anti American moron who decided to use his halftime show as a dei class. I’d of loved it to instead be a country musician singing. You spilled multiple articles worth of ink about how not only did bad bunny’s selection make sense you did something completely bizarre you reviewed his album which again, doesn’t have a lick of country on it . Then you glowingly raved about his performance after.
I wanted to see country. You were happy bad bunny spread his anti American lies. So instead I spent my time watching the only halftime show that featured pro America and English and country music. And you wrote an article lamenting how this would set us all back ; the media will think we are all racists! It’s like, dawg, get a damn grip. I just wanted to see country music.
Instead of promoting artists who wear dresses and hate ice, why not use your platform to demand the nfl actually host a country artist? Isn’t that what SCM is set up to do? Instead you write about how you are glad bad bunny performed? It’s like, huh? Why are you glad the nfl chose a polarizing piece of human garbage like bad bunny? Bad bunny is filthy. He’s absolute filth.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:41 pm
I did not review the Bad Bunny album. As I said in the article, “Am I in any way qualified to “review” the album as a country music critic? Absolutely not, and that is not what this is.”
I featured it to broach a bigger conversation. It’s done. Get over it and move on. Here I am advocating from country music to be featured at the Super Bowl.
May 20, 2026 @ 4:04 pm
If on the off-chance the NFL decides to do something country-centric for the halftime show of very next Super Bowl (#61), it wouldn’t hurt to have Ella headline it, since the game will be held here in Los Angeles, more specifically Sofi Stadium in nearby Inglewood. Ella’s style seems to be significantly influenced by the L.A. country-rock scene of the 1970’s, especially Linda Ronstadt’s pioneering albums; and “Choosin’ Texas” is all over the radio here, so…
May 20, 2026 @ 5:07 pm
I could see them doing something with Stevie Nicks who is bigger than ever now. Maybe one solo song, one song with Mick & Lindsey (they are talking again allegedly), and a duet with Ella Langley.
May 23, 2026 @ 8:01 am
I’m not sure Chris knows how to lip sync and I believe you have to rely on some prerecorded tracks for the half time show. Imagine Dragons turned down the opportunity for that reason one year.
May 24, 2026 @ 12:56 pm
Also, the fact that, even before “Choosin’ Texas,” Ella already had already hit pretty big with “You Look Like You Love Me” makes me think that she might end up having staying power, rather than just being a one- or two-hit wonder.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:19 pm
the Super Bowl is a global event that seeks a global audience, country does not have that artist with over 35 million monthly listeners on Spotify. A SB headliner usually has over 80 million..it’s simply a numbers game.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:57 pm
But see, this is the problem ,and it’s the one that dogs independent and up-and-coming artists systemically. It’s a cart before the horse scenario. To get that global reach, you need opportunities on a global stage. If you recuse country artists from those global opportunities systemically like they’ve been from the Super Bowl for 32 years, they’ll never attain that reach. This isn’t just about the Super Bowl. It’s about the idea that everybody hates country music except rednecks, and so it continuously loses out on these opportunities. Ella Langley is proving in real time that country music can and does have a global reach.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:06 pm
Respectfully, when has the NFL recently put out an artist for the scenario you are presenting (increasing their global reach).
Kendrick Lamar already had a global reach. Same for Bad Bunny (hell, his global audience was bigger than his North American one in many ways). Same for Rihanna.
The issue in my mind is more that Nashville had been hot garbage at being able to find, nurture, and develop artists who are capable of having a “global reach” to get them on Jay Z/the NFL’s radar. Maybe Langley changes that, but that seems like a pretty aggressive bet on someone still relatively “green” in terms of their career and potential lasting power.
Fact is that mainstream Nashville has been content to keep cycling relatively generic artists who double down on milking the existing country music fanbase and are unable to expand it. And when they DO try that, it is hacks like Jelly Roll who anyone who isn’t white and from the South is like “yeesh, God no!” when they hear him talk.
May 19, 2026 @ 3:50 pm
The reason country artist are not on Jay Z’s radar has nothing to do with Nashville not “developing” them sufficiently. Let’s not forget that Taylor Swift started in country music, and Morgan Wallen has been dominating American music for going on five years. If Jay Z is not paying attention to that, that’s Jay Z showing his bias, not Nashville being incapable of developing talent.
Zach Bryan, Garth Brooks, and George Strait own all the biggest attendance records in the United States. The idea that there’s no talent in country music worthy of the Super Bowl is ludicrous. And it’s wild that I have to make these arguments with fellow country fans.
You couldn’t have one country artist perform the Halftime show in 32 years? Not one? There was not one artist that at one point was not popular enough to feature on the Super Bowl? That’s a little hard to believe.
May 19, 2026 @ 6:17 pm
I think it is idiotic that Brooks and Strait didn’t have a chance at a half-time show either. But neither is gonna get that gig this year, next year, or the year after. Brooks and Strait’s fanbases are all at or near AARP membership age. NFL ain’t targeting that group since they already have them captured as an audience.
Bryan I could see and have vouched for as good choice.
And Wallen is not a cap in the feather for Nashville. He is obviously hyper successful, but by his own actions is virtually radioactive when it comes to doing stuff like the Super Bowl or other big events.
You think the NFL wants to deal with the the world media (literally) bringing it up to players at Media Row how the half-time artist has thrown around the “N” word on camera?
There are a lot of reasons to hate on the NFL in 2026. Them not putting a Country artist in a half-time slot is pretty far down the list for me in terms of sins of that league.
May 20, 2026 @ 9:34 pm
This feels totally ignorant to me.
May 20, 2026 @ 9:52 pm
If only there was some platform that reaches media outlets, that country artists and execs read. Some outlet that had some pull! If only we had this! If only there was some platform where we could vent our anger that the nfl bypasses us each year! Because I know if such an outlet did exist it would be banging the drum each and every year “hey nfl, hey jayz book some country!”. Because I know as a country website such an outlet would advocate for Country music exclusively. Maybe we could christen it “protecting country music”! But I know one thing I wouldn’t do, if I was running that site, would be to be silent on this stuff year after year and then cry like a teen girl about it out of the blue. I also wouldn’t use my platform especially if my platform was explicitly and exclusively country music coverage to then praise the nfl when they chose other genres. That’s just seems mentally ill behavior. Do you think for example the lobby that wants jayz to pick rap each year do you Think that lobby goes “we’d love for you to pick Kendrick but if you don’t why don’t you pick Parker McCollum and the foo fighters”! No, the purpose of such a lobby would be to be single minded. A lobby or advocate that actively promotes against their own interests is asinine and moronic. Any country outlet that actively lobbies the nfl to choose a non country artist honestly should be investigated by the fbi for fraud and false advertisement. And they honestly should bs audited.
May 20, 2026 @ 10:09 pm
You’re crashing out again Megs Man.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:24 pm
The super bowl is also American and needs to feature American artists who speak English.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:49 pm
You know the powers will trot out Garth Pukes for the halftime show, and of course he will be crying his tears of appreciation.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:58 pm
They would only do that if they partner him with a relevant artist of today.
Garth still has his massive fanbase, but I don’t think people appreciate that those folks all have gray hairs and are or are close to an AARP membership.
The NFL ain’t making that guy the headliner if that is his audience. They already have gray haired folks in middle America; these recent halftime performers have all been aimed at growing the game with emerging demographics (at home and abroad), but white folks in rural America still using a CD player.
May 19, 2026 @ 12:54 pm
It’s all done on purpose to suppress and subvert healthy American culture. Started a long time ago, and kicked into high gear in the last 30 years.
And now, here we are.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:00 pm
My dog is going nuts for some reason. Can’t imagine why.
May 21, 2026 @ 9:01 am
that was well played
May 19, 2026 @ 1:01 pm
Who is doing it? Why are they trying to subvert American culture? What else are they doing?
May 19, 2026 @ 1:20 pm
Western civilization, the greatest example of humanity, doesn’t lend itself to the current globalist playbook.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:32 pm
was this a hiaku?
May 19, 2026 @ 1:36 pm
Haiku*
And no, it lacked a reference to nature.
May 19, 2026 @ 2:24 pm
You have a vivid imagination.
May 19, 2026 @ 7:49 pm
Don’t try to explain stuff to us, we serfs just want to drink our swill beer.
May 19, 2026 @ 4:43 pm
Exactly, Chris.
May 19, 2026 @ 1:46 pm
What’s funny is I didn’t even think of a country music. halftime show when Nashville was announced as a future site. That’s how little I think of Nashville in relation to today’s country music.
And this is from a kid who grew up an hour north of Nashville in the early 90’s (Hopkinsville, KY).
May 19, 2026 @ 3:22 pm
Not counting on seeing country represented in the Super Bowl. Not the least bit.
May 19, 2026 @ 5:12 pm
Before the local sports book, that cost $9 million to build at Wrigley Field two years ago, closes in 12 days, I’m gonna put a C-note down on the next country music half time show at the Super Bowl, whether in 2030, or in any other year, will be Garth Brooks doing Ain’t Goin’ Down Til the Sun Comes Up, If Tomorrow Never Comes, and Friends in Low Places. 🙂
May 19, 2026 @ 11:17 pm
I don’t think country music will make the Superbowl without a global superstar and they haven’t had one lately. Sure there are corporate country artists who can sell a lot of product and fill stadiums but none of them are household names, especially outside the US. Nashville has not produced a Garth, Shania or Taylor over the last decade or so because the industry prefers to push singers who will conform to their expectations, record songs from their approved list of songwriters and generally not rock the boat. The Superbowl halftime show needs a global superstar who can put on a show with appeal for audiences worldwide but I don’t think Nashville has one, probably because they don’t really want one. A dozen obedient clones are easier to manage.
May 20, 2026 @ 6:58 am
I guess I just don’t understand why it’s a necessity that we must pander to the global market with a game that the NFL has tried to shove down the throats of the rest of the world for years unsuccessfully. To me, saying someone has to be a global artist to play the Super Bowl is like me saying an artist must be popular for me to feature them because that’s the only way people will read. Everyone who is going to watch the Super Bowl and the Halftime is going to watch regardless of the teams who will play, or the artist who will perform. Use that opportunity to highlight the best in American culture.
And yes, country music has produced a superstar lately. Her name is Ella Langley. She has beaten all kinds of records set by Garth, Shania, and Taylor Swift. None of those artist had a song nearly as big as “Choosin’ Texas,” and “Be Her” is right behind it.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:23 am
Because reaching a global audience is what the NFL is aiming for. They want to expand their brand into new markets.
May 20, 2026 @ 8:42 am
All these people asserting that the NFL needs to pander to other countries to appeal to them are completely misunderstanding America’s soft power, and why it was the cultural hegemony of the world for decades. America did not become the cultural epicenter of the globe by trying to adopt everyone else’s culture as it’s own. It did so by being distinctly American. The Chinese love basketball because it’s American. France loves McDonalds because its American. People wear blue jeans the world over because it’s American style.
Granted, all of this is change as the American empire crumbles, we become increasingly unpopular, and as opposed to asserting our culture, we obsequiously pander to others (ie Bad Bunny). But to me, if the NFL wants to appeal internationally, it need to do so by being American. Eurpoe and South America already have their own culture. Corporate America is not going to do it any better.
May 20, 2026 @ 9:32 am
Trigger,
Can you explain to me how having an American superstar in Bad Bunny was pandering to others internationally? He’s American. His American culture may look different from rural white American culture, but let’s not get confused about the fact that Bad Bunny is American.
I trust you didn’t mean it this way, but you get into dangerous territory when you start implying he’s not American.
May 20, 2026 @ 10:27 am
For six months and in this very comments section, all I’ve been hearing about is how Bad Bunny was booked to appeal to South and Central America, and Hispanic-speaking populations because the NFL is trying to expand internationally—something I reported on ad nauseum leading up to this years Super Bowl, as if I don’t understand this. Now I’m supposed to identify Bad Bunny as distinctly American and synonymous with red-blooded American culture.
I understand that Puerto Rico is part of America. I did and entire deep dive into Bad Bunny and his music ahead of the Super Bowl trying to dispel misconceptions. But you can’t have it both ways.
Again, all I’m saying is that the NFL should have had a country artist perform over the last 32 years by accident, let alone to make sure a popular American genre was represented during America’s game.
May 20, 2026 @ 5:15 pm
This country doesn’t have credibility in most of the world to exercise “soft power” anymore.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:11 pm
That’s my entire point. So why are we trying to push our brutish American football on Western Europeans and South Americans at a time when their economies are in the shitter from our foreign policy?
May 20, 2026 @ 6:14 pm
Hey Trigger,
I’m trying to tread carefully with how I write this, because I understand what you’ve said previously when you’ve written so thoroughly and well on this topic. I don’t want this to come across as an attack on you; it’s not. I’m also not responding on behalf of or in reply to what others have said in previous comments. I’m trying to narrowly address what you’ve written here.
When you say the NFL should “use the opportunity to highlight the best in American culture,” and simultaneously that they’re “pandering to an international audience” when they offer up the biggest American music star of the moment, I think it’s you who’s trying to have it both ways, not me. Bad Bunny may not represent “red-blooded American culture,” but he absolutely represents an aspect of American culture. Whether you or I or anyone else here likes or dislikes what he was showcasing, that doesn’t change the fact that it was American. It’s a part of our culture that the NFL clearly felt has broader international appeal than others, but that doesn’t make it any less American.
Of course I’d also love to see the NFL highlight country music and the best of what it represents to a global audience. But I just don’t understand how you can say that Bad Bunny’s performance was anything other than a highlighting of American culture too.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:14 pm
The problem here is that I’ve never been against Bad Bunny, and my argument never had anything to do with Bad Bunny, and it doesn’t now. Band Bunny’s simply in the picture because he was the last performer. Once again, my issue is 32 STRAIGHT YEARS with no country performer. I could give a flip about Bad Bunny. It’s a distraction from the underlying issue.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:43 pm
Hey Trigger,
I completely understand, and that’s why I tried to narrowly address only what you’d said in the comments here. For what it’s worth, I think you’ve typically done a really admirable job pushing for country music without taking shots at other musicians or music. I was responding to your specific comments above, which I think were flawed in the ways I pointed out, but I appreciate your efforts to be fair to and supportive of musicians of all genres while loudly and proudly advocating for country musicians.
May 20, 2026 @ 8:17 pm
Yes but I personally made that statement literally 6 months ago on here and was lambasted by the owner of the site, “my god we have to allow other genres to get their shine, let’s give bad bunny a fair shake!” So I personally was on here saying we’ve had a Mega superstar in Morgan begin releasing the most successful albums of the last 30 years in our genre and I was here saying “it’s been TWENTY EIGHT, TWENTY NINE, THIRTYONE, THIRTYTWO years since a country artist played the Super Bowl. And we now have a global superstar in Morgan who is selling out stadiums, yet no one here and certainly not the owner of the site were saying anything about it. I feel like that’s some bizarre behavior. Not once would someone advocate for our figurehead and face of our genre, someone who would get millions to watch it, never was being advocated for here. Yet I was. I wasn’t just whining about it today. I was calling for it while bad bunny was being lauded and applauded. I also was calling for it when jayz chose Rihanna! Or when he chose Kendrick! Or when he chose usher! I wanted Morgan there. Absolute silence from people. Either be about it and really live it, or don’t. I’d rather live it and be about it, than be a poseur.
May 20, 2026 @ 4:59 am
I do actually think that Nashvilles Super Bowl will have a country music themed Half Time show, I continue to agree with those that say country music just isnt big enough to demand a half time slot. Sorry, there are many many metrics that show how much more dominant hip hop and pop music are, to the point that even rock has been somewhat sidelined. Even Ella Langley getting hot is a pebble drop in an ocean.
As far as *who* it would be? Im not a betting man but if I were in Kalshi and Polymarket, id skip past all the bets specifically made by Trump admin officials with inside knowledgeable used to enrich themselves and Id put my money on Chris Stapleton. The great middle road, respected and adored by all with enough hits if you add in enough guest stars to join him.
May 20, 2026 @ 5:17 am
Jay-Z will absolutely trot out a country act for the halftime show…the Beyonce country album isn’t at old.
May 20, 2026 @ 7:01 am
By 2023, Beyonce’s rock reclamation album will be out. It might even be out later this year. She will have moved on from her “country” era by that point. But don’t hold it past Jay-Z from booking her at the Super Bowl.
May 20, 2026 @ 6:21 am
…put the titans in it on top of everthing and “maxing” reaches a whole new level.
May 20, 2026 @ 6:44 am
I think the NFL and Roc Nation have painted themselves into an increasingly unpopular corner with this. They really don’t have much of a choice anymore, and need to be more inclusive with the halftime show, by showcasing country music again – and not the fake, Beyoncé kind either. Turning Point absolutely proved they could make a real dent in the halftime ratings, and that’s only going to attract bigger headliners going forward. What’s to to stop a rival network from producing their own counterprogramming with a country concert? (ABC, especially, has a strong relationship with the CMA, so…go for it). There are any number of country artists who could pull in viewers for the Super Bowl…Wallen, Langley, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, George Strait…or all of them together. Goodell and Jay-Z need to pull their heads out of their 2020 clouds and realize America has reset. We’ve moved on, their propaganda has worn thin, and we’re Choosin’ Texas…and Nashville. 🇺🇸🇨🇱
May 20, 2026 @ 5:17 pm
How did they make a dent in the halftime ratings when the Bad Bunny show was the most watched of all time? You can’t just make up your own reality and present it as fact.
PS – Joe Biden won the 2020 election and I say that as someone who thinks his presidency will be in the bottom 10 of all time.
May 20, 2026 @ 8:00 am
As much as it won’t fit the definition of SCM, Post Malone with a host of cameos checks the box. A 2 second camera pan on Chandler Walters on pedal-steel would at least bring a familiar sound into my living room.
May 20, 2026 @ 8:24 am
Though of course there are “country” artists I would rather see booked for the Halftime Show over others, in this role of advocating for country to be booked for the Super Bowl halftime at all, I take no bias. Sure, I think it would be better if Chris Stapleton performed, or maybe Luke Combs since I think he would include some cool collaborators. But if they booked Post Malone for a “country” show, I would be all for it. He might bring out Billy Strings. He probably would be pretty country. And while so many folks in this comments section are saying a country artist doesn’t have the star power or international appeal to pull it off, Post Malone does.
Let’s do it. I remain stupefied why so many in the country music community continue to give excuses to the NFL to continue to ignore country as opposed to giving reasons it should be represented.
May 20, 2026 @ 9:04 am
I think it’s less “ignoring” and more just a baseline disagreement that the NFL has any obligation to “country music.” Or, to put it conversely, that “country music” has any sort of claim on or right to a halftime show slot. I likewise don’t demand that my local dive bar, whose owner doesn’t like country, book country acts as live music. The scale is different, sure, but I don’t see a conceptual difference.
I put “country music” in quotes here just because it’s not entirely clear to me exactly who we’re talking about being involved. Also, full disclosure, I haven’t watched a Super Bowl, much less a halftime show, in a couple of decades.
May 20, 2026 @ 10:34 am
Nobody is saying country music has a “claim” on the Super Bowl halftime. Clearly, it doesn’t. That is why it hasn’t been featured in 32 years. But guess what, that rock-oriented dive bar that caters to a rock crowd, I bet one out of 32 acts they book is country. The Ryman Auditorium is the Mother Church of Country Music, and regularly books rock, R&B, hip-hop, pop, and comedy acts. Nobody is demanding country music dominate the NFL. But maybe, just maybe, once in the next 35 years, it can be featured once. Apparently, that’s a wild request from a website tasked to advocate for country music.
And I’m not even being picky with who would be involved. Screw it, book Morgan Wallen or Post Malone. At least that would signal the NFL is paying attention.
May 20, 2026 @ 12:30 pm
I’m guessing it’s not Bob’s Country Bunker.
May 20, 2026 @ 1:31 pm
We play both kinds of music, Country and Western
May 20, 2026 @ 3:20 pm
It should be won’t unless jayz is forced out of his position. He pushes explicitly for dei race based affirmative action music. Every single one of his licks have been black or bipoc. He wants race based sjw music forced down our throats. And this year he wanted the most televised event in America to be led by a Puerto Rican who vowed to not speak a lick of English the entire halftime show. That’s not a serious person who wants to showcase the best of America or bring in all viewers. It’s someone shoehorning in commie and leftist ideology.
Morgan should have headlined in 2022-2026, any of those years. Zach Bryan also had a case for headlining. Luke combs certainly. And now Ella. We have stars, we have superstars. We aren’t lacking in talent or star power. But the nfl and jayz want to strip what makes football and the super bowl important: it’s explicitly small town America grown. It’s the subject of literally scores of songs, features prominently in country music imagery and in music videos. Football is one of the most American aspects of our nation.
As a result of the deeply anti American and unamerican views of jayz though the only place you will find explicitly American, pro America, pro ice, pro trump, pro god, pro the flag, sentiment will be at the tpusa 2nd annual halftime show. The first one this year, was a huge success, didn’t outperform the super bowl but it drew 30 plus million, and also did something special: as the super bowl halftime show was 15 minutes and tpusa was closer to 45 minutes, it actually drew eyeballs from the main nfk event to tpusas event which is unheard of in terms of super bowl is concerned. You may be able to draw viewers away from some low rated show, but the super bowl? It’s nuts.
I will be watching the tpusa event just like i did this year. I want to know what I’m watching supports the president, supports ice, views the flag as sacred, and thinks America is exceptional. You don’t get that with jayz and the nfl show. Tpusa will bring in country artists as well. Jayz will never do that.
Tpusa is where the country music is in terms of halftime goes. And that’s what I’ll be watching. I support tpusa all the way
May 20, 2026 @ 5:01 pm
Thanks for spelling god in lower case. You got that right, at least.
May 20, 2026 @ 3:36 pm
I havent watched a superbowl halftime in a long while. I dont always watch the game, football almost as bad as the nba is anymore. I probably would if they teamed up george and alan bringing along billy strings and maybe zach top. I might even stomach langley if she was included. But that isnt happening.
May 20, 2026 @ 9:40 pm
I guess my confusion is why now? Shouldn’t SCM and any and all country music outlets be writing articles every single year demanding the nfl platform country music? Why the silence before? 2023 country music was legit the biggest genre in the world. Top 3 songs for the first time were all country. Yet not one article demanding nfl choose a country artist than year. Why? Why was Rihanna acceptable and ok to country media? It wasn’t acceptable to me I can tell you that right now. When Kendrick was chosen, country was still major news and a big deal. Yet not a single word about how jayz should pick a country artist.
Seems a little sus to me! Reads as evil, mendacious and completely degrading to our genre frankly.
May 20, 2026 @ 10:08 pm
2026:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/nashville-gets-a-super-bowl-but-will-country-music-finally-get-one/
2025:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/country-music-continues-to-set-records-and-be-ignored-by-super-bowl/
2024:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/country-musics-never-been-bigger-it-still-cant-get-a-super-bowl-halftime/
2023:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/this-should-be-the-year-for-a-country-super-bowl-halfime-show/
I’ve been writing ad nauseum about this issue for years, often in multiple articles each year, including this year. So you’re assertion is categorically false.
May 21, 2026 @ 12:24 pm
It’s okay. I ignore the NFL to.
May 22, 2026 @ 10:52 am
I’m not crazy about the idea but I can easily see them pushing Post Malone in this half time show
May 22, 2026 @ 11:26 am
The thing about a Post Malone Super Bowl is he’ll bring out the country collaborators. You could very well see Sierra Ferrell and Billy Strings on stage with him.
May 22, 2026 @ 1:34 pm
That would be absolutely insane to see them on a SB Halftime show