{"id":211920,"date":"2026-02-09T17:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T22:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/?p=211920"},"modified":"2026-02-11T08:38:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:38:32","slug":"bad-bunny-dominates-buzz-metrics-with-892-8-more-mentions-and-3x-the-search-interest-vs-kid-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/2026\/02\/09\/bad-bunny-dominates-buzz-metrics-with-892-8-more-mentions-and-3x-the-search-interest-vs-kid-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Bunny Dominates Buzz Metrics With 892.8% More Mentions and 3\u00d7 the Search Interest vs. Kid Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">A study by 糖心vlog faculty from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/stratcomm\/\">Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication<\/a> in the College of Communication and Media analyzed social media reactions to the NFL\u2019s 2026 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nJszMT9wZtQ&amp;list=RDnJszMT9wZtQ&amp;start_radio=1\">Turning Point USA\u2019s \u201cAll-American Halftime Show\u201d<\/a> featuring Kid Rock. The findings indicate significantly higher online interest in Bad Bunny\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/02\/Halftime-Show-Study-Graphic-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"811\" height=\"443\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>Highlights from the study include:<\/b><b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">892.8% more posts on X about Bad Bunny\u2019s halftime show performance<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">963.6% more posts about Bad Bunny throughout Super Bowl Sunday<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Three times the search interest for \u201cBad Bunny\u201d compared with \u201cKid Rock\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Thematic analysis showing appreciation for Bad Bunny\u2019s celebration of inclusion, love and diversity<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\">The results also revealed a strong emphasis on negativity in the online space, with each performance generating 2.5 times more negative posts than positive ones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe Super Bowl halftime show has historically been a platform for both entertainment and political expression, and this year was no exception,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=choij\">Dr. Jin-A Choi<\/a>, Associate Professor at 糖心vlog and director of data analytics for the Center for Strategic Communication. \u201cWith many viewers choosing sides based on their political beliefs, the contrasting reactions to both halftime shows underscore the ongoing debate about identity and representation in American culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWhile some have suggested that Bad Bunny\u2019s Spanish-language performance might alienate viewers and drive them to alternatives, indications from the online space suggest this wasn\u2019t the case at all,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=bentonb\">Dr. Bond Benton<\/a>, Professor of Communication at 糖心vlog.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe Super Bowl halftime show has become a site of cultural negotiation, and our findings show audiences engaging far more with inclusive, multicultural performances than reactionary ones,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=luoy\">Dr. Yi Luo<\/a>, Associate Professor in the College of Communication and Media at 糖心vlog.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The full study, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/02\/Montclair-2026-Super-Bowl-Halftime-Show-Study.pdf\">available here<\/a>, was conducted by Choi, Luo and Benton.<\/p>\n<p>Media Contact: Keith Green, greenk@montclair.edu, 973-655-3701<\/p>\n<p><b>About the College of Communication and Media:<\/b>\u00a0The College of Communication and Media (CCOM) offers a range of dynamic programs to a talented and diverse student population of over 2,000. Offering degrees in advertising, animation and visual effects, communication and media studies, film and television, journalism and digital media, social media and public relations, sports communication and an online, asynchronous MA devoted to strategic communication and media, the College prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. Founded in 2012 and housed in world-class, state-of-the-art facilities just 12 miles from New York City, the College is the only program in the country that offers the following opportunities for students: a radio station (WMSC), newspaper (The Montclarion), strategic communications agency (Hawk Communications), sports network (Red Hawk Sports Network) streaming platform (Hawk+), digital newsroom (News Lab) and studio, and a social media listening center (Joetta DiBella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication). The College also has a Student Success team, including dedicated Career Services and Advising professionals who prepare students for the internship and job search process. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA\u2019s Bateman Competition, an Edward R. Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and College Television Awards (\u201cStudent Emmy\u201d awards) from the Academy of Television Arts &amp; Sciences. The College is also home to the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism and media. Through $7.1M in grants awarded over the last five years, the Center focuses on collaboration in journalism, media equity, media coaching and training, civic science and research. The Center is also home to the NJ Civic Information Consortium, the largest funder of media and journalism in\u00a0 New Jersey, granting more than $10M over the last five years to support independent local media, journalism and training initiatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A study by 糖心vlog faculty from the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the College of Communication and Media analyzed social media reactions to the NFL\u2019s 2026 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny and Turning Point USA\u2019s \u201cAll-American Halftime Show\u201d featuring Kid Rock. The findings [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":482,"featured_media":211952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-of-communication-and-media-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211920"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211962,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211920\/revisions\/211962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}