BAD BUNNY

As a child, he attended church weekly with his devoutly Catholic mother and sang in the church choir until age 13. After leaving the choir, he developed an interest in the artists he heard on the radio, particularly Daddy Yankee and Héctor Lavoe. His stage name originally came from a time in which he was forced to wear a bunny costume and was angry about it.

Speaking about the Puerto Rican music industry, he stated, "I'm from Vega Baja, a small area that's not a metropolis like San Juan where the majority of the genre's artists have come from."

Music career

2013-2017: Early career beginnings

He started to write and create his own interpretations at the age of 14, until, in 2013, he began to publish his songs through SoundCloud, including "Get" in 2013, "Tentación" in 2014, "Just let me know" in 2015, among others. In 2016, his song "Diles" caught the attention of DJ Luian from SoundCloud who signed him to his record label, Hear this Music. His single "Soy Peor" reached number 19 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Bad Bunny's May 2017 collaboration with Karol G, "Ahora Me Llama", reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It was listed on "Alt.Latino's Favorites: The Songs Of 2017" as one of the best Latin songs of 2017.

In the summer of 2017, Bad Bunny signed a booking deal with Cardenas Marketing Network (CMN) for several Latin American countries. Starting in November 2017, Bad Bunny hosted Beats 1's first Spanish-language show, Trap Kingz. The remix of "Te Boté" with Ozuna and Nicky Jam reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart.

2018-2019: Major breakthrough, X 100pre, and Oasis

In May 2018, American rapper Cardi B released a collaboration with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, "I Like It". On October 11, 2018, Bad Bunny released "Mia" with Drake, which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bad Bunny released his debut album X 100pre on December 24, 2018, on Christmas Eve 2018 on Rimas Entertainment. At Metacritic, X 100pre received an average score of 84 based on five reviews. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised Bad Bunny's "off-kilter creativity".

In 2020, X 100pre was voted 447th in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

On June 28, 2019, Bad Bunny released Oasis, an eight-song collaborative album with J Balvin. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard US Latin Albums chart. In July 2019, he joined protests against governor Ricardo Rosselló. Bad Bunny and Residente released "Afilando Los Cuchillos" ("Sharpening the knives") during the demonstrations.

2020-2021: YHLQMDLG, Las que no iban a salir, and El Último Tour Del Mundo

In February 2020, Bad Bunny was a guest performer at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, headlined by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Bad Bunny announced the album YHLQMDLG on February 27, 2020, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and stated that it would be released on Leap Day 2020, namely February 29. The album's title stands for "Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana" (Spanish for "I Do What I Want") and features collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Yaviah, Jowell & Randy, Ñengo Flow, among other artist.

YHLQMDLG debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting all-Spanish album ever on the chart at the time. The album was met with critical acclaim, with the album's musical diversity being praised. "Vete" was released as the lead single of the album on November 22, 2019. The second single, "Ignorantes", with Panamanian singer Sech came out on February 14, 2020. In March 2020, Bad Bunny released the music video for "Yo Perreo Sola", in which the artist performs in drag. "Yo Perreo Sola" landed number one on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart, earning Bad Bunny his ninth No.1 on the chart in just over two years.

On April 4, 2020, he released the song "En Casita" on SoundCloud, which expressed solidarity towards others in quarantine due to COVID-19 and featured vocals from his girlfriend, Gabriela Berlingeri. On May 10, 2020, Bad Bunny released his first compilation Las que no iban a salir, without previous announcements. The compilation's title translates to "The Ones that Were Not Going to Come Out" and it contains previously unreleased or unfinished songs. The album features collaborations with Don Omar, Yandel, Zion & Lennox, Nicky Jam, and Jhay Cortez. Discussing the album's surprise release, Bad Bunny explained, "There was no real meaning behind it. I just thought, 'Damn. What people need is entertainment'". Bad Bunny had been filming his supporting role in Narcos: Mexico before filming was postponed due to the pandemic. It premiered in November 2021.

In July 2020, he appeared on the first digital cover of Playboy magazine as the first man to appear on the cover other than the magazine's founder, Hugh Hefner. The cover was shot by photographer Stillz in Miami, Florida, and the magazine includes a feature article entitled "Bad Bunny is Not Playing God." He also received the ASCAP Latin award for Songwriter of the Year. The following month, his song "Pero Ya No" appeared in an advertisement for politician Joe Biden's 2020 United States presidential election campaign. On September 20, 2020, Bad Bunny performed a surprise, live (via his YouTube channel and Uforia), free concert from atop a flatbed truck that looked like a subway car going through the streets of New York and ended at Harlem Hospital. In October 2020, Bad Bunny released the single "Dakiti", with Jhay Cortez, which topped the Billboard Global 200 and reached number five on the US Hot 100. The song is included on his third studio album, El Último Tour Del Mundo, which was released on November 27, 2020, and was described as a personal and ambitious record. It became the first all-Spanish language album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.

Bad Bunny and YHLQMDLG respectively became Spotify's most-streamed artist and album globally in 2020. It marked the first time a non-English language music artist topped the year-end list, with a The Guardian article considering him "the world's biggest pop star" for his streaming numbers. The album received the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. On February 20, 2021, Bad Bunny performed "La Noche de Anoche" with Rosalía and "Te Deseo Lo Mejor" on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Regé-Jean Page, as well as appearing in the pre-recorded musical sketches "Loco" and "Sea Shanty". On the US Billboard Hot 100, Bad Bunny's next single "Yonaguni" became his fourth top 10 entry and first with no accompanying acts. Bad Bunny was cast in an upcoming David Leitch-directed film starring Brad Pitt.

In July 2021, it was announced that Bad Bunny co-wrote and co-produced the fifth album of Puerto Rican Latin pop artist Tommy Torres titled El Playlist de Anoche. Bad Bunny won the most awards at the 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards with ten, including the category Artist of the Year. In the following months, he was featured on Aventura's single "Volví", and released "Lo Siento BB:/" with Tainy and Julieta Venegas. In September 2021, he appeared on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Bad Bunny's 2022 concert tour, El Último Tour del Mundo, has visited the US and Canada indoor arenas. He won Best Urban Music Album and Best Rap/Hip Hop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. El Último Tour Del Mundo won Best Música Urbana Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. In December 2021, it was announced that Bad Bunny became Spotify's most-streamed artist of the year globally, for a second year in a row.

On 24 December 2021, a short film and music video titled Te Deseo Lo Mejor was released in collaboration with the creators of The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman and stars Humberto Vélez, Claudia Motta and Bad Bunny.

2022-present: Un Verano Sin Ti

In January 2022, Bad Bunny was featured in Vogue Magazine for the second time modeling the current season's best bags. In April 2022, Sony Pictures announced Bad Bunny as the lead for El Muerto, a film set in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. The film was originally set to be released on January 12, 2024, prior to being removed from the release schedule. On May 6, 2022, Bad Bunny released his fourth (fifth overall) studio album Un Verano Sin Ti which it became commercially successful as it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and stood there for thirteen non-consecutive weeks.

Bad Bunny began his fourth concert tour World's Hottest Tour on August 5, 2022, set to visit fourteen countries of the American continent. On October 4, 2022, the tour became the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist in history, earning US$232.5 million at the time. Bad Bunny received the most nominations (eight) for the 2022 American Music Awards, including his first for artist of the year.

On May 19, 2023, Bad Bunny released his first solo single of the year titled "Where She Goes", in which he ventured into jersey club music. The music video had cameos from Frank Ocean, Lil Uzi Vert, Ronaldinho, and others.

Artistry

Musical style and influences

Bad Bunny is considered to be primarily a Latin trap and reggaeton artist. As described in a Rolling Stone article, Bad Bunny sings and raps with a "conversational tone", employing "a low, slurry tone, viscous melodies, and a rapper's cadence." Throughout the years, Bad Bunny has listed his influences with a wide variety of artists from multiple genres such as Héctor Lavoe, Vico C, Romeo Santos, Juan Luis Guerra, Elvis Crespo, Ricky Martin, Juan Gabriel, Don Omar, Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen, Tego Calderón, Wisin & Yandel, Calle 13, Víctor Manuelle, and Marc Anthony, amongst many others. He considers himself to be a "music fanatic" which is the reason why he's inspired by so many people. During an episode of Behind the Music, he talked about Ricky Martin's legacy for Latin music and Latin artists, and how Martin changed the music landscape for future Latin artists. In the music video for Neverita, Bad Bunny paid homage to the Suavemente music video by Puerto Rican artist Elvis Crespo, leaving a message in the end translated from Spanish as "In honor of the best video of all time". Elvis Crespo later felt honored by his tribute and ended up doing a merengue version of the song himself in which he performed at the 2022 Latin Billboard Music Awards.

Although primarily considered to be a Latin trap and reggaeton artist, his music also incorporates various other elements from other genres such as pop, hip-hop, rock, electronic, reggae, dancehall, latin, soul, and R&B. Some publications have credited him for bringing Latin trap into the mainstream in the English-language music market.

According to Timothy Monger of AllMusic, his lyrics "range from humor and pathos to heartbreak and anger (sometimes in the same song)." According to Paper, other themes explored in Bad Bunny's music include "self-love, inclusivity, and LGBTQ acceptance".

Public image

Vanessa Rosales of CNN has opined that "in pink, florals and short shorts, Bad Bunny champions a new masculinity".

He has appeared at award shows with manicured, polished, and long fingernails. Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian opined in 2020 that Bunny's style influenced fellow Latin artists, who "often now share his highly colorful mashup of streetwear and tailoring."

Personal life

Bad Bunny met jewelry designer Gabriela Berlingeri in 2017 at a restaurant while dining with his family, and the two began dating soon after. Berlingeri became the first Latina to shoot the cover of Rolling Stone when she photographed the rapper for the magazine's May 2020 cover. In a 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bad Bunny stated he sees sexuality as fluid. He said, "At the end of the day, I don't know if in 20 years I will like a man. One never knows in life. But at the moment I am heterosexual and I like women."

In March 2023 Bad Bunny's ex-girlfriend Carliz Hernández filed a $40 million USD lawsuit against the rapper for unauthorized usage of her voice during various recordings.

Activism

Bad Bunny was openly critical towards the lack of humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island of Puerto Rico. He established the Good Bunny Foundation, which distributes toys to children living in poverty in Puerto Rico.

In 2019, he was nominated for Telemundo's inaugural Premios Tu Música Urbano, in the category of "Humanitarian Award of the Year."

On July 22, 2019, Bad Bunny joined artists such as Residente, Ricky Martin, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans in taking the streets and shutting down the Las Américas Expressway, a major highway also known as the Luis A. Ferré Highway, in protests against government corruption and demanding Ricardo Rosselló's resignation from the office of Governor of Puerto Rico. In May 2020, he had not taken a position regarding the Puerto Rican statehood movement and had stated that he would prefer to answer at a later time with more clarification. He later concluded his answer in January 2021 stating that he would never "want to see Puerto Rico become a State". It was widely understood that he was not necessarily advocating for Puerto Rican independence, only that he opposed the territory ever becoming the 51st state.

In July 2018, Bad Bunny had criticized a nail salon in Asturias, Spain, for refusing to give him service since he was a man; the post angered many fans, leading them to leave homophobic comments and question Bad Bunny's sexuality. Bad Bunny responded to the hateful comments by offering to impregnate the wives of his critics. The post was deleted and Bad Bunny later ended up apologizing and deleting his own Twitter account.

In January 2019, Bad Bunny criticized a tweet by reggaeton artist Don Omar considered to be homophobic. During a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2020, he called attention to the murder of transgender woman Alexa Negrón Luciano in Puerto Rico by wearing a shirt with the words "They Killed Alexa. Not a Man in a Skirt.", referencing news reports that had misgendered the victim. Ricky Martin has stated that Bad Bunny "has become an icon for the Latin queer community" due to his outspoken support of gay and transgender Latinos as well as his embrace of drag culture.

Professional wrestling career

A self-professed lifelong fan of professional wrestling, Bad Bunny began making appearances in the American promotion WWE in 2021. During WWE's annual Royal Rumble event held on January 31, 2021, Bad Bunny performed his song "Booker T" live, which also had an appearance by the former wrestler of the same name. He then began appearing on WWE's weekly television show, Monday Night Raw.

Wrestler Damian Priest, a fellow Puerto Rican, allied with Bad Bunny and helped him win the WWE 24/7 Championship from Akira Tozawa on the February 15 episode of Raw. On the March 15 episode, he relinquished the 24/7 Championship to R-Truth in exchange for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin memorabilia, ending his reign at 28 days. At WrestleMania 37, Bad Bunny teamed with Damian Priest in a tag team match to defeat The Miz and John Morrison in his in-ring wrestling debut.

At the 2022 Royal Rumble on January 29, Bad Bunny returned to WWE, competing in the men's Royal Rumble match. He eliminated Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler and lasted until the final five, when he was eliminated by the eventual winner, Brock Lesnar. On January 23, 2023, it was announced that Bad Bunny would be a playable wrestler in the WWE 2K23 video game as a pre-order bonus.

On March 8, 2023, it was announced that Bad Bunny would serve as the host for WWE's upcoming event, Backlash, taking place in his native Puerto Rico. On April 1, 2023, Bad Bunny joined the Spanish announce team to commentate during the match between Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio on Night 1 of WrestleMania 39. Bunny would intervene during the match, preventing Dominik from attacking Rey with a chain. Two nights later on Raw, Bunny?who was seated front row as a fan?was attacked and chokeslammed through the announcers table by former partner Damian Priest, who was now a teammate of Dominik Mysterio in The Judgment Day. On the April 24 episode, Bunny returned and attacked Priest with a kendo stick, subsequently announcing that instead of hosting Backlash, he would be wrestling Priest in a San Juan Street Fight at the event. On the May 5 episode of SmackDown, Bunny helped the Latino World Order (LWO) save Rey Mysterio from an attack from The Judgment Day, leading to Mysterio giving Bunny an LWO t-shirt, signifying his addition to the group. At Backlash on May 6, Bunny defeated Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight, to the admiration of his home fans.

Championships and accomplishments

• WWE
  • WWE 24/7 Championship (one-time)
  • Bumpy Award (1 time)
    • Best Moment of the Half-Year (2021) - Bad Bunny competing at WrestleMania

Achievements

Discography

Solo studio albums

• X 100pre (2018)
• YHLQMDLG (2020)
• El Último Tour Del Mundo (2020)
• Un Verano Sin Ti (2022)

Collaborative studio albums

• Oasis (with J Balvin) (2019)

Filmography

Tours

• La Nueva Religión Tour (2018)
• X 100Pre Tour (2019)
• El Último Tour del Mundo (2022)
• World's Hottest Tour (2022)

Notes

References

External links

• Bad Bunny at IMDb
• Bad Bunny's profile at Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database