The Puerto Rican performer has picked up seven Emmy Awards for his Super Bowl LX show at the pre-ceremony gala, ahead of the main event on 14 September in Los Angeles.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards, held in Los Angeles as a curtain-raiser for the main televised ceremony on 14 September, have made Bad Bunny one of the night's main protagonists. The Puerto Rican artist has picked up seven awards for his show at the half-time of Super Bowl LX.
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The production, presented under the official title "The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny", arrived at this year's Emmys with a notable achievement already behind it. Last July it became the music production in this format with the highest number of nominations, nine in total, since the awards were created, surpassing the record set by Lady Gaga in 2017.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has now recognised the technical ambition and creativity of the Latin show with seven statuettes. Among them are Outstanding Music Direction, for Brazilian Miguel Gandelman, and Outstanding Choreography for Variety Programming, for choreographers Charm La'Donna and Karina Ortiz. The awards for technical direction, lighting design, sound mixing and direction for a special programme were also added to the tally.
Bad Bunny's presence at this year's edition has not been limited to sport and music. His work as a host has also been acknowledged, as the episode of Saturday Night Live he presented at the end of 2025 has won the Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming.
It has been a record-breaking year for Bad Bunny, who has already picked up both the 2026 Grammy and the 2026 Latin Grammy, helping Spanish-language music become some of the most listened to and most awarded in the world. His winning streak appears to be continuing with these 7 Emmy Awards.
A continental message to millions of viewers
The singer made use of the biggest audience showcase on US television to defend the idea of America as a single continent, rather than a word used exclusively to mean the United States.
The show ended with a commemorative ball bearing the motto "Together we're America" (Juntos somos América), accompanied by a parade of the flags and names of every country in the region, from Canada to Chile.
The nominations for this edition were announced by Puerto Rico-born actress Liza Colón-Zayas, known for her role in the series "The Bear", alongside comedian Jeff Hiller. The 2026 Emmy Awards ceremony will take place next Sunday 14 September at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Other winners on the first night of the Creative Arts Emmys
Bad Bunny's success was far from an isolated story on the first night of the Creative Arts Emmys. His Super Bowl show became the most awarded programme of the evening, with seven statuettes, ahead of productions such as "The Traitors", which took six, or "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert", with five.
Stephen Colbert's programme, which wrapped up an eleven-year run in May, won the Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming for an episode featuring Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello, as well as the award for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Series for another instalment with Bruce Springsteen as guest.
"The Muppet Show" on Disney+ collected four awards and prevailed in the category of Outstanding Pre-Recorded Variety Special ahead of Taylor Swift, whose tour farewell "Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour, The Final Show" was also competing in that field. Sabrina Carpenter, involved in the Muppets special as executive producer and performer, thereby secured her first Primetime Emmy.
Other standout prizes of the day included Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, for "Mr. Scorsese", the Apple TV production about film-maker Martin Scorsese, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Programme, for "Billy Joel, And So It Goes" on HBO Max. The "Blink Again" segment from the series "Sean Combs, The Reckoning" on Netflix took the award for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Programme.
In the music field, Miguel Gandelman won in the Outstanding Music Direction category for Bad Bunny's show and became the third person to receive that prize for a Super Bowl half-time show, following Adam Blackstone in 2022 and Kendrick Lamar together with Tony Russell last year. Tyler Strickland, for his part, won Outstanding Music Composition for a documentary, nonfiction or reality programme for his work on "John Candy, I Like Me". Both have thus earned their first Primetime Emmy.
Director Hamish Hamilton once again walked away with the award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, this time for Bad Bunny's show. It is the third time he has won it in the last four years, after taking the prize in 2023 for Rihanna's half-time show, co-directed with Jay-Z, and in 2024 for his work on the Oscars ceremony.
Actress and director Mariska Hargitay received two awards as producer and director of "My Mom Jayne, A Film by Mariska Hargitay", a documentary about her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay will also host the 78th Emmy Awards, which will be broadcast live on NBC next Monday 14 September from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with a simultaneous stream on Peacock.
Of the 49 categories presented on Saturday, this was the outcome. Another 53 will be handed out this Sunday, on the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys. Of these, only 19 will feature in the television broadcast of the main gala on 14 September. Highlights from both Creative Arts ceremonies will be shown on Saturday 12 September at 20:00 (Pacific Time) on FXX, and will be available on Hulu from the following day.
