California Gov. Gavin Newsom has officially declared Feb. 8 “Bad Bunny Day” across the state, coinciding with Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl LX halftime performance in Santa Clara.

“I am declaring tomorrow in California as ‘Bad Bunny Day’ when Bad Bunny performs at the big game in the Golden State with his soothing, beautiful voice, and his very nice looks,” Newsom said via X on Saturday.

Newsom later amplified his support with a tongue-in-cheek follow-up message, describing himself as “a tremendous lover of the Spanish” and “a huge fan of Puerto Rico,” before adding, “We love Bad Bunny! He is nearly as ‘hot’ as me — which is a big compliment, because there is nobody hotter. Happy Bad Bunny Day, America.”

Support also came from Tim Cook, who praised the artist on social media ahead of the game in a selfie with the singer to social media.

Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is set to deliver an all-Spanish halftime performance at Levi’s Stadium during Super Bowl LX, marking one of the most prominent Spanish-language showcases in the event’s history.

The appearance follows a landmark year for the Puerto Rican artist, who recently won Album of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards, becoming the first artist to claim the prize with a Spanish-language album.

Speaking earlier this week to  Access Hollywood’s Scott Evans about his approach to the halftime show, Bad Bunny said, “I just want to be there. I’m just ready to do it. I want to feel it. I want people to watch it and enjoy it.”

The designation of “Bad Bunny Day” also arrives amid heightened political attention around the halftime performance. In recent public remarks, Bad Bunny has spoken out on immigration and identity, including a statement delivered at the Grammys in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, where he said, “ICE out… We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens — we are humans, and we are Americans.”

Apple Music, which has sponsored the Super Bowl halftime show since 2023, continues its partnership with the NFL and Roc Nation, the Jay-Z-founded company responsible for selecting halftime performers. The collaboration has emphasized global and multicultural reach in recent years, with Bad Bunny’s selection reflecting the NFL’s expanding Spanish-language audience.

Super Bowl LX kicks off Sunday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT. The game and halftime show will air on NBC, stream on Peacock, and be available via Spanish-language broadcasts on Telemundo and Universo.

Amid Rock the Country’s lineup disruptions this week — with artists including Shinedown, Ludacris, Morgan Wade and Carter Faith making exits — the festival’s July 25-26 weekend in Anderson, S.C., is no longer on the schedule.

The South Carolina stop originally announced as part of an eight-city trek has been removed from Rock the Country’s website. Billboard reached out to a representative for Rock the Country for comment.

Anderson County administrator’s was informed of the event being called off on Feb. 5, reports the Greenville, S.C., publication The Post and Courier. No specific reason for the cancellation was stated.

As of Saturday (Feb. 7), the tour’s seven other stops remain on its schedule: Bellville, Texas (May 1-2); Bloomingdale, Ga. (May 29-30); Sioux Falls, S.D. (June 27-28); Ashland, Ky. (July 10-11); Hastings, Mich. (Aug. 8-9); Ocala, Fla. (Aug. 28-29) and Hamburg, N.Y. (Sept. 11-12).

Rock the Country’s lineup varies by date, with Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr., Ella Langley, Lynyrd Skynrd, Jon Pardi, Brantley Gilbert and dozens more artists set to perform throughout the tour.

Shinedown, who pulled out of the festival on Feb. 6, was one of the acts booked to perform at the South Carolina dates. The band opted to drop out after receiving backlash from fans for participating in the festival.

While event organizers have not explicitly stated any political affiliation, headlining performers Aldean and Kid Rock have both been vocal supporters of President Donald Trump. Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert are appearing at Turning Point USA’s upcoming “All-American” alternative halftime show, set to broadcast opposite the NFL’s official Super Bowl Halftime Show starring Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, whose Debí Tirar Más Fotos was recently the first all-Spanish album to win album of the year at the Grammy Awards.

“Shinedown is everyone’s band. We feel that we have been given a platform to bring all people together through the power of music and song. We have one boss, and it is everyone in the audience. Our band’s purpose is to unite, not divide. With that in mind, we have made the decision that we will not be playing the Rock the Country festival,” Shinedown said in a statement posted on its social media pages on Feb. 6.

The group stated, “We know this decision will create differences of opinion. But we do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division.”

The Bay Area filled up with celebrities from every industry for the 2026 Super Bowl, set to take place at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday (Feb. 8) — and music stars were not the exception. 

As spectators gear up for the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks game that includes a historic headlining Super Bowl halftime show by Bad Bunny, many parties took place across San Francisco leading up to the big event. 

Billboard was present at many invite-only events, including the FanDuel Party Powered by Spotify that featured two rocking performances by Counting Crows and Green Day. The latter — formed by Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — is set to kick off this year’s Super Bowl opening ceremony with “their most iconic rock anthems,” the NFL previously announced. genr

Meanwhile, Apple Music, which is presenting the halftime show this year, kicked off the weekend with a celebration at Apple Union Square that included special guests such as J Balvin, Becky G, Diplo, Travis Scott and Luis Fonsi, as well as a set by Bad Bunny’s official touring deejay, DJ Orma.

“I just want people to have fun,” Bad Bunny said during a press conference ahead of his big show on Sunday. “It’s going to be a huge party, what people can always expect from me,” he noted. “Of course, a lot of my culture. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it’s going to be fun! I know I said people have four months to learn Spanish, but no, just come ready to dance.”

Below, check out photos from this year’s Super Bowl parties. 

Lana Del Rey is giving fans an update on music from her long-delayed country album.

On Saturday (Feb. 7), the 40-year-old singer-songwriter took to social media to tease the title and release date of her “favorite” track from the upcoming project, Stove.

“I just wanted to make a little message and let you know that my new single, my favorite song [from the new album] — this is the one I’ve been waiting for,” Del Rey said in a video shared to her Instagram Story.

“’White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter’ is coming out on the 17th,” she added, without specifying the month, though it’s presumably February.

The songstress noted that she worked on the track with producers Drew Erickson and Jack Antonoff, who “finally found that magical chord that I was missing.” The song was co-written with her husband, Jeremy Dufrene, her brother-in-law, and her sister Caroline “Chuck” Grant, with mixing handled by Dean Reid and Laura Sisk.

“There’s so many bits and phrases thrown in by other people,” Del Rey said in the black-and-white clip.

She also revealed that a music video for “White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter” has already been made.

“We made the video, like just ourselves,” she said. “But still, it takes hours and hours of editing and downloading, uploading — all that.”

As for her upcoming 10th album, Del Rey suggested it could arrive in the next few months.

“I know, you’re asking about the record,” she said. “But honestly, soon. ‘Cause vinyl takes three months, so three months plus two weeks. It could be give or take a bit less than that.”

Del Rey first teased her country album in January 2024 at the Billboard x NMPA Songwriter Awards, announcing that it would be titled Lasso and set for a September 2024 release. “We’re going country!” she declared. “It’s happening.”

She released the album’s first single, “Henry, Come On,” in April 2025, at which point the set’s title had changed to The Right Person Will Stay. Originally scheduled for release in May, Del Rey postponed the set and later renamed the album Stove.

“They were more autobiographical than I thought, and that took more time,” she told W in August 2025, when the album was pushed to this year.

“The majority of the album will have a country flair. Eight years ago, when I was looking to make a country record, no one else was thinking about country. Now everyone is going country! I’ve asked myself, Should I retire all my snakeskin boots? Should I put my cowboy hats in storage?”

The Winter Olympics of Milano Cortina 2026 are the major event that perpetuates Milan’s renewed international momentum, which began more than a decade ago with Expo 2015. They are also a strategic opportunity for Italy in a geopolitical context where international relations are rapidly changing and are also at stake in symbolic events such as sporting ones, as well as in the host country’s ability to manage them at best.

This is why on Friday night (Feb. 6), all eyes were on the Opening Ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026, which took place across the various venues of this edition of the Games — Cortina d’Ampezzo, Predazzo and Livigno — but centered at Milan’s San Siro Stadium, with a three-and-a-half-hour megashow created by Balich Wonder Studio, specialized in the creative direction of major events and with extensive expertise in Olympic ceremonies.

The show revolved around the concept of harmony, as well as Italianness.

“The Opening Ceremony is not just an exercise in technology or spectacle,” Marco Balich stated before the event. “It is, above all, a story told through people and emotions. In a complex world, we want to convey a message of harmony, beauty, and peace that can speak to everyone.”

Among the highly anticipated musical guests were Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini and Andrea Bocelli. In addition, the evening’s musical component included the participation of over 500 musicians who composed the original soundtracks.

The schedule began in the afternoon at the iconic Teatro Alla Scala, home to the official Red Carpet. Many protagonists of past editions of the Olympics passed by, from American snowboarder Shaun White (three-time gold medalist) to Dutch figure skating champion Irene Schouten. Icons from a wide range of fields, from cinema to fashion, were also present: Jeff Goldblum, Donatella Versace, Stanley Tucci and Marisa Tomei.

The music artists are those who catch our attention. Sunghoon of ENHYPEN had already distinguished himself as a torchbearer. At the Scala Theatre, he’s dressed very elegant, in a black suit and white shirt.

“Both athletes and K-Pop artists have the goal to make the fans happy and enjoy the event,” he says, having practiced figure skating competitively for 10 years. “When I was an athlete, my dream was to participate in the Olympics. Being here as an artist feels different but I’m also very honored.”

Also making an almost unexpected appearance is Usher, who talks about relationship between music and sport. “Music and sports go hand in hand. Music, for example, is very important in figure skating. But for the most part, it ultimately gives the athletes a soundtrack that helps to compel and push through,” he says.

The Opening Ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026 begins at 8 p.m. sharp with choreographic performances: 70 dancers from the Academy of Teatro Alla Scala reinterpret the myth of Cupid and Psyche. The shades of white and the chiaroscuro of the clothes, which recall the art of the neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova, are then transformed into an explosion of color accompanied by the music of Italian classical composers Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini.

After a tribute to Italian creativity, it’s time for one of the evening’s stars, Mariah Carey. The diva, center stage and surrounded by dancers, sings a cover of Domenico Modugno’s classic “Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu” (also commonly known as “Volare”), completely rearranged and enriched with her famous high notes. This is followed by a hit song from her repertoire, “Nothing Is Impossible.”

The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and the President of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, take their seats in the grandstand. A heartfelt tribute to Giorgio Armani follows. The king of Italian fashion passed away last September. Models parade wearing his creations, colored in green, white, and red, like the national flag.

Then it’s time for another highly anticipated star, Laura Pausini. Under the Italian flag, the pop star sings the national anthem. The long parade of athletes follows (over an hour), from Greece (traditionally first) to Italy, the host country. The crowd boos as the Israeli flag passes by and applauds the Ukrainian team with vigor.

Then it’s time for the institutional speeches. Giovanni Malagò, President of the Milano Cortina Foundation, takes the floor first.

“I love my country, I love sports. I’ve never been as proud to be Italian as I am tonight,” he says. “To the athletes I say: this is your time. Your years of dedication, the courage to dream, the determination to push the boundaries… These Games belong to you. During a time in which the world is so divided by conflicts, your very presence demonstrates that another world is possible. Unity, respect, harmony.”

After him, Kirsty Coventry speaks, still addressing the athletes.
“Through you, we see the very best of ourselves,” she says. “You remind us that we can be brave, that we can be kind. When we see se an athlete stumble and find the strength to rise, we’re all reminded that we can do the same. When we see athletes embrace at the finish line, we’re reminded that we can choose respect. No matter where we come from, we all know this spirit.”

Also present at the San Siro Stadium is the actress Charlize Theron, Messenger of Peace of the United Nations, who reads a monologue inspired by a speech by Nelson Mandela. “Peace is not just the absence of conflict,” the actress says. “Peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference.”

The arrival of the Olympic flame at the San Siro Stadium is accompanied by the notes of another synonymous with Italianness, “Nessun dorma,” from Puccini’s opera “Turandot,” performed by the world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli. The flame reaches the stage just as he reaches the highest note of the piece.

Immediately afterward, it’s the turn of rapper Ghali, perhaps the most controversial guest at the Opening Ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026 due to his pro-Palestine stance. He claims he was prevented from singing the national anthem and from speaking in Arabic. And the television broadcast never mentions him by name or features him in close-up.

Yet, in its simplicity, his performance is one of the most touching.

Accompanied by a white-clad dance troupe, Ghali recites in three languages (Italian, French and English) the poem “Promemoria” by Italian children’s writer Gianni Rodari, with its simple yet powerful message against conflicts: “There are things you should never do/ Neither by day nor by night/ Neither by sea nor by land/ For example, war.”

After the athletes’ official oaths, the Olympic Braziers get lit simultaneously in Milan and Cortina. The 2026 Winter Olympics officially begin.

This article originally appeared on Billboard Italy.