Millions of Americans tuned into the alternative Super Bowl halftime show hosted by Turning Point USA (TPUSA) during Sunday night’s championship game.
TPUSA’s “All-American Halftime Show” rivaled the NFL’s halftime show, which featured Puerto Rican singer and rapper Bad Bunny.
The TPUSA show impressively received over five million views during its livestream.
Likewise, Charlie Kirk’s YouTube channel, which also streamed the event, received nearly two million more views.
TPUSA’s halftime show, featuring singers Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, was initially scheduled to air on X, although the stream was pulled only minutes before the show was set to start.
In a statement, TPUSA wrote, “UPDATE: Due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to stream The All-American Halftime Show on X. Head on over to our YouTube channel tonight around 8PM ET to watch the full show.”
The halftime show began with the host telling audiences, “This one’s for you, Charlie,” honoring the group’s late founder, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September.
After performances by Rock, Gilbert, Brice and Barrett, the cameras zoomed out to show photos of Charlie Kirk, his wife, Erika, and their children, along with the words: “In remembrance of Charlie Kirk.”
TPUSA announced their performance amid backlash against Bad Bunny, who has been derided by critics as “woke.”
During an interview last year, Bad Bunny told a reporter that he avoided scheduling tours in the U.S. over concerns that Latino fans would be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“But there was the issue of — like, f—ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,” he told i-D Magazine in September.
Still, the rapper did not back down and produced his routine during the halftime show.
Bad Bunny began his performance by emerging from fake sugar cane fields, surrounded by dancers wearing traditional Puerto Rican straw hats and other attire.
He also performed entirely in Spanish, except for the end when he said “God Bless America,” which he then followed by naming other Caribbean, and Central and South American countries.