Politics

[Hank2211]

I was one of over 200 million people who watched the Super Bowl (from Barron’s this morning) , and like most of them, I watched Bad Bunny. He was pretty good (and my Spanish doesn’t go much beyond ‘cerveza por favor’) and the production values were impressive.

I don’t look to musicians - whether Bad Bunny or Kid Rock -, actors or artists for political insight. All I want is to be entertained.

And I was entertained by the Super Bowl half time show.

 

[mdwest]

I’ve attended 2 Kid Rock shows personally.. there’s no doubt that it’s all “bad boy”… it’s very much red neck driven entertainment… the last time I saw him was probably 5 years ago… there were more bare breasted 40-60 year old women walking around casually than I hope to ever see again… most of them I’m sure I wouldn’t have wanted to see half naked even in their 20’s lol…

You are also continuing to reference the past…

Again, he accepted Christ in 2024… and began speaking publicly about it about 18 months ago…

I don’t know the man personally… maybe it’s a real acceptance of Christ… maybe it’s all for show…

What I do know is that it’s not my job to make that determination…

He claims to have asked forgiveness… and claims Christ is in his heart now..

I’m pretty sure if Christ forgave prostitutes, tax collectors, and thieves (among others)… he can forgive Kid Rock too…

And if someone is indeed a Christian (like Charlie Kirk), the bible is clear… your job is to accept that sinner into the fold, love them, care for them, and help them in their journey…

So… back to the original point… no, Charlie Kirk wouldn’t be rolling over in his grave… he’d be rejoicing… and every true Christian should be rejoicing too…

He who was lost, now is found… etc etc etc

 

[Aaron N]

Like most stats those are very largely skewed to tell a specific story…

Total viewership goes up every year.. because of all of the global internet streaming opportunities… the Super Bowl is now accessible in 130 countries…

But the international viewers aren’t buyers/consumers.. and aren’t the target audience of the superbowl.., and certainly aren’t indicative of US culture shift from left to right..

What is relevant is 1982 was where the NFL and the Super Bowl peaked in the US… 49.1% of all households watched it..

Last night roughly 41% of US households watched SOME of the Super Bowl… what hasn’t been released yet is how much did they watch… the TV ratings peaked in the second quarter though…

While certainly not a bad year… it was far from their best…

What is even more interesting is they have lost roughly 1/2 a point of viewership every year since 2011… and continue to slightly decline year over year in the US…

Still 6m is a drop in the bucket, even looking at the American conservative population. For what it’s worth, I’m a fan of Kid Rocks stuff before he tried to be country.

 

[RLD]

Are you a Stones or Led Zep fan?

Led Zep not really, Stones yes.

But no matter how much I personally enjoy the Rolling Stones, or Queen, or many other bands I don't think they are remotely suitable to headline a show that is supposed to be family friendly or of moral value.

And in the current Epstein frenzy I think picking a guy who has sang about his penchant for underage girls was a particularly poor choice.

I don't think we would want Epstein playing base for him or Polanski on drums either.

 

[DieJager]

Still 6m is a drop in the bucket, even looking at the American conservative population. For what it’s worth, I’m a fan of Kid Rocks stuff before he tried to be country.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020721839631225101

25 million views and counting...

 

[DieJager]

And in the current Epstein frenzy I think picking a guy who has sang about his penchant for underage girls was a particularly poor choice

Hopefully you are no Springsteen fan.

 

[mdwest]

Still 6m is a drop in the bucket, even looking at the American conservative population. For what it’s worth, I’m a fan of Kid Rocks stuff before he tried to be country.

It all depends on perspective..

the MTV Music Awards got 6M viewers this past season..

most cable network TV shows aim for 2M weekly viewers to be considered successful... 6M would be considered a massive hit... where for most major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, etc) 6M for a weekly production would be considered a good, solid audience, but far from a major hit (Big Bang Theory for example used to bring in about 10M weekly viewers)..

So.. not really a drop in the bucket... from a television perspective it was a very solid turn out, if not a "hit".... it certainly made money for both the production and for the network.. and they'll continue to do it as long as its making money..

but if compared to the Super Bowl, which has historically had the most televised viewership in the world (even surpases the FIFA world cup globally).. its certainly a tiny amount..

Its important to note that the top 10 televised single action events are ALL sporting events with the exceptions of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC and the Oscars... and that 96 of the top 100 watched events of 2025 were all directly related to sports (the games themselves)..

1 Super Bowl
2 NFL Playoffs
3 College Football National Championship
4 The Olympics (winter or summer)
5 Academy Awards / Oscars
6 NCAA Basketball Final 4
7 FIFA World Cup
8 Thanksgiving Day Parade
9 Kentucky Derby
10 Other Award Shows - CMA, Grammys, etc.

Consider the Grammy's.. a long established event with what is considered a huge following did 15M viewers in 2025.... and that the numbers drop off HUGELY after the Grammy's in terms of single event viewership.. the TPUSA show did exceptionally well in the eyes of the TV world..

The Kennedy Center Honors show did less than 3M.. American Idol did approximately 5.8M per episode last year.. The Voice did approximately 5.6M per episode.. etc.. etc..

 

[Aaron N]

Led Zep not really, Stones yes.

But no matter how much I personally enjoy the Rolling Stones, or Queen, or many other bands I don't think they are remotely suitable to headline a show that is supposed to be family friendly or of moral value.

And in the current Epstein frenzy I think picking a guy who has sang about his penchant for underage girls was a particularly poor choice.

I don't think we would want Epstein playing base for him or Polanski on drums either.

If we are using family friendliness as the bar to pass, we will have a small pool to select from. But I can see your point.

 

[mdwest]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020721839631225101

25 million views and counting...

Listen to the interview linked... The guy speaks to Kid Rock making the statement that "God woke him up in the middle of the night to write another verse to Till You Cant, and that verse is used to glorify Jesus..."

methinks the Kid Rock of 2026 is probably a very different man than the Kid Rock of 1999 that wrote about liking young girls.. and that Charlie Kirk is probably very proud of his friend and fellow Christian..

 

[Aaron N]

It all depends on perspective..

the MTV Music Awards got 6M viewers this past season..

most cable network TV shows aim for 2M weekly viewers to be considered successful... 6M would be considered a massive hit... where for most major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, etc) 6M for a weekly production would be considered a good, solid audience, but far from a major hit (Big Bang Theory for example used to bring in about 10M weekly viewers)..

So.. not really a drop in the bucket... from a television perspective it was a very solid turn out, if not a "hit".... it certainly made money for both the production and for the network.. and they'll continue to do it as long as its making money..

but if compared to the Super Bowl, which has historically had the most televised viewership in the world (even surpases the FIFA world cup globally).. its certainly a tiny amount..

Its important to note that the top 10 televised single action events are ALL sporting events with the exceptions of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC and the Oscars... and that 96 of the top 100 watched events of 2025 were all directly related to sports (the games themselves)..

1 Super Bowl
2 NFL Playoffs
3 College Football National Championship
4 The Olympics (winter or summer)
5 Academy Awards / Oscars
6 NCAA Basketball Final 4
7 FIFA World Cup
8 Thanksgiving Day Parade
9 Kentucky Derby
10 Other Award Shows - CMA, Grammys, etc.

Consider the Grammy's.. a long established event with what is considered a huge following did 15M viewers in 2025.... and that the numbers drop off HUGELY after the Grammy's in terms of single event viewership.. the TPUSA show did exceptionally well in the eyes of the TV world..

The Kennedy Center Honors show did less than 3M.. American Idol did approximately 5.8M per episode last year.. The Voice did approximately 5.6M per episode.. etc.. etc..

I took the original comment as a “we sure showed them” type of comment, not a “this was commercially viable” comment

 

[Brent in Az]

Regardless, more people wanted to watch dogs running around than Kid Rock. 6 million people sounds like a lot of viewers, but it’s less 5% of the total Super Bowl viewership of 127m. Personally, I can’t say I wanted any of the three!

So why would you even bring it up?

To scoff at the fact it was only over 6 million viewers?

So what!

As far as I'm concerned, it was over 6 million people that were not subjected to that heathen anti American POS Bad bunny.

 

[Aaron N]

They really could have used Ozzy this year to send a wholesome message to all.

Maybe
if it’s not too late
To learn how to love
And forget how to hate

 

[DieJager]

Listen to the interview linked... The guy speaks to Kid Rock making the statement that "God woke him up in the middle of the night to write another verse to Till You Cant, and that verse is used to glorify Jesus..."

methinks the Kid Rock of 2026 is probably a very different man than the Kid Rock of 1999 that wrote about liking young girls.. and that Charlie Kirk is probably very proud of his friend and fellow Christian..

I saw the video earlier today with the new verse and it truly brought me to tears. Charlie would have been proud.

To young Christians around the world he was an inspiration. Even in Europe where I'm from. It was a blow when he was assassinated but a lot of eyes opened that day around the world.

 

[RLD]

Hopefully you are no Springsteen fan.

I like some of his music, but never really his politics. He's not going to make my top 100 artists list though.

Personally, I have no problem separating an artist from his politics. Sometime I like a person's politics and not their art.

For instance I almost completely agree with J.K. Rowlings about gender, but I don't find the Harry Potter books particularly well written fantasy. On the other hand I think Michael Moorcock is the best fantasy writer of the 20th century but I am completely opposed his his political ideas, except his anti-porn stance.

 

[Aaron N]

So why would you even bring it up?

To scoff at the fact it was only over 6 million viewers?

So what!

As far as I'm concerned, it was over 6 million people that were not subjected to that heathen anti American POS Bad bunny.

The fact that an old curmudgeon in Arizona even has a clue who Bad Bunny is, let alone has strong opinions about him, boggles my mind! Because I sure as hell don’t know a thing about him aside from the fact that he’s been quite big for the last couple years.

Remember what people thought of Elvis when he debuted? My mother and her siblings were forbidden from watching him

 

[DieJager]

I like some of his music, but never really his politics. He's not going to make my top 100 artists list though.

Personally, I have no problem separating an artist from his politics. Sometime I like a person's politics and not their art.

For instance I almost completely agree with J.K. Rowlings about gender, but I don't find the Harry Potter books particularly well written fantasy. On the other hand I think Michael Moorcock is the best fantasy writer of the 20th century but I am completely opposed his his political ideas, except his anti-porn stance.

No I mean you are combing through lyrics. Maybe listen to "I'm on Fire" again.

 

[mdwest]

Led Zep not really, Stones yes.

But no matter how much I personally enjoy the Rolling Stones, or Queen, or many other bands I don't think they are remotely suitable to headline a show that is supposed to be family friendly or of moral value.

And in the current Epstein frenzy I think picking a guy who has sang about his penchant for underage girls was a particularly poor choice.

I don't think we would want Epstein playing base for him or Polanski on drums either.

By that same standard you think Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga, and Green Day are "Family Friendly"?

You think the Super Bowl halftime show that featured those artists was a better option?

TPUSA featured Gabby Barrett - very openly proclaimed Christian lady that incorporates her faith into her music.. Brantley Gilbert.. also very openly proclaimed Christian that tells people he is a "believer above all else".. that has written songs like "My Faith in You", etc.. Lee Brice, who is also Christian, has made social media posts on Instagram telling people how important it is to pray, had made multiple public statements about the importance of following Gods plan.. and Kid Rock, one of the biggest names in Rock in Roll for decades that publicly proclaimed his faith in Jesus Christ 18 months ago, and that tells people he is a "messy Christian" and a "child Christian" when explaining he is just now figuring everything out and trying to understand his old life vs his new..

All of these people other than Kid Rock are very much "family" men and women.. are constantly seen in public with their spouse and their kids, are constantly talking about their family values, their children, their spouses, etc..

And Kid Rock, while not married, has been in a relationship with the same woman for 16 years, and is actually known for being a very devoted father, who has raised his son as a single father, etc..

But Billy Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day, openly bisexual, openly drug addicted (their song "stink breath" is about how Billy Joe's breath stinks because of his use of meth).. Ricky Martin, openly gay, divorced from his husband.. Lady Gaga, openly bi-sexual, huge promoter of LGTBQ+.. and Bad Bunny, known for being "Gender Fluid", wants to redefine America as ALL of the Americas as one nation, and also a proponent of LGTBQ+ culture... this is family friendly?

 

[Brent in Az]

The fact that an old curmudgeon in Arizona even has a clue who Bad Bunny is, let alone has strong opinions about him, boggles my mind! Because I sure as hell don’t know a thing about him aside from the fact that he’s been quite big for the last couple years.

Remember what people thought of Elvis when he debuted? My mother and her siblings were forbidden from watching him

The fact that some clueless Canadian thinks his opinion is relevant to the doings of the American Superbowl and the Venue of TPUSA alternative halftime show really boggles my mind

Maybe TPUSA better consult you next year before they put together the Venue

Go bitch and complain to someone who gives a shit

 

[Aaron N]

The fact that some clueless Canadian thinks his opinion is relevant to the doings of the American Superbowl and the Venue of TPUSA alternative halftime show really boggles my mind

Maybe TPUSA better consult you next year before they put together the Venue

Go bitch and complain to someone who gives a shit

Did I give an opinion of either of the shows (I didn’t, because I didn’t watch either of them)? The only opinion I have was on your comment. The NFL can choose whoever they want to perform, and anyone who wants to put on an alternative show to watch should be free to do that as well

 

[Tanks]

I watched all of the Super Bowl on an airplane as my flight left from Atlanta at 6PM and landed as they were presented the trophy.

I watched a few minutes of the Bad Bunny, did not enjoy it. It wasn't the language, but the overall music and lyrics. I do enjoy Rammstein and Edith Piaf among many other foreign language singers and Bad Bunny was not one of them.

If one is using politics and general worldview of artists as a filter, then one is really limiting themselves by living in a bubble. Heck, even a dinner conversation might be interesting to experience.