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The performance of Bad Bunny in the superbowl has set a precedent that has been gaining strength over the last six years: music in spanish it is already mainstream. And some Latin (or Spanish-speaking) artists no longer need to sing in English – as Shakira or Ricky Martin did in their day – to be recognized on a global level (especially in the digital sphere).
And we don't say it, this is what the study shows Spanish on the contemporary musical map: from the trend towards global consolidation in the United States and Spain prepared by the journalist and doctor in Communication Lourdes Moreno Cazalla, for the University of Nebrija.
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About him halftime show and the relevance of a Latin singer being at the epicenter of it, Lourdes expresses that “the Super Bowl is not just any stage, It is one of the most national cultural rituals of the United States. That the Spaniard occupied that space naturally, without translation or apology, said something that went beyond the show.. It wasn't an irruption. It was a realization. “Many have seen it as very political, for me it has been very symbolic.”
WECB
WECB
However, Moreno makes an assessment. Because, although even before the halftime show took place, searches in the United States for “learn Spanish quickly” increased by 8,300% since September and, after September, the language platform Duolingo registered a 35% increase in Spanish learners, “It would be simplistic to say that his actions have 'promoted' the rise of Spanish.”
The peak year of this rise and expansion of Spanish, as their research points out, occurred in 2023through consumption peaks, sustained presence in global rankings and clear hegemony in Spain. Since then, the market has entered a phase of adjustment and consolidation: less novelty effect, more stability and normalization of its centrality in the mainstream. This speaks of a “maturity phase after several years of continued growth, especially since the pandemic.”
“What an event like this does is something different, crystallizing a trend that had been accumulating for years in data, consumption and cultural presence. Music in Spanish stopped being peripheral a long time ago but a milestone always has to happen, as the Super Bowl has been so that that centrality becomes visible in the most media scenario possible. “It does not create the phenomenon, it certifies it.”
Streaming as an ecosystem for music in Spanish, but not the only one
Where this leadership of music in Spanish is best appreciated is in the digital ecosystem, on streaming platforms, but, most especially, on YouTube.
The video platform serves as a true massive showcase for this phenomenon and a growing concentration is observed: a few platforms organize global listening and coexist with a sense of diversity that is often superficial.
That does not diminish the role of the media legacy (radio, television, music press), that continue to provide recognition and validation: they help turn what is trend into cultural consensus.
As Sergio Figueiras, director of content at PRISA's music channels, warns, it is advisable to keep the focus open: “If we focus too much on the platforms, we run the risk of forgetting that each one responds to an audience, a mode of consumption and its own narrative.”
A mainstream reserved only for a few urban artists
Spanish has established itself as the reference language for urban and transnational sounds. Spain does not operate as an island: it participates in the Latin movement where the shared language functions as cultural cement.
As Cristina Armuña (IAE) explains here, “The development of urban music has changed with the platforms. Before it was essential to be on the radio or in venues, “But today it is possible to generate demand from digital environments, especially among young audiences, and in this context, Spanish has positioned itself as the language that structures these movements, beyond what is strictly Latin.”
However, the success of music consumption in Spanish (which reaches historical highs) is concentrated in a limited number of artists and collaborations: “The language of music has changed its meaning. Before we actively searched for songs, but Today the songs appear to us. The intensive use of platforms and social networks is transforming—and partly distorting—how we consume music.”adds Carlos Galán, CEO of Subterfuge Records.
For this reason, we also have to see if Bad Bunny can be extrapolated to other figures, as Lourdes Moreno says: “The question is whether it is only going to focus on a single artist. I see phenomena that do not rely on it; for example, today the #1 on YouTube in Spain is Rosalía; in Shazam, Ryan Castro with The Villa. The important thing is that English is ceasing to be the lingua franca of the mainstream.”
“Events (like the Superbowl) function as condensation points, because They concentrate debates about language, identity, market and cultural power that were already in circulation. What is interesting is not the audience record or the immediate impact, but how These moments force institutions and the industry to recognize transformations that had already occurred“he adds, without ruling out a future study on the phenomenon Super Bowl as a symptom (of the rise of Spanish) and not as an anecdote.
Of course, we must not lose sight of digital borders either. The observation points out that “there is ecosystems relevant No fully represented in Western metrics, especially in Asiawith its own platforms and logic. The teacher Guillermo Salvador Marinaro (Fudan University) warns that “musical globalization is advancing, but in a fragmentedopening a future scenario marked by the coexistence between truly global circuits and sovereign digital spaces. It is the case of China“.
The Super Bowl did not mark the beginning of the phenomenon: it confirmed that Spanish is already a structural part of the global mainstream, although there are still issues to continue exploring, such as “the sustainability of the model and its permanence in the face of future changes in platforms, algorithms or consumer habits.”
