‘Who?’ Kid Rock-led lineup for alternative Halftime Show disappoints fans
Soon after Turning Point USA on Monday announced the Kid Rock-led lineup for its alternative Super Bowl Halftime Show, the conservative group’s X post received replies from people expressing excitement and declaring that they definitely would turn away from NFL’s planned extravaganza, starring MAGA cultural enemy Bad Bunny.
But a number of others expressed disappointment about the lineup, or their replies came with the written version of shrugs and sneers, along with some laughing emojis, largely because people called Kid Rock “washed up” and said they had not heard of the three country singers scheduled to perform with him.
“What did this lineup cost? $1?” one person asked. Another said: “You had months and this is what you planned? LMAO,” while a third added: “Who? Apart from Kid Rock …”
Billed as the “All-American Halftime Show,” the alternative concert was announced by TPUSA, the organization founded by Charlie Kirk, the activist who was killed last year. TPUSA said the show
will celebrate “faith, family and freedom” while naming the other musicians on the lineup as Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
The three singers have all recorded multiple albums, toured nationally, won or been nominated for numerous country-music awards and scored in the country music charts. Twenty-five-year-old Barrett, who finished third on the 16th season of “American Idol, ” was hailed on the Grand Ole Opry’s website in 2020 as “country music’s next female superstar.”
But these three don’t appear to be known outside country music circles, at least according to people replying to TPUSA’s X post. They haven’t achieved the same level of mainstream fame as country-rap star Kid Rock once did, and they certainly don’t enjoy the international profile of Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican-born Latin music superstar also made music history Sunday night, with his album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” becoming the first Spanish-language album to win the Grammy for album of the year.
“Besides a washed up Kid Rock and three other people I’ve never heard of, is this the best @TPUSA could swing?” someone replied. This person asked why Turning Point USA couldn’t have booked a more famous pro-Trump musician like Nicki Minaj or a well-known Christian artist like Jelly Roll, who won three Grammy Awards Sunday night, including for best contemporary country album.
“I only know Kid Rock,” another person said. “No offense to the others, but I’ve never heard of them.”
Kid Rock, a major Trump supporter, explicitly positioned the TPUSA Halftime Show as a rejoinder to Bad Bunny’s, the New York Times said. “We plan to play great songs for folks who love America,” Kid Rock said in a statement announcing his performance.
Bad Bunny, on the other hand, is an outspoken critic of the Trump administration, especially its hardline policies on immigrants. He also performs in Spanish. He used the Grammys stage Sunday to declare “ICE out” and to say that immigrants and others from different cultures are “not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens.” Bad Bunny added: “We are humans, and we are Americans.”
The TPUSA show is scheduled to air on the organization’s various social media accounts around the same time as Bad Bunny’s halftime performance. Every year, the Super Bowl Halftime Show is generally the most viewed concert in the world and the centerpiece of the top-rated program on television, the New York Times said. More than 130 million people watched last year’s haltime show, headlined by rapper Kendrick Lamar.
On the TPUSA X post, people who say they support the organization and its efforts to offer counter-programming to Bad Bunny’s show said they were still disappointed that Kid Rock and other organizers couldn’t pull together a better lineup. One purpose of the show was to rally young conservatives.
“While I’m going to watch and support TPUSA this is not the lineup Americans especially younger Americans are looking for,” one person said.
“I only know Kid Rock. No offense to the others, but I’ve never heard of them,” another person said.