What to Know
At this point, you’ve probably heard that some conservatives say they’ll be watching Turning Point USA’s alternative halftime show instead of the actual Super Bowl halftime show this year. And to many critics online, this seems like a really interesting choice, given that the headliner at the alternative show is Kid Rock.
When Turning Point USA first announced the lineup for its “All-American Halftime Show,” people immediately started mocking it, questioning whether Kid Rock was truly the best artist they could find for this occasion. Now, a resurfaced clip of Kid Rock performing is making the rounds online. Watching that performance has made it even harder for people to imagine what on earth could motivate someone to sit through his performance.
People are choosing to watch Kid Rock instead of Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny is headlining the real Super Bowl halftime show. In 2025, he was Spotify’s most-streamed artist, and this year, he took home three Grammy Awards. But when he was revealed to this year’s headliner, some conservatives were outraged, leading Turning Point USA to organize its alternative halftime show. The fact that Kid Rock is headlining it is actually kind of amusing to a lot of people because he’s a vocal MAGA supporter who arguably “hasn’t been relevant for years.”
And the resurfaced clip is super cringe-worthy.
In an old video that started circulating online after TPUSA announced its lineup, Kid Rock performs “American Bad A–” at the 2024 Republican National Convention. And, uh, people have questions. Writer Christian Schneider shared the video on social media and captioned it with, “No amount of hatred for Puerto Rican musicians should make you pretend this is good.”
No amount of hatred for Puerto Rican musicians should make you pretend this is goodpic.twitter.com/zTmd6K1Okt
— Christian Schneider (@Schneider_CM) February 4, 2026
One critic who watched the clip said it made them feel like they were actually “watching a 6th grade talent show.” Another person questioned, “is this the culture they are trying to save?” But in Turning Point USA’s defense, their options were probably limited. One person on X joked, “It was either this, Ted Nugent, or a DJ playing YMCA on repeat.”
People also noticed that those who were watching the performance at that event did not seem all that into it, but seemingly had to pretend to like it. “I love how you can tell these people have never listened to him before and are awkwardly pretending to be into it,” one person observed. “They clearly have no idea what his lyrics actually say.”
Last February, Kid Rock abruptly left before finishing a performance.
You also might remember how, about a year ago, Kid Rock went viral for storming off the stage when people didn’t clap for him. He was performing at JBJ’s Nashville for Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan’s birthday. He stopped mid-performance to say, “F— them. F— them. If you ain’t gonna clap, we ain’t gonna sing.” People started clapping more, but apparently, they weren’t enthusiastic enough for him, and he left. “You know what, f–k y’all. You ain’t gonna clap, I’m gone,” he said before exiting.
