While millions tuned in for Bad Bunny’s history making Super Bowl halftime show, conservative organisation Turning Point USA rolled out its own alternative broadcast.
Branded as the All-American Halftime Show, the TPUSA production positioned itself as counterprogramming, promising a celebration of “faith, family and freedom” through performances by Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett (per Billboard).
The show streamed online rather than airing on traditional television, drawing viewers away from the main NFL broadcast (featuring Bad Bunny).
Promotion for the event leaned heavily on TPUSA’s broader political messaging, information about the show sat low on the organisation’s website, beneath donation prompts tied to late founder Charlie Kirk’s final book and its stated mission to recruit high school and college students into a movement “rooted in faith, freedom and love of country.”
Kid Rock, who helped spearhead the event, promoted the show on Fox days earlier, promising a “classic rock, in your face” opening before teasing a mystery performance of what he described as “one of the best written songs in a long time.”
He later clarified it would be a “pretty current, last few years country song… one of the greatest written songs I’ve heard in a long time,” which he planned to release at midnight following the show.
Rock framed the broadcast as being for people “who love America, love football, love Jesus,” stressing that none of the performers were “approaching this with any hate in our hearts.”
Honouring Charlie Kirk
The livestream opened with a salute to Charlie Kirk, followed by fundraising prompts and merchandise ads, performances unfolded in quick succession:
Brantley Gilbert kicked things off with ‘Real American’ before shifting into a stripped back version of ‘Dirt Road Anthem’.
Gabby Barrett followed with ‘I Hope’ and ‘The Good Ones’, while Lee Brice delivered ‘Drinking Class’ and debuted ‘Country Nowadays’, a song addressing cultural divides.
“This is what’s on mind,” Brice told viewers, before singing lyrics that criticised gender expression and political labelling, drawing the loudest reaction of the night.
Kid Rock closed the show with ‘Bawitdaba’, before pivoting into an acoustic cover of Cody Johnson’s ‘Til You Can’t’. Introducing a newly written verse, he added, “there’s a book that is sitting in your house somewhere that could use some dusting off… there’s a man that died for all our sins on the cross,” before offering a shout out to Jesus and dedicating the moment “in remembrance of Charlie Kirk.”
The broadcast wrapped after roughly 15 minutes with no fireworks, rants, or viral meltdown’s. Just a deliberately framed alternative halftime experience, aimed squarely at a conservative audience watching the Super Bowl from the sidelines.
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