After months of building anticipation, Turning Point USA released the lineup for its rival Super Bowl halftime show.
This announcement comes less than a week before the big game.
TPUSA decided to put on an alternative performance after the NFL announced in October that reggaeton star Bad Bunny would perform at the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
Following rapper Nicki Minaj and her increasing closeness to the Trump administration, many online speculated about the possibility of her headlining the rival show.
Who is on the TPUSA lineup?
The “All American” halftime show is set to feature artists who have been closely aligned with the Trump administration or TPUSA in the past.
The musicians include Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
“We’re approaching this show like David and Goliath. Competing with the pro football machine and a global pop superstar is almost impossible … or is it?” Kid Rock said in a release announcing the lineup.
What do we know about the performers?
Rock, who has described Trump as “the greatest president ever,” will be going on a “Rock the Country” tour this summer.
In March 2025, Rock joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office for the signing of the executive order aimed at curbing high ticket prices.
Country music star Gilbert is known for hits like “Dirt Road Anthem” and “Bottoms Up.”
Brice dedicated his song “When The Kingdom Comes” to Charlie Kirk following Kirk’s assassination last year. He said Kirk “had a heart of God.” His top hits are “I Don’t Dance,” “A Woman Like You” and “I Drive Your Truck.”
Last but not least, Barrett found stardom with country music after finishing in third place on the sixteenth season of “American Idol” in 2018. That was the same year she performed “First Noel” for Trump at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington D.C.
The show will air on several conservative channels, including Real America’s Voice, a conservative news platform, TBN, the world’s largest religious broadcasting network, as well as social media platforms including YouTube, X and Rumble.
Why Nicki Minaj was rumored to perform
Despite the rumors, Minaj is not performing. The rap artist recently appeared next to Trump at a U.S. Treasury event wearing a white fur coat and long acrylic nails.
“I am probably the president’s number one fan and that’s not going to change,” she said on stage.
Erika Kirk interviewed Minaj in front of a live audience of about 30,000 during TPUSA’s AmericaFest in December 2025. Minaj didn’t perform but her hit song “Super Bass” played as she walked onstage.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” Minaj said at the event. “I don’t even know if he knows this but he has given so many people hope that there’s a chance to beat the bad guys and win and do it with your head held high and your integrity intact.”
Bad Bunny makes history at the Grammys ahead of the halftime show performance
Bad Bunny took home three Grammys — for album of the year, best musica Urbana album and best global music performance — on Sunday night, a week ahead of his halftime show performance.
“U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement out,” he said in his acceptance speech, to loud applause.
“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens … We are humans and we are Americans,” the Latin artist said at the awards show.
“I know it’s tough not to hate on these days, and I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminados— I don’t know how to say that in English — the hate gets more powerful with more hate.”
He made history Sunday night. His album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” which translates to “I Should Have Taken More Photos,” made history by becoming the first Spanish-language album to earn the top award at the Grammys.
Last year, Bad Bunny, Spotify’s most-streamed artist from 2020 to 2022 and 2025, used his platform to decry President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and refused to add stops in the U.S. on his 2025 tour because of the fear of raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election.
“I don’t know who he is,” Trump said in October after the halftime show performer was revealed.
“I don’t know why they’re doing it — it’s crazy,” the president said in the interview. “They blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said her department will be “all over” the Super Bowl, adding “people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they are law-abiding Americans who love this country.”