Shamita Basu

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This is In Conversation from Apple News.

I'm Shamita Basu.

Today, how Bad Bunny became a global superstar.

Earlier this week, Bad Bunny became the first person with a Spanish-language record to win the Grammy for Album of the Year for his sixth solo studio album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.

Te amo.

It's just the latest milestone in a string of accomplishments for Bad Bunny.

He's now won six Grammys.

Last year, he was Spotify's most streamed artist in the world for the fourth time.

He wrapped up a blockbuster residency in Puerto Rico last summer that brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the U.S.

territory where he grew up.

And this weekend, he'll headline the Super Bowl halftime show, the stage that typically draws more than 100 million viewers.

Some politically conservative critics have expressed their disapproval with that choice.

But Bad Bunny, whose offstage name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has remained unapologetic and outspoken, especially on issues like immigration and his intentional decision to sing almost exclusively in Spanish.

That's Susie Exposito, an editor at Delos, which covers Latin culture at the Los Angeles Times.

Susie has spent time with and profiled Bad Bunny several times, including for a Rolling Stone cover story.

She's also genuinely a longtime fan who has followed his rise from the very beginning.

Bad Bunny's music is rooted in Latin urban genres like reggaeton and Latin trap, but he often blends in elements from other genres too, like rock, pop, and salsa.