Entertainment
Mary J. Blige Talks ‘Be Happy’ Movie, Vegas Residency & Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Performance: ‘Timing Is Everything’
This Valentine’s Day, all Mary J. Blige wants is for everyone to “be happy.”
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On Saturday (Feb. 7), the nine-time Grammy winner will team up with Lifetime for the premiere of Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy, a new romantic dramedy inspired by her 1994 Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit of the same name (No. 29). Anchored by a cast including NAACP Image Award-winners Tisha Campbell and Mekhi Phifer and SAG Award nominee Russell Hornsby, the film uses Blige’s classic to explore a story of reinvention, intimacy and the new midlife paths that lead women to rediscover parts of themselves and radically reshape their futures.
“When I was recording these songs, they were movies,” Blige tells Billboard. “I was living ‘Real Love.’ Even if I didn’t go to college, I was searching for a real love. With Be Happy, she’s in a marriage, and she’s trying to figure out where she fits and what her purpose is now because her marriage is fizzling out, and it’s now time to reinvent, not be stuck and move forward. That’s been the story of my life: reinventing. Not because somebody wants me to, but because it’s where life takes me. And people love a wholesome movie about love and change; that’s what my songs represent to people.”
Marking the fourth collaboration between Blige and Lifetime, Be Happy is helmed by Academy Award-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) in her directorial debut. Cameron J. Ross, who previously worked on The Summer I Turned Pretty, penned the script, while additional producers include Bruce Miller, Milana Edwards Brooks, Mona Scott-Young, and Angela White. In 2023, Blige and Lifetime teamed up for Real Love and Strength of a Woman, following those films with Family Affair in 2025. Be Happy is the first film in their collaboration to not feature the trio of Ajiona Alexus, Da’Vinchi and Princess Davis, who all starred in the first three Blige-inspired movies.
No stranger to the film world, the R&B icon earned a pair of Oscar nominations (best supporting actress and best original song) for 2017’s Mudbound. From 2020-2024, she starred in the Starz crime drama Power Book II: Ghost as the fan-favorite Monet Stewart Tejada, winning two NAACP Image Awards for her performance.
Blige’s new film arrives a few months before she heads to Sin City for her first-ever Las Vegas Residency. Dubbed ‘Mary J. Blige: My Life, My Story The Las Vegas Residency,’ the show will kick off May 1 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, with 10 dates scheduled through July. “People have been asking me to do a residency for years, and now I’m ready to go sit in Vegas,” she said, later joking that she’s most excited about “not getting on a plane or a bus” like she’s had to for larger-scale tours.
Last year, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul earned the No. 5 highest-grossing R&B tour of 2025 with her arena-headlining For My Fans Tour, pulling in $37.1 million from 270,000 tickets sold. The three-hour R&B spectacle, which also featured sets from Mario and Ne-Yo, covered a large swath of Blige’s sprawling catalog, though her underrated 2014 London Sessions project was relegated to the bench.
“I’m working on it. I have so many records. And a lot of Mary J. Blige fans don’t know The London Sessions,” she said. “I love [that album.] I went to London and stayed out there for a month or two to get it done. But just because I love something doesn’t mean all the fans are ready. Hopefully, one day they’ll explore it!”
Be Happy also hits screens one day before Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8), where Bad Bunny will headline the Apple Music halftime show. Blige played the 2022 halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, earning an Emmy Award for outstanding variety special (live). Even though she’s already conquered that stage, the “Be Without You” singer says she doesn’t have any advice for the Puerto Rican powerhouse.
“I think he’s got it! He performs to trillions of people; everybody goes to a Bad Bunny show,” she gushed. “So I think he’s going to kill it. It’s going to be great!”
Produced by Blue Butterfly Productions, Monami Productions, Motion Entertainment and Swirl Films for Lifetime, Be Happy premieres Saturday, Feb. 7, on Lifetime at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Watch the official trailer for Mary J. Blige Presents Be Happy below.
For the second straight February, our Greatest Pop Star from the year before went right from a dominant night at the Grammys into a triumphant headlining set at the Super Bowl halftime show. After Kendrick Lamar last year, this time it was Bad Bunny‘s turn to take a victory lap — which he did with a stunning 13-minute performance that felt both historically rich and unmistakably timely. And while the reviews were strong, so was the backlash, which started well before the performance itself and ultimately led to an alternative halftime show being aired elsewhere. But it all ended with Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio being at the center at every major discussion surrounding Super Bowl LX — arguably moreso than the underwhelming game surrounding it — and likely swarming the Billboard charts as a result in the weeks to come.
On this bonus episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard‘s Emily Fuentes to give our morning-after reactions to the performance — what about it worked for us, what about it felt like a potential missed opportunity, and whether it all added up to the kind of statement we were hoping he might make during such a spotlight moment. Did we feel like it had the right balance of old and new stuff? Did the Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin performances — or the apparently the IRL couple getting married — fit into the larger performance? Was there a moment on par with the “Say Drake” moment from Kendrick Lamar’s show last year? Was there any justification for the artists who played at the Turning Point alternate halftime performance? And who do we think will emerge triumphant in the Billboard Hot 100 race between Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift next week?
Check it out above, along with YouTube video of the halftime performance — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!
And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:
Transgender Law Center
Trans Lifeline
Destination Tomorrow
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
Entertainment
Super Bowl 2026: Bad Bunny Cries, A Party with Los Pleneros, & More Things You Didn’t See on TV
After nearly five months of bustle, controversy, and speculations that revolved around this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, headliner Bad Bunny officially made history — and powerful statements — at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday (Feb. 8).
The almost 15-minute-long show that took place during the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots faceoff (Seahawks won 29-13) was not your typical halftime show: it was intentional, it was prideful, it was cultural, it was en Español, and it was “a huge party,” as the Puerto Rican artist promised during a press conference earlier in the week.
Benito (his real name) loudly and proudly sang some of the biggest hits — ”Tití Me Preguntó,” “Yo Perreo Sola,” “NuevaYol,” and “Baile Inolvidable,” to name a few — that ultimately made him the No. 1 music artist in the world right now, and the 2026 Grammy winner of the coveted album of the year award with Debí Tirar Más Fotos. Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Karol G, Cardi B, and Pedro Pascal were among his surprise guests.
But beyond that, he brought a message of unity to the field: “Together We Are America,” read a football he held at the end of his performance. Bad Bunny previously admitted that he “never thought” his Grammy-winning album would land him as a headliner on music’s biggest stage.
“I wasn’t looking for the album of the year at the Grammys and Latin Grammys,” he noted during the conference. “I wasn’t looking to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. I was just looking to connect with my roots, my people more than ever, connect with myself, my history, my culture. I did it in a very honest way […] You always have to be proud of who you are and feel comfortable being yourself, but don’t let that limit yourself. I know where I come from, but I also know where I can go.”
Over at the stadium, Seahawks and Patriots fans gathered alike but also a wave of fans that were rooting for the highly-anticipated Benito Bowl, flaunting their pava straw hats and “Team Benito” merch.
Below, check out some things you didn’t see on TV:
Bad Bunny transformed the Super Bowl LX halftime show on Sunday (Feb. 8) into a joyous celebration of identity, history, and unity, stitching together his Puerto Rican roots with broader themes that resonate across the Americas.
From the opening scene of sugar cane fields — a nod to the island’s colonial past — to the portrayal of the now-iconic Casita, the Puerto Rican superstar paid homage to the resilience and struggles of his homeland. Tributes to barber shops, domino tables, piraguas vendors, and Nuyorican pride brought to life the everyday traditions and essence of Caribbean culture.
Much of the symbolism ran deep: “El Apagón” spotlighted Puerto Rico’s ongoing power grid struggles and displacement — read more on that below — while a shoutout to every nation in the Americas emphasized a powerful message of connectedness.
Amid heartfelt moments like the Grammy handoff to a young boy dressed as a young Benito and an actual wedding that took place on stage, the hitmaker proved that his halftime show was about much more than entertainment but a celebration of heritage, community, and perseverance.
Already ranked as one of the most-watched halftime performances in Super Bowl history, Bad Bunny’s show delivered impact far beyond entertainment
More than a 13-minute medley spanning through all of his hits, his performance was a carefully curated display of cultural pride. As the night culminated with his “Together We Are America” message appropriately emblazoned on his football, El Conejo Malo showed the world that halftime shows can be more than extravagant.
Let’s dive into the references and moments you might have missed.
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Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show Easter eggs: 15 things you might have missed
Did the Bad Bunny Halftime Show Meet Our Expectations?
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