Kid Rock is defending his performance at the inaugural Turning Point USA All-American Halftime Show, firing back at critics who accused him of lip-syncing on Sunday night.
In an X video released on Tuesday, Kid Rock explained that there was a significant technical problem during the editing process. Because the show was pre-recorded, editors didn’t realize until after the taping that the audio syncing was off.
Kid Rock said that when he saw the initial cut, he immediately noticed the syncing problem.
“Now, it’s extremely difficult for them to line up the sync,” he explained. “Could it have been done if we had more time? I’m confident they could have gotten it right.”
Kid Rock also expressed his frustration with people who accused him of lip-syncing “Bawitdaba,” which he says he’s regularly performed for nearly 30 years.
My halftime performance was pre recorded but performed live. No lipsycing like the haters and fake news are trying to report. When they synced the cameras to my performance on Bawitdaba, it did not line up as I explain in this video. pic.twitter.com/k1x1RfI9RY
— KidRock (@KidRock) February 10, 2026
“[If] I ever was going to lip-sync, which I wouldn’t, that would be the last song I would ever have to bring into the fold to do it to,” he said. “We’ve performed this song every night on tour since 1998. Since the day it was released.”
Despite the technical issues, the Turning Point USA Halftime Show still received positive feedback from viewers. Of the nearly 394,000 X users who voted in a TMZ poll asking who had the better halftime show between Kid Rock and Bad Bunny, 64.5% voted for Kid Rock.
Critical reception was far more negative for Kid Rock than for Bad Bunny. A common complaint among viewers is that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance was mostly in Spanish without subtitles.
The admission that Turning Point USA’s halftime show was pre-recorded is notable and raises questions about the format at potential future events. However, the YouTube streams proved that it could handle millions of viewers tuning in at once without lag.
Crowd roars as Kid Rock pays tribute to the Bible and Jesus at the All-American Halftime Show.
Beautiful lyrics. You would never, ever hear anything like this sung at the Super Bowl.
“There’s a book that’s sitting in your house somewhere that could use some dusting off. There’s… pic.twitter.com/BAizOSQcGo
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) February 9, 2026
Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and rising country music star Gabby Barrett joined Kid Rock at the All-American Halftime Show. Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and Los Pleneros de la Cresta participated alongside Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl halftime show.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the All-American Halftime Show performance had recorded over 25 million YouTube views between Turning Point USA’s official channel and Charlie Kirk’s channel. An estimated 5.7 million to 6 million viewers tuned in to the YouTube feed concurrently on Sunday night; licensing issues prevented TPUSA from live-streaming the halftime show on X.
Turning Point USA has already confirmed it intends to hold another halftime show next year, though the organization hadn’t yet announced whether Kid Rock will perform again. The NFL typically announces its Super Bowl performer in September or October.
