Green Day kick off Super Bowl LX with an energetic four song set
It doesn’t get any bigger than that. Taking the stage in their own Northern California backyard at Levi’s Stadium, Green Day officially kicked off the Super Bowl LX opening ceremony with a high-octane medley that reached the single largest TV audience of the band's career. Sharing the field with a parade of NFL legends, Green Day delivered a reminder of why they are still one of the best live bands around.
The performance opened with a string-backed rendition of 'Good Riddance' then quickly shifted gears into a blistering run through 'Holiday', 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams' and 'American Idiot' to close out the set.
Given the venue and the stakes, the big question on everyone's mind ahead of kickoff was how the band would handle the NFL’s notorious, corporate-locked broadcast rules. Ultimately, Green Day opted to play it straight, steering clear of the overt political statements that have defined their recent club and festival sets. There were no altered lyrics to blast the MAGA agenda or any shots fired at ICE, they took care of that at the FanDuel pre-Super Bowl party on Friday.
It’s the kind of compromise you expect when stepping onto the most heavily policed stage in entertainment; the NFL wants a flawless television product, and Green Day delivered exactly that, choosing to let the music do the talking instead of hijacking the pre-game festivities.
You can check out the full setlist and stats for the performance below.
Articles Overview
- Green Day headlined the Super Bowl LX opening ceremony at Levi's Stadium, performing a medley featuring 'American Idiot,' 'Holiday' and 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).'
- Unlike recent festival appearances, the band largely steered clear of political commentary, including the altered 'MAGA agenda' lyric Billie Joe Armstrong has often used in 'American Idiot'.
- An apparent F-bomb during 'American Idiot' slipped through the broadcast, prompting widespread coverage of perceived censorship on portions of the performance.
- The set served as the kickoff to Super Bowl 60 in the band's Bay Area home turf, with NFL legend Steve Young joining festivities during the pregame.
- Reaction was split, with some outlets and fans praising the hometown performance and others — including online critics — questioning the toned-down approach.
Articles 33
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THESUNFLOWER.COM
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CNN
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FORBES
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WVIR
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WPTZ
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SFGATE
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VARIETY
Green Day Drops F-Bombs in Super Bowl Pre-Show With ‘American Idiot,’ ‘Holiday’ and ‘Good Riddance’ - Variety
FRONT OFFICE SPORTS
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DAZN
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FOX NEWS
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YAHOO
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ALTERNATIVE PRESS MAGAZINE
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YAHOO
Green Day Censored During Super Bowl Performance - Yahoo
PITCHFORK
Watch Green Day Perform American Idiot Medley at Super Bowl LX - Pitchfork
USA TODAY
Green Day rocks out in electric Super Bowl opening set featuring \'American Idiot\' - USA Today
E! NEWS
Green Day Kicks Off Super Bowl 2026 With Rocking Opening Ceremony Performance - E! News
YAHOO
How Green Day was censored during Super Bowl performance - Yahoo
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Green Day Appears to Sing F-Bomb During Super Bowl Pre-Game Performance of “American Idiot” - The Hollywood Reporter
PEOPLE.COM
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LOUDWIRE
Here’s What Green Day Played at the 2026 Super Bowl Kickoff Performance - Loudwire
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
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FOX SPORTS
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ROCK CELLAR MAGAZINE
Watch Green Day Play a Medley of Hits — Including “American Idiot” — to Kick Off Super Bowl LX - Rock Cellar Magazine
NEW NOISE MAGAZINE
News: Green Day Nail Super Bowl LX With Blasting Performance - New Noise Magazine
EVERETT POST
Green Day kicks off Super Bowl 60 with opening ceremony performance - Everett Post
THEWATCHDOGONLINE.COM
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BILLBOARD
Green Day Kicks Off Super Bowl Opening Ceremony With Hits Medley Devoid of Political Statements - Billboard
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
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LOUDWIRE
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CHORUS.FM
Green Day’s Super Bowl Performance - chorus.fm
From the r/GreenDay community
u/SowingShade
▲ 412
Underwhelming, but the songs speak for themselves. And I have to remember that this wasn't a protest the administration and ICE rally, it was the Super Bowl.
They were afforded the opportunity to play on the perhaps the largest stage in the world, representing the Bay Area and welcoming in/connecting with a global audience.
They chose to take a more straightforward/subtle approach to their commentary, and be allowed to perform at all, rather than forgo the opportunity all together. I can live with that.
u/Low-Cauliflower-805
▲ 356
I think everyone who is complaining is missing the subtext. Everyone knows "American idiot" has been modified to attack maga. Everyone knows Green Day has been calling out the conservative agenda. The NFL is letting you know they don't like trump and conservatism. The organization is backing Green day as a "fuck you" to trump. They're just doing it in a way that you can call the conservatives pansys for complaining.
u/thealarmist
▲ 80
They played two of their biggest and most political hits in front of football fans. Listen to teh cheer that went up from the crowd during 'mind fuck america', even without stating it in plain clear English (you know, for the MAGA 'born in the usa' is a proud american song crowd), the point was made.
Chickening out would have been time of your life, boulevard, basket case and when I come around. This string of hits would have worked for the same audience, but it would have said nothing. They worked inside their parameters and knocked it out of the park.
u/WarAndFynn
▲ 188
Been lurking in here for the last 30ish minutes to see everyone's take and a lot of people are mad they didn't say THE LINE and are therefore sellouts, but y'all clearly are missing what all the other lyrics are literally saying: the same damn thing. Think about their song choices:
Holiday, an anti-war song;
Blvd, a journey through despair
American Idiot, a protest song against propaganda used to fuel racism and acts of terror.
And as someone else mentioned, they are leaving the main political stage to Bad Bunny, whose own community (Hispanic) is feeling the most hurt from ICE.
ETA: GD knows they only have 3 minutes to make a statement, and knowing full well that line would get censored, they didn't "play it safe" they "played it smart" with their song choices. They made a statement, which can be done in more ways than saying 1 specific line that would be removed anyway.
u/wilburyboo
▲ 63
They literally told ICE agents to quit their shitty jobs yesterday, and just played two very political songs. Calling them complicit because they didn’t sing a verse that also had the word “f****t” in it is one hell of a stretch.
u/FettuccineAlfonzo
▲ 142
Imagine bitching about Green Day, your favorite band, playing two of their most political songs at the Super Bowl but upset they didn’t adlib something they do at all their concerts. It’s the super bowl. Their presence is a statement.