“I’ve waited two years for this,” was the common consensus among the crowd at Bad Bunny’s concert at the Forum on February 25th. This was part of the Puerto Rican superstar’s three-night stand in Los Angeles with his El Último Tour Del Mundo 2022. After Bad Bunny dropped two top-selling albums in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, his fans finally got to experience the perreo intenso in a live setting.
El Último Tour Del Mundo 2022 marks Bad Bunny’s return to the stage, and when his U.S. tour went on sale last spring, it sold out in a matter of days. His follow-up summer trek: World’s Hottest Tour, in stadiums across the country, is already sold-out as well. At the concert in Inglewood, Bad Bunny showed everything that has made him such a beloved anomaly in Latin music and beyond. With the perreo that fans were waiting for, he also mixed in the alternative rock edge of his most recent album, “El Último Tour Del Mundo.” On full display with his genre-bending sound was the feeling of inclusion that he has been pushing in the past few years. Over the course of his two-hour-plus show, Bad Bunny proved why he’s become a global rock star. Here are a few of our favorite moments.
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Bad Bunny Took Fans Along For the Ride
Staying true to the big rig on his “El Último Tour Del Mundo” album cover, Bad Bunny rode into the Forum on the monster truck, starting off the show with “Booker T,” his ode to the WWE legend. From the top of the truck, he sang, “Estoy en mi peak,” which are words that he’s manifested in every sense. Then, like a transformer, the truck unfolded to a horizontal stage in the center of the arena where fans could enjoy him from wherever they were seated. There were stunning moments during the show, like when the venue was bathed in a sea of blue lights as if underwater during “Dákiti,” and when cherry blossom petals rained down on the screens during “Yonaguni.”
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Bad Bunny Let His Inner Rockero Rip
While Bad Bunny is best known for his reggaeton and Latin trap hits, fans were introduced to his rockero side in the concert’s first half. People headbanged in the audience during the rush of guitars in the Nirvana-like “Yo Visto Así,” and hand-horns went into the air while Bad Bunny wailed through the Enanitos Verdes-like “Maldita Pobreza.” In the build-up to the perreo intenso, Bad Bad Bunny inspired an impressive punk en español show.
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Bad Bunny’s Emotional Moments Hit Different Live
What separates Bad Bunny from many of today’s reggaetoneros is the emotional weight behind his vocals. The way he’s in his feelings and pours his heart out is tangible in his heartbreaking ballads. Bad Bunny brought that emotional energy beautifully to the stage during the concert’s slower moments. The audience loudly echoed the words to the tender “Te Deseo Lo Mejor” as Bad Bunny belted it, and during the otherworldly “Trellas,” the venue was glowing with phone lights. Bad Bunny sounds great live, especially when he’s bringing the mood behind his music to life. “That you accept and connect with the music that I wrote, that’s what’s most important to me,” he said in Spanish during the concert. “[You] singing these songs is what makes me happy.”
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Everyone Was Welcome To Bad Bunny’s Último Tour
Bad Bunny is internationally recognized for subverting machismo in his songs, style, and music videos. He fosters a safe space for women and the LGBTQ+ community to perrear. Bad Bunny’s diverse cast of dancers reflected his inclusive messaging. One dancer who stood out is Carlos Agosto Rivera, a body-positive performer who calls himself “El Gordito De Bad Bunny” on TikTok. During the performance of “A Tu Merced,” the men and women danced in dresses while holding onto sunflowers. For “Yo Perreo Sola,” they wore matching red latex outfits while perreando por un sueño. Before performing the empowering “Está Cabrón Ser Yo,” Bad Bunny told the audience in Spanish, “Always be yourself. Don’t be afraid. Be you!”
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Bad Bunny’s “YHLQMDLG” Detour
Thankfully, in El Último Tour Del Mundo 2022, Bad Bunny also showed love to his album “YHLQMDLG.” The LP had dropped in late February 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and as the world went into lockdown, this album full of bangers couldn’t be enjoyed in the clubs. Instead, fans like myself only had our bedrooms in which to dance. So bad Bunny smartly ended the concert with the back-to-back perreo strike of “Yo Perreo Sola” and the monster “Safaera.” When he performed those songs, the crowd absolutely cut loose. People were twerking and dropping it low, finally getting to enjoy these anthems in a public setting, with Bad Bunny himself. That pent-up perreo from the past two years felt like it was unleashed and made for a euphoric end to this incredible concert experience.
