On Saturday, April 2, I attended the second out of three “El Último Tour del Mundo” shows at the FTX Arena in Miami. For context, I purchased the tickets almost a year ago, meaning that I had one year to mentally prepare for one of the best nights of my life.
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has been Spotify’s most-streamed artist for the past two years. The Puerto Rican artist currently holds the No. 1 tour globally, according to Bloomberg, with Saturday night’s show alone being the “highest-grossing single night concert” in the FTX Arena’s history.
If it was up to me, I would have been there all day if it meant a chance to catch a glimpse of Bad Bunny before the show. Doors opened at 7 p.m. and tickets advertised a concert start time of 8 p.m. Nonetheless, big-name performers are notorious for starting late. During past appearances, Bad Bunny was taking the stage around 9:30 p.m.
Ultimately, I arrived around 7:45 p.m. The line to purchase merchandise was surprisingly not as long as I thought it would be. What wasn’t surprising were the eyebrow-raising prices of the products, with one hoodie going for $130.
By 8:30 p.m, I made it to my seat. This is one of my favorite parts of the concert-going experience. The pictures of the FTX Arena from section 106, row 12 did not do the view from my seat any justice.
In the center of the arena was a SEMI-TRUCK. Coinciding with the album cover of “El Último Tour del Mundo,” that semi-truck served as Bad Bunny’s stage. Think Transformers.
I had the pleasure of attending the “X100PRE” tour in Fort Myers and Tampa. The stage was in the shape of a cross, but its movement was limited. Therefore, I didn’t have my hopes set too high.
Boy, was I wrong.
Around 9:45 p.m., the lights cut out. The stage, truck or whatever you want to call it started moving toward the center. “EL MUNDO ES MÍO” started to play. Slowly but surely, Bad Bunny emerged onto the top of the truck.
Sporting a monochrome pink outfit with pink sunglasses to match, the global phenomenon stood on top of the truck for almost two minutes, as the crowd went wild chanting his name and screaming… Michael Jackson Super Bowl halftime show style.
Soon the audience was jamming out to hits from the Grammy-award winning (as of Sunday, April 4) album “El Último Tour del Mundo,” including “BOOKER T” and “LA NOCHE DE ANOCHE.”
About one hour into the show, Bad Bunny disappeared into the darkness and a transitional video appeared on the levitating screens.
The video featured the 12-year-old actor Adam Blasco Monrouzeau, the star of multiple visualizers for Bad Bunny’s “YHLQMDLG” album. Shortly thereafter, Bad Bunny reappeared onto the stage with “Si Veo a Tu Mamá.”
Songs like “La Difícil” and “La Santa” allowed fans to finally rejoice as they heard the tracks live, since the COVID-19 pandemic robbed “YHLQMDLG” from the world tour that it deserved.
Before he moved into some of his hit singles, such as “Lo Siento BB :/” and “Yonaguni,” Bad Bunny asked fans to help him out by singing at the top of their lungs. The sold-out audience replied in typical Miami fashion. My ears are still ringing and my voice is coming back slowly but surely.
Despite being on tour since February, Benito’s voice sounded strong and confident. Much better than the voice I heard on the “X100PRE” tour.
He closed the show with banger after banger. From “Yo Perreo Sola,” to “Safaera” and then an emotional close with “DÁKITI,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Chart, Bad Bunny provided a memorable experience with moments that were so personal, you couldn’t help but feel like he was speaking right at you.
From the lights and the visuals, to the dancers and the band (it could be argued that there were moments when they stole the show), I can honestly say that this was the best concert of my life. Seeing Bad Bunny on his “X100PRE” tour was amazing, but this time was different. On Saturday night, I got to witness Bad Bunny as a performer.
On Sunday night, fans were left anxiously waiting as the No. 1 artist in the world promised to announce his upcoming album’s release date after wrapping up the tour with his third show at the FTX Arena.
Bad Bunny will bring his “World’s Hottest Tour” to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Aug. 12 and 13. DJs Alesso and Diplo are set to make appearances at these shows, respectively.
Saturday night was hands-down one of the best nights of my life. I will never forget it. The post-concert depression is #real. Luckily, I know that there is much more to come from el Conejo Malo. August 13 cannot come fast enough.
Until then, I will be eagerly refreshing my social media channels for any sign of the singer’s highly-anticipated studio album. This summer will absolutely be a Bad Bunny summer.