Dateline – MIAMI
Hard Rock Stadium
13 August 2022
In a pop music world filled with more myth than reality, Bad Bunny’s story is like a mythic reality show. The singer and rapper was working as a bagger at a supermarket in his native Puerto Rico just seven short years ago. Now he’s doing his thing in stadiums and, paper or plastic, he’ll take your chavos. On this steamy summer night in Miami, his World’s Hottest Tour lived up to its audacious title.
Hitting the stadium circuit was necessary for the Bunny after the unprecedented demand for 2021’s El Ultimo Tour del Mundo crashed Ticketmaster’s website multiple times the first day of the on-sale, leaving thousands of fans heartbroken.
The World’s Hottest Tour felt like many other stadium shows, with mega-screens behind the artist featuring lavish visuals for each song. Inflatable dolphins swam over the crowd, and Bad Bunny himself glided over us on a floating island. He featured material primarily from his most recent album, Un Verano Sin Ti, which set multiple streaming records upon its release. Bad Bunny is reportedly now the most streamed artist in the world.
While none of the special effects were particularly new, the audience made the experience incredibly fresh. Going to a Bad Bunny show in Miami is akin to a religious experience. A three-hour plane ride from San Juan, Miami/Dade has a huge Spanish-speaking population, which makes it a great US base for Bunny operations. For many Latinx people, he has become a modern, real-life superhero. Born into a low-income family in Puerto Rico, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has risen to a level of stardom unimaginable to people of similar backgrounds.
When fans shouted out “Benito” at the top of their lungs, they seemed to be showing their pride in a man who has overcome long odds to become the world’s biggest streaming star. World’s Hottest Tour may actually be underselling it a bit – este espectáculo es muy caliente de hecho.
This random eyewitness video gives you a taste of the extravaganza
Bad Bunny’s World’s Hottest Tour is currently playing in stadia across the United States and Latin America through December 9th. For more information visit worldshottesttour.com
