Bad Bunny
When WWE Superstar Damian Priest learned that one of the biggest matches of his career would be held in Puerto Rico, he was overjoyed. For Priest, who was raised in Vega Baja, a small town just 26 miles from San Juan, it was more than a match — it was a long-awaited homecoming. But for this no-holds-barred San Juan Street Fight, the former World Heavyweight Champion would be lacing up his boots to face an unusual opponent: one of music’s brightest stars and arguably Puerto Rico’s favorite son, Bad Bunny.
“Here he is doing all these moves and being able to take them,” Priest recalls of the May 6, 2023, barn burner, where he lost by pinfall. “The fact that he could take all these hits and get back up — and I know he was in a lot of pain — that drive to succeed and entertain, he has it, like we all do.”
Bad Bunny actually made his WWE debut in January 2021, at the Royal Rumble in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he faced off against former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. That April, he showcased more daredevil moves and aerial tactics — and turned skeptics into believers — at WrestleMania. And since then, he has continued to solidify his heavyweight status in the wrestling world with his unwavering passion for the craft.
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“Music and WWE have always run parallel,” Priest says. “When I describe how to make it in this business through the grind and the struggle, it’s always easier to explain it to musicians because they get it. It’s the same grind. You start performing in front of little to nobody in these greasy clubs, try to get noticed and then build up a reputation and a bit of a following. Hopefully, you get noticed by a record label or an artist who puts you on a tour, [and] it’s the same thing here.”
Bad Bunny and Damian Priest wrestle during the WWE Backlash at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on May 6, 2023 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Though the WWE has been around for 70 years, the wrestling conglomerate is enjoying a renaissance — and the music industry has played a significant role in its post-pandemic resurgence. WWE president Nick Khan, who joined the company in 2020, has been at the forefront, connecting the dots between music and the WWE by bringing artists like Bad Bunny, Travis Scott, Metro Boomin, Cardi B, Meek Mill, Jelly Roll and Sexyy Red to collaborate with the company. Whether through actual matches, live TV segments or commercials for future premium live events, the strategic pairing has brought a fresh and diverse audience to WWE while elevating these artists’ status in the wrestling world.
In early January, WWE officially partnered with Netflix to present Monday Night Raw, its 34-year-old flagship show and the longest-running weekly episodic program without reruns in TV history. (The show most recently aired on USA Network from 2005 through the end of 2024.) The three-hour star-packed extravaganza featured wrestling immortals The Rock, John Cena and Hulk Hogan, and celebrities from Vanessa Hudgens and Tiffany Haddish to Travis Scott, Wale and Blxst attended. But unlike his peers, Scott wasn’t just a spectator — he escorted WWE Superstar Jey Uso ahead of his match. Scott — whom WWE chief content officer Paul Levesque (aka wrestler Triple H) gifted a Hardcore Championship belt during the rapper’s ComplexCon performance last November — wore the title draped around his shoulders and fed off the crowd’s electric energy as his own “Fein” reverberated throughout Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome. Sunglasses on and joint in hand, Scott sauntered out alongside Uso with the aura of a ’90s wrestler — a picture-perfect moment for both stars.
“The energy out there was crazy,” Scott tells Billboard. “I was talking to Triple H and was like, ‘Yo. This s–t is wild.’ In my shows, I try to create that maximum energy level and have the people feel they can reach the highest level of ecstasy as far as being happy and free. And in those environments — things like wrestling, and even in sports where the characters can be so free and create this livelihood for kids, adults and families — it’s dope.”
“When I found out I was coming out with Travis, I asked him, ‘Are you ready? Because this s–t is about to pop off,’ ” Uso adds. “I just didn’t expect that the brother was about to light one up before we walked out. He can do what he wants to do.”
This wasn’t the first time Uso had rubbed shoulders with a hip-hop superstar. Last April, at WrestleMania 40, he and Lil Wayne walked down the entranceway together at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field before a roaring crowd as the rapper’s “A Milli” and Uso’s entrance theme, “Main Event Ish,” played. It was a surreal moment for Uso: Before his WWE debut in 2007, he’d wrestled on the independent circuit alongside his twin brother, Jimmy, and they’d chosen Wayne’s 2004 hit “Go DJ” as their entrance music.
“We all grew up on Wayne in the late ’90s and early 2000s,” Uso says. “I’m talking about when he was with Hot Boyz and all that. It’s crazy how life comes full circle.” Before they walked out, Uso even cajoled Wayne into wearing some Uso merchandise: “He was real dope and cool with everything. He asked if I needed anything from him, and I said, ‘S–t, brother. Can you wear these “YEET” glasses for me? Here, put these on.’ ”
As artists rush to step inside the squared circle, wrestlers are moving with similar intention toward recording studios. Compelling entrance songs are vital in developing their characters, and since the ’90s, revered WWE Superstars like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker have placed fans in a choke hold with not only their iconic visual presentation but also their magnetic theme music. At the heart of those entrance songs is former WWE composer Jim Johnston, who used popular ’90s genres like hip-hop and rock to create songs based on the wrestlers’ characters.
For Austin, famously known as “The Texas Rattlesnake,” his hard-rocking entrance song, “I Won’t Do What You Tell Me,” became known for its glass-shattering sound effects. Austin didn’t record vocals for it, but Cena, whose earlier wrestling persona was a punchline-driven rapper, stepped inside the booth and rapped his “The Time Is Now.” That bold move paved the way for future superstars like Uso and Priest to infuse their entrances with their own personalities, adding a fun new element for fans to enjoy.
“It helps to have someone like [Slayer’s] Kerry King play guitar on my track,” says Priest, whose character has a darker, goth-like personality. “It’s pretty cool. While doing my own vocals on my song is pretty simple, it’s cool because it comes from me and what I wanted to say and feel during certain moments. People can bop their heads to it, and it adds to that aura.”
Bad Bunny, representing Latino World Order, takes the ring as he prepares to wrestle Dominik Mysterio during the WWE SmackDown at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on May 5, 2023 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Uso’s hip-hop-influenced “Main Event Ish” is arguably the WWE’s most popular entrance song, with a simple but fiery hook (“It’s just me, Uce”), his unbridled energy and sharp ad-libs. His signature wave — now a staple at all WWE shows where he’s competing, in which he climbs the top rope and waves his hands up and down, controlling the crowd like a hip-hop maestro — accompanies the song.
“I flew to New York one day, sat [down with the writing team], put it together, knocked it out and it was on TV the next week,” Uso says of the track. “I knew I wanted to get on there and bring the energy. We always been musical, my whole family. We got hidden talents the world don’t know about.”
And as WWE enters WrestleMania season — with arguably its deepest roster since the ’90s — more musicians are looking to walk down the entrance ramp and pose a challenge, just like Bad Bunny first did four years ago. Fortunately for Bad Bunny, he had a great teacher in Priest, who, prior to their one-on-one showdown in Puerto Rico, served as his in-ring mentor and tag-team partner at WrestleMania 37, where they were victorious.
“A good match with another good wrestler is expected,” Priest says. “What I did with Bad Bunny was magic because nobody expected it. That’s not something you get to do all the time. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that chance again.”
This story appears in the Feb. 8, 2025, issue of Billboard.
With under two weeks to go until Saturday Night Live host their homecoming concert as part of their 50th-anniversary celebrations, the prolific Dave Grohl has been added to the lineup of performers.
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Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, the SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Feb. 14 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with live streaming available on Peacock. It’s part of the iconic show’s ongoing birthday celebrations which have also included the premiere of the 50 Years of SNL Music documentary on Jan. 27, and the SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night documentary on Jan. 16.
On Thursday (Jan. 30), SNL announced the names which will feature in their upcoming concert, with previous show hosts and performers Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus appearing atop the bill.
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Elsewhere, the likes Post Malone, Jelly Roll and the Backstreet Boys can also be found on the bill, in addition to Arcade Fire, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Chris Martin, David Byrne, DEVO, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Mumford & Sons, The B-52s and The Roots.
At the time, it was noted that more performers would be announced leading up to the show, with Consequence now confirming that Dave Grohl will also be joining the lineup.
Though absent from the initial announcement, a promotional video for the event has since mentioned Grohl’s presence. Notably, Grohl is the only artist featured in the video who was not named in last week’s lineup, though the clip also overlooks mention of confirmed performers Brittany Howard, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Robyn.
The Foo Fighters founder has been largely absent from the public eye since September 2024 when he announced he had become the father of a new baby born outside of his marriage to Jordyn Blum. “I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness,” a statement released by Grohl at the time read.
Grohl’s upcoming contribution to the SNL’s Homecoming Concert makes sense, however. To date, he holds the record for most musical appearances on the show, with 15 performances taking place between 1992 and 2023.
These include nine times with the Foo Fighters, twice with Nirvana, once as a drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and once as a member of Them Crooked Vultures. The Foo Fighters have also appeared as a special guest with Mick Jagger in 2012, and Grohl also performed with his Nirvana bandmates alongside Paul McCartney later that same year.
More recently, Grohl also appeared in the 50 Years of SNL Music documentary, and on Thursday (Jan. 30), took part in a Nirvana reunion as part of the FireAid LA Benefit Concert. Appearing alongside bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, the four-song set featured guest vocalists St. Vincent, Kim Gordon, and Joan Jett, with Grohl’s own daughter Violet closing out proceedings with a rendition of “All Apologies”.
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If you want to experience the new Bad Bunny album you will have to take a trip to the Island of Enchantment. He has announced a residency in Puerto Rico, and the first couple of shows are open to only locals.
As spotted on Variety, the promotional roll out for performer’s newest project DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (transl. I Should Have Taken More Photos, shortened to DTMF) will shine a light on his hometown. This week, he announced a 21-date residency in Puerto Rico. Titled “No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí” (I Don’t Want to Leave Here), a lyric from his hit “El Apagón,” the series will take place at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico. To ensure that residents don’t get priced out, the first nine shows (July 11 to July 27) will be exclusive to those that live on the island.
On Monday (Jan. 13), Bad Bunny released a promotional trailer to his social media accounts announcing the Puerto Rico residency. Here he is seen walking past framed posters of his previous tours and explaining that while he has visited several countries he has yet to visit some on his bucket list and return to some cities he has not returned to in many years. At the end of his walk he says that he is returning home and would like his fans to meet him at his “Casa” (trans. House) and unveils the framed tour posted for the residency.
According to an AI-powered playlist name generator Playlist Name AI, Google searches for the term “Bad Bunny Tour” have surged 809% while “Puerto Rico Flights” have increased by 191% since the announcement.
You can read more about the No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí tour here.
At the beginning of 2023, Quevedo announced a stop in his career. Six months earlier, the Spanish artist had topped the Global 200 chart with “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52” alongside Bizarrap, making him and Bizarrap the first artists from Spain and Argentina, respectively, to reach No. 1 on the listing.
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By then, Bizarrap was already known for his provocative Music Sessions, but outside of Spain, Quevedo was relatively unknown — even though a few months earlier he had reached No. 145 on the same chart with “Cayo La Noche,” a collaboration with El Ima, Cruz Cafuné, Bejo, La Pantera, Juseph, and Abhir Hathi.
However, “Vol. 52” was his big ticket to a global audience that immediately connected with his deep voice and catchy mix of dance, pop and urban music. In a matter of months, Quevedo became a star — and in January 2023, he released his first album, Donde Quiero Estar, which debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Albums chart.
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Although everything looked rosy, privately, Quevedo, who had just turned 21, felt tired and overwhelmed by the media, tours, pressure, and releases.
“From when I started to when we made ‘Cayo la Noche’ and the session with Bizarrap, I really didn’t have a chance to stop and decide: Do I like what I’m doing?” he says today. So he stopped.
For a year, he didn’t release music or give interviews. Until now.
On November 21, Quevedo returned with his second album, Buenas Noches, distributed through Rimas Entertainment, the home of his idol Bad Bunny. The 18-track set is a mix of pop and urban, with collaborations including Sech and De LaGhetto, but also surprises like Aitana and Pitbull, on a journey that ranges from totally fun to more introspective.
Not everything is as it seems. Much of the album’s aesthetic is based on red carpets and paparazzi, and the cover shows a smiling Quevedo with dark glasses talking to the cameras. But the photo is inspired by one of Michael Jordan, finally smiling when he decided to return to basketball after his father’s death. Now, after a year, Quevedo too is ready to return. Here is the story, which he tells to Billboard below.
Tell me about Buenas Noches.
It’s an eclectic album. Since I had not released music for a long time, what I most wanted was to flow in the studio and do things that I felt like doing. Make a fun album above all, not so introspective. There are songs that are more personal, but the majority are for people to have fun with. I made the album in very different stages. I released my first album in January 2023, but just before, when I had finished it in 2022, I started making this album. I made the first tracks in 2022. Then last year I did many camps, and this year I really got into the studio. But it has taken me over two years to make the album.
So, you really didn’t take a break from music?
For me, the break is not about not going to the studio. I love going to the studio. For me, it was about not being in the public eye. What I didn’t want was media pressure, keep traveling every week. It was about stopping and saying, okay, where do I want to take my career. I wanted was to disappear a bit from public view.
Why?
Everything was so pressed by the next thing that there was a moment when I said, “This was my dream, but it’s been a long time since I’ve considered if I’m happy with what I’m doing.” I started doing music because I love it. I don’t like being famous. It’s a consequence that I’m willing to assume if it means I can make music and live from it. But I don’t like being famous, I don’t like people getting into my life. What I love is that moment of creation.
I needed to stop and focus. Now I feel I have the strength to take everything up again, and I’m willing to deal with the things I don’t like so I can make my music.
Was there something that made you take the break and come back?
In 2022 I wrote “Ahora Qué,” a song that said: “2021 to sow, 2022 to reap, 2023 to crown, 2024 to disappear.” When I wrote that, I thought I’d take things a bit more slowly. But over time, in 2023, with the tour, the writing camps, there was a moment when I was making music only in camps, but not in my day-to-day. And at the same time, I moved to Madrid and was far from my family and my friends and my partner and there was a moment when I felt quite alone. There wasn’t a specific moment, but there was a moment of, “Damn, maybe I should take that song seriously.” At no point did I consider not coming back. What I specifically wanted was a moment to take for myself.
Can you describe the album?
It’s a very eclectic album, but there’s a sound with a lot of synths, drums, very 2008-2011 —Jason Derulo, Timbaland — strange mixes with new sounds and I think that’s the sound that repeats the most. The album is quite lively lyrically.
I hear many songs with many stories. The focus track, “Kassandra,” talks about a night with a celebrity who is always accompanied but ultimately is alone; “Iguales” is about a womanizing guy who sleeps with as many as he can, for example. Do all the songs have that element of storytelling?
Almost all. Ideas always flow more when I write [about] specific situations. There are many stories that I haven’t lived through 100%, but they’re inspired on things my friends tell me. That’s where my songs come from. I try to imagine situations.
You have a song with Pitbull, “Mr. Moondial.” How did it happen?
We always said, “Let’s do something very pop… very Pitbull.” We made the track, I recorded my bit, we called the song “Mr. Worldwide.” And we always said, we have to get Pitbull. But we didn’t know him. I don’t know him to this day, because he recorded two and a half weeks ago! But I’m sure we’ll meet him.
It’s an album with a beginning and an end and a context, at a time when many albums are simply collections of singles. What recent album inspires you?
In the current era, from the last eight years, I would say Motomami by Rosalía, for the way she created a new concept after El Mal Querer and all the imagery that album had. And then at a more urban reggaetón level, [Bad Bunny’s] YHLQMDLG is the album that changed the entire industry for me. Obviously, Latin music was already very popular, but that album confirmed Latin music ruled. It made people try to do things better. When I heard it, I said, “That’s it: From now on people are going to start making real albums.”
Watch the “Kassandra” video here.
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Trump rallies have hit yet another low with some disgusting remarks made against Puerto Rico. In turn Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and others have endorsed Kamala Harris.
As spotted on Variety Magazine the recent Donald Trump rally in New York City spewed various vulgar racist insults and wild untruths throughout the six-hour long event. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe opened up the festivities with jokes aimed at several communities including Mexicans, Jews and more. His hack routine included some disparaging and very alarming lines aimed at Puerto Rico. “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico” he said. The vulgar remarks were met with very little laughter prompting the crowd to sit through another awkward moment.
Trump rally speaker goes on vile racist tirade against Latinos pic.twitter.com/PuEjn2lLQF
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 27, 2024
Naturally his vile commentary soon went viral and was deemed by hate speech by Latinos and others alike. Immediately after Bad Bunny took to Instagram and shared a reel from Kamala Harris reminding us all that Donald Trump not only blocked aid to the island after Hurricane Maria but disparaged Puerto Ricans via crass insults. Jennifer Lopez also shared the same clip to her Instagram Story and also posted Madame Vice President’s proposed economic plan for the PR. Singer Ricky Martin also endorsed Harris via his social media saying he also “remembers” how Trump failed to have compassion for Puerto Ricans after facing the deadliest and costliest hurricane to strike the island.
Latino politicians also voiced their displeasure. New York congressman Ritchie Torres also to X, formerly Twitter to call out the struggle podcaster. “As a Puerto Rican, I am tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist garbage but doing so would be an insult to garbage. When casting their ballots at the voting booth, Latinos should never forget the racism that Donald Trump seems all too willing to platform.”
While citizens of Puerto Rico can’t vote, Puerto Ricans have heavy concentration in several swing states including North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. You can find out where you can vote early here.
Spring of 2022 brought out the superstars: Over the course of three consecutive weeks, Future released I Never Liked You, Bad Bunny put out Un Verano Sin Ti, and Kendrick Lamar returned from a five-year break with Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. Future and Lamar launched four songs apiece in the Billboard Hot 100‘s top 10 during their albums’ debut weeks, while Bad Bunny scored three.
But few of these tracks endured. Nine of them fell out of the top 10 in their second week on the chart. A month later, Future’s “Wait for U,” a melancholy hip-hop ballad with Drake and Tems, served as the only lasting reminder of this blockbuster spurt in the top 10.
That July, Steve Lacy carved out a notably different path on the Hot 100. He is not nearly as well-known as Future, Bad Bunny, or Lamar; as a result, his breezy new wave single “Bad Habit” debuted on the Hot 100 in the lowest possible position. It climbed the chart for five weeks before reaching the top 10. It then remained there for 18 weeks, ultimately peaking at No. 1.
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Songs like “Bad Habit” are becoming hard to find — 75% of 2024’s top 10 hits debuted in that lofty environment as of the third week of July. Ironically, though, the tracks that launch on the upper reaches of the Hot 100, like Future’s “Puffin On Zootiez” and Lamar’s “N95,” tend to be easy come, easy go. They don’t remain as long as the hits which take time to get into that exclusive atmosphere.
Since 2000, the average single that debuts in the top 10 hangs there for roughly six weeks. In contrast, tracks that take two to eight weeks to ascend to that position linger for more than 11 weeks.
This dynamic has become more extreme in the heart of the streaming era. Since 2015, singles that start out in the top 10 last 6.3 weeks on average, while tracks that take two to four weeks to reach the top 10 last more than twice as long — 12.7 weeks. And songs that take five to eight weeks to ascend to the top 10 do even better, lasting for an average of 13-plus weeks.
Singles that erupt high on the chart and then sink immediately are maybe thought of as viral one-offs — tracks plucked out of obscurity, usually by the masses on TikTok, incorporated into millions of videos, streamed by curious listeners, and then discarded. In truth, most of these short-lived top 10 hits are album cuts from superstars like Taylor Swift and Drake.
When artists with large followings release new full-lengths, it’s now common for many of the tracks on the album to debut immediately on the Hot 100 — as devoted fans engage with it for the first time and play it all the way through, sometimes more than once. Listeners have always been eager to devour new releases from their favorite acts, but this activity wasn’t trackable on a song level before the adoption of streaming, other than via sales or occasional radio play courtesy of individual DJs who happened to like a particular album cut.
The initial burst of post-release-week enthusiasm — the thrill of the new — is very difficult to sustain, however, and many of these songs depart the upper reaches of the Hot 100 rapidly. From 2000 to 2015, around 13% of top 10s fell out of the top 10 after one week; that number has rocketed upward, topping 40% in each of the last four years.
Gaining listeners’ interest is hard enough at a time when there is unprecedented competition for attention. Holding on to that attention for extended periods, or building it over time, may be even harder.
Songs that manage this tend to look a lot like singles from the pre-streaming era, in that they have sustained promotion campaigns behind them. The influence of radio on their trajectory is often especially noticeable.
While streams and sales of sought-after projects typically bunch up near a release date and then diminish, airplay tends to rise over time, as more stations see a song working and start to play it, and then play it more often, in tandem with label promotion. A similar progression happens with radio formats, which will often plunder successful tracks from each other, further amplifying their impact on the chart.
“A lot of times, the pop format will just look at other formats and see what’s bubbling up — like a Hozier or a Noah Kahan — and then say, ‘You know what, that feels like a pop record, let’s give it a shot,'” explains Tom Poleman, chief programming officer at iHeartMedia. “Then you can make something a super mass record.”
Many young executives believe airplay has little to no impact on streaming levels, but radio’s slow-burn timeline helps songs climb the Hot 100 — and sustain their position near the top. In fact, from a label’s point of view, this is one of airplay’s primary remaining benefits, as radio continues to face increased competition from streaming services and short-form video platforms. (Some executives also believe airplay can help artists sell tickets and earn brand deals.)
Take Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy):” When it skipped from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Hot 100 dated July 27, streams and sales were down — 6% and 24%, respectively, according to Luminate — but radio listening was up 11%. Shaboozey’s hit drew 77.2 million in airplay audience, as compared to 39 million official streams and 16,000 sales.
For the next two weeks, streaming and sales kept slipping, while airplay audience kept growing, albeit at a declining rate — up 10% in week three, and 6% in week four — and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” stayed at No. 1. “Radio can still very much move the needle,” says J Grand, an A&R veteran. “Certainly not as much as a decade ago, but I don’t think the fall off is as precipitous as people are making it out to be.”
Promoting songs to radio is costly, however, and radio generally plays fewer current tracks than it used to. It’s good for commercially minded artists, then, that airplay is not the only way to extend a song’s life high on the charts. While the influence of music videos has lessened considerably in the age of TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts, a well-placed clip can still ignite a single. (Though videos can be expensive too.)
Lamar’s “Not Like Us” sprang back to No. 1 nine weeks after it initially came out thanks to its music video, which was widely anticipated due to the avalanche of attention around his nasty public feud with Drake. Streams of “Not Like Us” jumped 20% and sales climbed 16% at a time when they would typically be falling.
And adding a star collaborator to a remix remains a tried-and-true technique for counteracting decaying chart position. Wizkid’s “Essence,” a swaying, flirty collaboration with Tems, grew gradually for months during 2021. “The people connecting first with the song in the States were largely either from Africa or the diaspora,” says John Fleckenstein, COO of RCA Records, which released and marketed the track. “We literally went city by city, focused on targeted radio and digital campaigns to get to those populations.”
But the big boost for “Essence” came when Justin Bieber joined the fight, appearing on a remix that August which bolstered streams, sales, and airplay all at once. Bieber’s presence catapulted the song from No. 44 on the Hot 100 to No. 16. In October, “Essence” glided into the top 10 — again with help from airplay, which kept climbing even as streams and sales decreased.
Engineering the long climb that eventually made “Essence” — or “Bad Habit” — inescapable is increasingly a lost art. But while the majority of top 10 Hot 100 hits now debut on the upper reaches of the chart, the danger of flaring brightly is burning out quickly. As Nick Bobetsky, who manages Chapell Roan, likes to say, “there’s much more meaning in momentum than in a moment.”
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Bad Bunny’s latest Adidas collaboration is an ode to Puerto Rico. The Bad Bunny x Adidas Gazelle “San Juan” sneaker, with […]
Bad Bunny delivers a spectacular show on any stage, but there’s nothing like seeing the megastar at home in Puerto Rico, performing for his day-ones. After wrapping up his Most Wanted Tour in the U.S., Benito brought the show to el Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan. All three shows, including last Sunday’s (June 9) finale, sold out.
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Benito gifted locals an extra-special event, packed with guest appearances and hometown-specific elements not offered elsewhere.
Most tellingly, he opened with a video montage created specifically for this weekend’s shows. In it, he reflects on the excitement of the earlier tour dates, but makes clear that performing at home is like nothing else. Nobody will better appreciate his work than his fellow Puerto Ricans on the archipelago, he says in the clip, before concluding: If you’ve seen Bad Bunny perform, but you haven’t seen him in Puerto Rico, then you haven’t really seen him at all.
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On Friday’s, Saturday’s and last night’s shows, a youthful, classical orchestra directed by Colombian musician Carlitos López was both the opening act and a live band. The orchestra was also a major feature of the U.S. dates; this weekend, however, the first number was different. The orchestra opened with “La Borinqueña,” Puerto Rico’s official anthem. The crowd came to attention quickly, shifting from anticipatory pre-show bustle into a beautiful choir.
Centered around his latest release, 2023’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana album, the U.S. dates featured two stages at opposite ends and a moving runway that descends from above. The Coliseo setup was the same — and considering the overwhelming number of cargo trailers outside the venue, it’s safe to assume Bad Bunny had the exact setup shipped in.
When the video went black, the orchestra began three Western-inspired overtures, setting a somber, solitary tone, before moving into “Nadie Sabe.” The orchestral opening and subsequent accompaniment was pretty ingenious in the satisfying cohesion it brought; the soundtrack of a companionless cowboy pairs well with the loneliness of fame, which Bad Bunny explores in the track’s lyrics.
When Bad Bunny rose, surrounded by fog, from a hidden opening in one of the stages, the crowd roared mightily. He maintained a stoic demeanor befitting the song, though — then hunched over his gleaming, silver mic at the end as fans chanted “Benito, Benito!”
The coliseum rattled as “Monaco” rolled in, then out — and Bad Bunny took a long moment to look around the giant space. He didn’t smile, yet he looked content. He nodded as if in acknowledgment of the love beaming at him from every direction.
Then came the guest appearances: Joining first for “Fina” was Young Miko, who bounced around the stage between dancers with a big black bow adorning her long blonde hair. Then came Mora for “Hibiki,” and later Yovngchimi for “Mercedes Carota” and Bryant Myers for “Seda.” Benito slowed the show there, stopping for a lights-off pep talk for fans, essentially about being yourself fully, regardless of the hate or admiration you receive.
Moving to the opposite stage, Luar La L hopped on for “Telefono Nuevo.” Shortly after, two lucha libre wrestlers appeared on the opposite stage. It was an awesomely bizarre method of distraction — meanwhile, Eladio Carrión was joining Bad Bunny on the runway to run through a slew of their collaborations.
Another stretch of Most Wanted feels like a piano bar, with only a pianist accompanying Benito as he runs through hits from his growing discography. He got extra playful with the element last night, though, playing a sort of guess-the-song game with fans. The pianist would play a few notes, he’d sing, then stop — did fans know the song? Of course, they always did. He apparently improvised plenty, as eventually the pianist stopped playing and it was only Bad Bunny singing a few bars — before, again, checking to see if fans knew the song. The game seemed to delight him. Here, he smiled plenty.
Again, special to these Puerto Rico dates, the mystery pianist’s identity was finally revealed. She’d been masked at every show since the start of Most Wanted, but removed the covering at the end of the set here, as Benito introduced her to the crowd as Tiffany Román.
Later, De La Ghetto rolled in for “Acho PR.” Then Arcángel hopped in for several cuts — the crowd went wild. Bomba players also joined onstage, with cabezudos wearing the mask also worn by Bad Bunny in the album visuals, as well as by the orchestra player and pianist.
There’s some practical rationale to the overabundance of guest stars in Puerto Rico, of course. It’s logistically easier for these artists to appear in concert alongside Bad Bunny when he’s playing where everyone’s based. Still, it’s a treat concertgoers simply can’t get anywhere but else but here.
In total, the Puerto Rico shows were each about an hour longer than the U.S. shows. Call it preferential treatment, and you’d be right — but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. His hometown fans are the reason Bad Bunny is who is today, and they’re forever his foundation. They deserve the best, and it’s beautiful that Bad Bunny never forgets it.
Bad Bunny’s style choices have always been unpredictable. As a co-chair of the 2024 Met Gala, he was expected to deliver an unforgettable fashion statement, and he certainly lived up to the hype. His red-carpet appearance blended personal identity, cultural homage and fairytale fantasy, perfectly encapsulating the “Garden of Time” dress code. His striking look […]
On Thursday night (April 11), the Barclays Center in New York City was electrified by the presence of Bad Bunny. The arena, filled to its 19,000-person capacity, buzzed with anticipation as the Puerto Rican superstar kicked off the first show of his three-night stint in the city.
“New York has been very important in my career, where dreams come true,” Benito told his fans in his native Spanish during the performance. “Being on the tour feels really amazing, going to each place and seeing it, all the cities, but New York, it’s something else. It feels more amazing than usual. Seeing all those PR and DR flags makes it even more special. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being here, it means a lot to me.”
Bad Bunny — who wore Prada sunglasses, a velour suit, and a gold cross necklace — delivered a dynamic performance that was an amalgamation of music and spectacle. It included a grand orchestra, an equestrian entrance, a surprise appearance by Bryant Myers to perform “Seda,” a jigsaw-like stage that transformed into the Brooklyn Bridge, and, of course, a repertoire of his biggest hits. (Here’s the complete setlist of the tour, which slightly changed to add “Amorfoda” and “Tití Me Preguntó.”)
This was part of his Most Wanted Tour — in support of his Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana album — which kicked off on Feb. 21 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Live Nation-promoted tour is halfway through its schedule, with forthcoming performances in cities including Austin, Texas (Apr. 26-27), Atlanta, Ga. (May 14-15), and Miami, Fla. (May 24-26). See the full dates here.
According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour has already been a commercial success, grossing $84.2M and selling 282K tickets over its first 18 shows. It has consistently sold out venues, demonstrating Bad Bunny’s continued widespread appeal.
Here are five standout moments from the first night of Bad Bunny’s Most Wanted Tour at the Barclays Center:
The Grandeur of an Orchestra