Don Omar
Don Omar’s Back to Reggaetón tour made a remarkable stop at New York’s Barclays Center on Saturday night (March 9), showcasing the undiminished prowess of the Puerto Rican legend. His performance, filled with energy and nostalgia, underlined his title as the King of Reggaetón, engaging the audience with a mix of his greatest hits and a captivating stage presence.
The Back to Reggaetón U.S. tour, produced by CMN, marks his much-awaited return to the stage, celebrating two decades of influential hits that have cemented his status as a global superstar. The tour, which launched in Reading, Pennsylvania, on March 7, will also include stops in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, and Houston.
The stage was set ablaze with reggeatón pioneer DJ Nelson behind the turntables, featuring classics that took the audience on a journey through the genre’s history. He kicked off with his own hit, reggaetón’s breakthrough “Vengo Acabando,” originally also sung with Alberto Stylee. He also spun “Noche de Travesuras” by Nicki Jam, “Lo Que Pasó Pasó” by Daddy Yankee, “Yo Voy” by Zion & Lennox, “Saoco” by Wisin, and “Tusa” by Karol G with Nicki Minaj, priming the crowd for the main event.
Don Omar’s entrance was a spectacle in itself, with a gigantic, rotating skull serving as his dramatic lift onto the stage. The audience erupted into a standing ovation as he appeared, his figure accentuated by a striking black snakeskin trench coat trimmed with red fur, and rocking his iconic cornrows. His performance was both a homage to reggaetón’s legacy and a celebration of his monumental career.
He ran through two-hours of bangers such as “Salió El Sol,” “Hasta Abajo” and “Dile.” “Pobre Diabla’ is a hit because of this city in the U.S., he shouted after performing it. “This song means New York to me,” he told the crowd.
Here are five best moments at Don Omar at Barclays Center.
A Post-Apocalyptic Spectacle
The 36th edition of Premio Lo Nuestro showcased a riveting medley by Puerto Rican legend Don Omar, who was joined onstage by Machine Gun Kelly, Anitta and Wisin & Yandel on Thursday night (Feb. 22).
Evoking a post-apocalyptic vibe with 15 dancers, the guest performers and the Don himself rocking black — Don Omar sported a black trench coat and his cornrows, as usual — the artist appeared atop a mountain of speakers against a neon-green backdrop that looked like something from The Matrix.
He kicked off with “Pobre Diabla” and was soon joined by Wisin & Yandel to deliver their joint hit “Nadie Como Tu.” The Brazilian powerhouse Anitta joined the Puerto Rican legend to sing “Salió El Sol” — smashing all the verses — with the dance floor lighting up like the sun.
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For the grand finale, Machine Gun Kelly came out with his guitar, strumming the riff to “Danza Kuduro,” getting everyone on their feet. Thursday night’s collaboration comes months after MGK’s viral performance of the song in Spain.
“Seeing my song go viral in MGK’s voice absolutely blew my mind,” Don Omar told Rolling Stone about “Danza Kuduro.” “It’s incredible to see how music can transcend generations, genres and languages.”
“I was out dancing in Spain the night before my festival performance and ‘Danza Kuduro’ came on. It was the first moment of the night that everybody sang a song word-for-word and got lost in the vibe,” MGK told RS. “I woke up the next day and was like, ‘I’m going to sing this and re-create that moment for my first time performing in Spain.’”
Right after the wildly entertaining set, the Don was presented with the Ícono Global (Global Icon) award by all three guest performers.
“You have not only elevated reggaeton, but you have transformed it to a global dimension,” said Anitta. “Plus, you bring ‘Kuduro’ to every corner of the world.” Yandel added: “You are a pioneer, a genre warrior who was never afraid, and has known how to get ahead no matter what.”
“You and I are from different worlds, but your music brought us together tonight. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart,” MGK offered.
“For all that you have done, for your past, for your present and for your future, it is a great privilege to celebrate you with the Global Icon award, the king of reggaeton, Don Omar,” echoed Wisin.
Don Omar, with heartfelt gratitude, said, “This is for those who made urban music before me, for those who made urban music at the time I made it, for those who make urban music in the future and for all the countries where there is not even a single urban music artist. Long live urban music, long live Puerto Rico!”
The first time Don Omar went on tour in Spain, nearly 25 years ago, he had to sing his breakout hits two and three times every time he got onstage.
“I had no repertoire!” he admits to Billboard News with a laugh. Back then, Don Omar, real name William Omar Landrón, was a 22-year-old who was hustling. “I came from such a Puerto Rican genre, such a street genre, and then, those songs started to play everywhere.”
What a difference a quarter-century makes. On March 7, Don Omar kicks off his Back to Reggaetón Tour at the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania, and will go on to play 25 major U.S. cities, ending April 21 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, before heading to Europe and Central America.
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This time, there will be no need for repeat performances.
“I’ve never had the opportunity to sing my entire repertoire because I never have enough time onstage. But this tour demands two full hours of music,” Don Omar told Billboard‘s Leila Cobo during an exclusive interview prior to his tour. Back to Reggaetón, incredibly, is Don Omar’s first major headlining tour in a decade and his first since the Kingdom Tour with Daddy Yankee in 2015.
This time around, there’s also friends knocking at the door.
“Many are demanding, ‘Don’t leave me out of this!’” he says. “And I’m treating that like a privilege. If, after 25 years of career, your colleagues still feel love, happiness and the desire to share with you, you’ve done something right.”
While the specifics still need to be ironed out, expect to see the likes of Tito El Bambino, Zion y Lennox and Wisin and Yandel somewhere on the tour.
For Don Omar, it’s not a comeback; he’s been releasing a steady supply of music for the past two years. But, he says, it’s gratifying to see so many artists who he literally saw grow up to his music as established and still close.
The first one to believe fully in him, he recalls, was Ñengo Flow, who early in his career asked him to “present” him on his debut album. “It was the first time I realized, ‘They’re looking up at me.’ Ñengo was just getting started. But I was just getting started too.”
All these years later, “I have songs Jhay Cortez wrote for me 10 years ago. And those things make me see, I do have a responsibility. To see people like Jhay and Farruko, and everyone I have great respect and admiration for, say they wanted to be like me back in the day […] it’s one of the things I love most.”
Don Omar is also testing new ground. His new EP, Back to Reggaetón, is out on his own label, and he plans to print CD copies to sell as merch on tour, as part of a broader effort to bring his music and himself even closer to fans.
“Independence allows you to put your own ideas into practice,” he says. “I’m the product of a bunch of bad experiences that made me take action and learn the business. Today, I can be independent. Today I have the economic and intellectual capacity to do so.”
Watch the full interview above.
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