Recommendations of the Editorial team
Over 8,000 miles from Bad Bunny’s historic 31-show residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Benito once again proved his global superstar status in Japan with an intimate, invitation-only showcase of his streaming heavyweights at Spotify’s “Billions Club” fourth live event.
In front of fewer than 2,000 of his biggest fans plus a few dozen VIPs – Blackpink’s Lisa was unstoppable during “Dákiti” and contemporary artist Takashi Murakami had his hands in the air more often than at his side – Benito worked his way from hit to hit and wowed the crowd at the Tipstar Dome Chiba, about an hour east of Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing.
In total, Bad Bunny has 29 songs that have broken the billion mark on Spotify – but for Benito it’s not just about numbers: “Muchos números, pero no son números. Sino personas con las que he connected a través de todos estos años with mi música, entonces por eso estamos aquí con ustedes,” he told the audience and emphasized that behind every stream there is a connection with a person that he has made through his music.
Cherry blossoms instead of La Casita
On stage, Benito swapped one pink for another: Instead of the La Casita – the house-shaped stage element in the style of a traditional Puerto Rican house that has become a trademark on his current tour – two mighty cherry blossom trees flanked the main stage. As the lights went out and the intro to “EoO” blared from the speakers, a party broke out on the arena floor that lasted long after Bad Bunny’s 90-minute set. Like the star himself, the audience played the hits: pavas (traditional woven straw hats) everywhere, Puerto Rico flags over their shoulders, and spontaneous dance circles broke out from all corners of the arena.
During the rousing “Baile Inolvidable” – the salsa highlight of “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” – a man in an aqua blue jumpsuit and a woman in a black suit began dancing together, even doing a spin or two. The two, apparently complete strangers, then hugged each other and returned to their respective groups on the dance floor. The power of Bad Bunny.
Occasionally Benito seemed to be teasing the audience: with a broad grin he asked “¿quieres más?” and praised the crowd for still having so much energy. The first chords of “Tití Me Preguntó” rang out from the speakers – and then abruptly stopped, sending the crowd into a frenzy of joy, while Bad Bunny enjoyed the chaos from the middle podium of the stage. The song finally began, purple light bathing the cherry blossoms on the stage while orange and blue beams of light danced over the agitated crowd.
Tokyo on your back
Benito danced, walked and swayed up and down the short catwalk extension of the stage – in a white shirt with wide cuffs (almost like a poet’s blouse), vest and trousers. He later swapped the vest for a jacket that had “Tokyo” written on the back in Japanese characters: “東京.”
Bad Bunny’s connection to SalsaMusic, especially in connection with “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”, is now well documented. About a year ago he spoke to ROLLING STONE’s Julyssa Lopez about the creation of “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and salsa music: “It’s a dream come true because I had this song in my head for so long. I heard the synth that you hear at the beginning for the first time when I [mein 2022er Album] ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ and I thought, ‘That’s a salsa song.'”
At the Tipstar Dome Chiba in Tokyo, Bad Bunny went one better. For the very first time, he performed his 2018 hit “MIA” – originally a collaboration with Drake – in a salsa version.
Message of unity
Almost a month earlier, Benito was performing his hits on a different stage, in front of a much larger audience: across the Pacific at Super Bowl LX. Before delivering the final chorus, he preached similar messages to those in Santa Clara, California – of cohesion, unity and love.
“No pierdan su tiempo en lo negativo. No pierdan su tiempo haciéndole caso a commentarios de personas que no te conocen, sé tú mismo, sin importar lo que digan los demás, no,” Benito told the audience, calling on everyone to be themselves and ignore critics who don’t know them.
To close the evening, Bad Bunny performed a powerful version of “DtMF” – a fitting end to the celebration of the global reach of an extraordinary artist, from one island in the Caribbean to another in the northern Pacific. The gravity of the moment also seemed to affect Bad Bunny himself: he took his time during several breaks to take in the audience, the evening and the achievements that brought 29 of his songs to the billion mark on the streaming service.
Dance without fear, Tokyo
“This show se trata de la unión de Puerto Rico con Tokio y all latinos que estamos aquí,” said Bad Bunny and called on the audience to dance without inhibitions: “Baila sin miedo, Tokio.”
On the way out, dozens of fans marveled at Benito’s Spotify billion streams plaques on display at the Tipstar Dome Chiba – and snapped so many photos with their loved ones that it would have made the hitmaker behind “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” proud.
