Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny recently made history at the 2022 Video Music Awards by being the first Latin artist to win “Artist of the Year.” He has been a hot topic for some time, selling out shows on his second tour in the past two years. His most recent album, “Un Verano Sin Ti” (A Summer Without You) also broke Spotify streaming records.

On August 5, he kicked off his stadium tour, “World’s Hottest Tour,” in Orlando, Florida. I was able to make it to see the show in Washington D.C., on August 23.

The stage was set as a beach with palm trees and rocks to match the album’s summer theme. It was also painted on top to look like sand, with white and blue painted underneath to look like moving water.

Although this stage was very fun, to me nothing compares to the tractor trailer turned screened stage from his prevoius tour, “El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo.”

At 8:30 p.m., Bad Bunny came out performing his lead single from “Un Verano Sin Ti,” (Moscow Mule). While he was performing, there was a huge crowd of people still trying to get into the stadium, most likely due to how packed the stadium was. Fans screamed as the music started and birds and beach sound effects echoed through the stadium. At the end of the song, the outro was carried out and remixed to get the crowd hyped, ending with sparklers coming out of the stage.

The show continued with a few more songs from the recent album, including “Titi Me Pregunto,” “Party” and “Me Porto Bonito.”

As rowdy and excited as the crowd got for new songs they had not heard performed yet, nothing compared to how they sang along to the chorus from Bad Bunny’s sophomore album, “YHLQMDLG” (I Do Whatever I Want). I anticipated this reaction from my experience at “El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo,” but it still took me by surprise. This reminded me just how much the collective fandom loves these songs and how they are such massive hits.

“Safaera” and “Yo Perreo Sola” made the most noise that night. As soon as the beat started for these songs, the air was filled with screams. Once Bad Bunny started singing, everyone joined in and sang along to every word. These performances were met with a crazy stage production. Similar to the last tour, there were fireworks, smoke, and fire coming from the stage. The lights on stage and the wristbands that were given out were flashing red to the beat. The color red was also used for the stage lighting for these songs during “El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo.” I really liked that Bad Bunny kept ths theme, since the color goes well with the songs and all the special effects. Now, I associate the songs with the color red. The effects and energy were taken to another level during the next section of the show, and it only got better as the concert continued.

After singing his more recent songs, Bad Bunny performed a mashup of some of his hits from his debut album “X100PRE” (Forever). “Ni Bien Ni Mal” and “La Romana” were some of the songs performed from this era. With this mashup, there were parts taken from the songs and turned into fun, energetic electronic dance (EDM) songs. This was very different from the last tour where some of the songs were cut short, but none were changed in the way he did this time around. I really enjoyed this as it kept the energy high and the audience on their toes.

After performing “Dos Mil 16” (2016), Bad Bunny surprised the audience with playing a few of his early hits that fans love and often miss when he shifted away from creating more trap-inspired music. Fans went crazy with the first beat of his breakthrough hit “Diles.” The reactions got wilder with each song. Perhaps like myself, they were surprised to hear him sing them after so long. In this section, he also performed “No Te Hagas,” “Vuelve,” “Chambea,” and “Tu No Metes Cabra.”

At this point, the show was about halfway over. I was not expecting too many new stops to be pulled out until the finale, but I was wrong to ever expect anything less than amazing from Bad Bunny.

It was a huge surprise to fans this tour when Bad Bunny took the hyped reggaeton intro from “Un Coco” that turns to a slow and somber, yet fun song and extended it. After the intro, he went on to sing the rest of the song while he was strapped to a palm tree float carried by cables to allow him to float over the crowd. I loved this addition because it made him closer to the fans. Also, it was a super cool visual, making the slower song much more exciting while giving the audience something to look at.

On this same float, Bad Bunny went around the stadium and just waved at fans, getting closer to the higher seats. During this, the whole crowd just kept screaming and chanting his name. This moment felt really special, since he was taking the time to really acknowledge the crowd and give his thanks.

Hearing “gracias, gracias, gracias” over and over is something you will hear a lot at a Bad Bunny show. In between songs and sets, Martinez will quite often take time to talk to the audience and thank them for all the support.

Out of all of the concerts I have attended, no one has more of a connection to the audience or talks to them as much as Bad Bunny. It can be easy to get lost in the music or the whole show aspect of a concert; but as a fan, these moments make you take in the moment and feel connected to the artist.

As I walked around, I noticed a huge amount of people wearing Puerto Rican gear and carrying flags. This is no coincidence considering this new album has songs with themes of strong Puerto Rican pride and the struggles of Puerto Ricans on the island.

All of the flags came out waving during the performance of “El Apagón” (The Outage). This song is a tribute to how cool Puerto Rico is, and how filled with culture and life it is despite the hardships its people face. Before singing, Bad Bunny gave a speech on how power outages in Puerto Rico are common, so families and hospitals live without power, and the government is not doing anything to help them. Recently, Bad Bunny released a music video that doubles as a documentary for “El Apagón.”

This song, along with the build up had Puerto Ricans feeling more pride than ever. Even non- Puerto Ricans in the stadium were thrilled and feeling a type of second-hand pride. Everyone sang along to the lyrics, “Puerto Rico es tan Cabrón” (Puerto Rico is so great), over and over, until the lights went out again.

Just when I thought one of my favorite songs off Un Verano Sin Ti, “Después de La Playa”, would not be performed, Bad Bunny came back out with a killer finale.

A merengue band was brought out to perform along with him, which added a stunning sound, as the instruments echoed through the stadium.

I thought the song was over yet the band kept playing while Bad Bunny made comments to the crowd and adlibbed. This went on for many minutes while fireworks continuously shot into the sky. He joined his dancers for this part, just enjoying the music along with the crowd.

This finale was probably my favorite part of the whole show. Unlike the show from “El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo,” it felt like a real closer. It was drawn out–in the best way–extravagant, bright and loud. There was no question that this was the end of the show, and I took it in as much as possible.

Surprisingly, as much praise as I have given this tour’s show, I preferred the show from “El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo” more overall. In my eyes, the tracklist, the arena venue, and the visuals won for that tour. However, it could also be that it was my first time seeing Bad Bunny, which made it a little more special and personal.

Nevertheless, “World’s Hottest Tour” was nothing short of a spectacular show. It is evident that Bad Bunny loves what he does and puts a lot of thought into every aspect of his performance. I can not wait to see how he continues to grow as an artist and performer and what he will take on next.

Bad Bunny will continue touring the U.S until October 1, before moving on to playing all over Latin America.