As Bad Bunny‘s “Most Wanted Tour” made its first of three stops at L.A.’s Crypto Arena Wednesday night, fans dressed in western-themed getups gathered to witness the return of the Puerto Rican megastar for his first outing since his eye-popping “World’s Hottest” stadium run. Split into four separate acts, this production felt much more theatrical than his last, as proven by the intricate pyrotechnics and the orchestra — which served as a 10-minute opening act — nestled onto one of two crescent-shaped stages on either side of the arena.
In a swift transition, the strings that introduce the artist’s latest album, 2023’s “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” also introduced his entrance onstage. Then, his booming voice echoed the first lines: “Dicen que el mundo va a acabarse, ojalá que sea pronto” (“They say the world is going to end, I hope it’s soon”).
With Bunny — or Benito Martínez Ocasio, as he later introduced himself — on one stage and the orchestra on the other, a sea of fans filled the remaining middle ground of the floor. The singer would spend much of the night moving from one side to the other, and the latter half of Act II balancing atop a floating catwalk that rotated, placing him face-to-face with the fans seated in the upper sections of the arena. One (or both?) of the stages also had risers, making pretty much any seat in the house a good one.
Maybe it’s the volume of subject matter, or the fact that he’s at the height of his fame, but Bunny performed with a swiftness that left little room for improvisation. Act I is composed of fast-paced and seamless trap music following the tracklist of “Nadie Sabe” — a signal that re-established the warning sign emblazoned on the first poster we saw for this tour: “If You’re Not a Real Fan, Don’t Come.”
After dominating the mainstream with his historic “Un Verano Sin Ti,” Bunny retreated to his roots with “Nadie Sabe,” finding comfort in his “day one” fans, whom he regularly thanked throughout the show. Before launching into Act II, a short film was played, introducing Bunny’s masked cowboy alter-ego. It included a short speech about how he embraces being alone, since that has helped inpire the good and bad ideas that lead him to write music, “creating light from darkness.” Bunny then appeared from the side of the stage atop a horse, wearing a fringed-out baby-blue outfit that he stayed in for the remainder of the night.
Act II blended a mix of his hard-hitting trap singles, from 2017’s punchy “Tú no Metes Cabra” and “No Te Hagas” to the Daddy Yankee-featuring “Vuelve.” Further paying homage to this era, Bunny welcomed his only guest for the night, fellow Puerto Rican trap artist Bryant Myers, for a joint performance of their first live collaborative performance of “Seda.”
Despite his relentless emphasis on trap, the compact — for Bunny, anyway —two-and-a-half-hour show closed with a treat for fans of his raging reggaeton hits, including “Safaera,” “Yo Perreo Sola,” “Efecto,” and even “Me Porto Bonito.” Nearly all of the audience was suddenly on their feet, and it seemed as though every colorful laser and floating fluorescent light in the space lit up to reveal a sea of ecstatic faces. Streamers, confetti, and splashes of overpriced beer and mixed drinks went flying into the air.
What Bad Bunny does next remains to be seen, but if this concert trek is any indication, it’s clear his listeners — old or new — are more than eager to follow him wherever he may choose to venture.
