Finally, after Detroit had been waiting years upon years for Bad Bunny, it finally happened. On the night of April 6th, 2024, Bad Bunny performed to a sold-out crowd at Little Caesars Arena. It was one of the biggest nights for not only me, but many Latinos in Detroit.
Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, mostly known as “Bad Bunny”, is one of the biggest Latin artists in the world. Originally born in Puerto Rico, Bunny became big in the United States after dropping his album “Un Verano Sin Ti”. Already having 3 albums produced, his fourth studio album, which came out in 2022, debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard charts. Bunny was the first non-English language artist to hold the record of the 2nd most streams on Spotify with 18.5 billion streams. At the Grammys in 2023, Bunny opened his set in all Spanish. In addition to performing in Spanish, he had collaborations with Drake, Cardi B, Dua Lipa, and many other big artists.
“Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana”, was his newest album. With it being so new and fresh, he made it the theme of this concert. When walking to LCA, you could see that everyone, including me, was wearing Western clothing. By doing this, it was a tribute to the cover of the newest album. The crowd gathered outside Little Caesars, waiting for the doors to open. When the doors opened everyone rushed in, pushing and shoving. When my family made it through security, everyone had smiles on their faces, laughing, talking, and we were there for the same reason. Bad Bunny. Each person was handed a lanyard with a cowboy boot. At first, I thought it was just like a normal lanyard, but later into the concert, I became shocked with surprise.
The concert started with a beautiful orchestra playing on one of the two stages. The arena was dark, with lights only showing the orchestra. After the orchestra played for a while, everything went quiet. The lights went off, and then everyone started screaming. The intro of “Nadie Sabe” started playing. Bunny started singing, but no one could see him. Smoke started rising from the bottom of the stage. Slowly, out of nowhere, Bunny came up from the floor. And that’s when everything really started.
When the first song was over, the cowboy boot lanyards lit up on every person in the arena. In addition to the lights on the lanyards, there were lights from the ceiling, pyrotechnics, smoke, and more. Sophomore Stephan Vesa, who attended the concert, was also there to experience the lanyards. “The lanyards that they handed out to all the fans had lights in them and they would glow according to the song that was performed,” Vesa said. That made it the best part of my night, as the entire arena sang along with every word during this part of the show.
But the realization hit me of how big the night was when he played his second song, the most popular song of his album, “Monaco”. The crowd was filled with energy, excitement and love for Bad Bunny. As the night went on, the crowd chanted “Benito, Benito”, as Bad Bunny shouted “Gracias Detroit”, many times.
In the middle of the concert, Bunny moved from being on one stage to being on a floating platform flying above the crowd. During the second half of his concert, he had an outfit change. He came out in a denim outfit with a mask, riding on a horse, bringing his album cover to life. That was my favorite part of the concert. The entire arena sang along with every word during this part of the show. It was incredible!
The concert lasted two and a half hours, ending with the song “Where She Goes”, with the entire arena lit up with colorful lights everywhere. After the show, as everyone walked to their cars, we noticed the lanyards glowing around everyone’s necks. We couldn’t believe the night that just happened.
A well-known music writer, Gary Graf, says, “This was a huge night for Little Caesars and 313 Entertainment, bringing together 16,000 fans from around the Midwest, to Detroit”. Bad Bunny’s Saturday night tour stop in Detroit was a major event, leaving us craving more. The people of Detroit await his return. Come back soon, Benito!
Bad Bunny performing at Little Ceaser Arena, On April 6th, 2024 singing one of his songs that corresponds with the different lights.