J Balvin fills his show with flashy music, flashy fashion
Colombian reggaeton artist ranks second in attendance, plies crowd in English, Spanish
J Balvin made history Tuesday night in many ways at RodeoHouston.
He was the first reggaeton artist to take the rotating stage. He’s one of very few Spanish-language acts to perform on a night other than Go Tejano Day.
And he’s probably the first person to ever enter the arena in a tracksuit that looked like it was made from disco balls.
Balvin is known for the flash in his music and his fashion. His tracksuit sparkled under the flood of lights, and he paired it, of course, with a pair of sunglasses.
Brightly colored visuals flashed on the LED screens. He was accompanied by four male dancers.
“My name is J Balvin, and I come from Medellín, Colombia, to the world,” he said in Spanish to the crowd of 74,701 paid attendance. That number is only second so far this year to Garth Brooks’ opening show.
Balvin frequently switched to English when addressing the audience.
“Super happy and proud to be here. Are we ready to go to another level? Put your hands up in the air — arriba, arriba, arriba, arriba.”
He ran through a continuous mix of both solo songs and features: “Machika,” “Safari,” “Otra Vez,” the Latino Remix of Justin Bieber’s Sorry.”
It was pulsing and energetic — like the world’s grandest nightclub performance. And Balvin was the shiny center.