With summer just around the corner, it’s beginning to feel like reggaeton season — and Phoenix celebrated in style with J Balvin, who brought his Back to the Rayo tour to the Valley on Thursday night. Thousands of fans packed the Phoenix Arena in their night-out finest, a colorful sea of bodycon dresses and high heels, and sang their hearts out to any number of the 40 (!) songs on the setlist.
Before the set even started, though, cheers periodically erupted from the crowd. People rushed to their seats, eager to catch an early glimpse of the Prince of Reggaeton, but the cheers were for the couples and friends who appeared on the pre-show kiss cam. Showcasing a little bit of love created camaraderie, which was right in line with J Balvin’s commentary about people coming together to experience music.
But I’m getting ahead of myself — the show began with a car driving to the front of the stage engulfed in dramatic smoke. Just before it tipped over the edge, J Balvin stepped out of the driver’s seat and launched into “Doblexxó” and “Reggaeton.” Flanked by a dance troupe of six, he strutted around the stage, climbing onto and off of the car. He successfully made a memorable entrance, and it was off to the races from there.
A true strength of this genre is its collaborations, so we were treated not only to original releases but also collabs with DJ Snake (“Loco contigo”), KAROL G (“+57” and “Si antes te hubiera conocido”), and Bad Bunny (“Como un bebé” and “La canción”). With all the relationships he’s fostered over the last 20 years, J Balvin has a massive catalog and hit on more than three dozen of the highlights during his set.
There was singing, nonstop dancing, commentary, outfit changes — notably, the dancers’ sweat sets that were reminiscent of pit crew outfits and stayed on theme with the stage car — and so much liveliness in the arena. You’ll never leave a J Balvin show thinking you didn’t have a good time.
