Brooklyn because the hub for all things Latino this weekend as Romeo Santos came to town as part of his The Formula: Volume 2 Tour with three sold out shows at the Barclays Center and the last stop in the United States.
I walked in as the lights dimmed to black and 35,000 fans made the jam packed arena so deafening that with screams from the women who die at the dream of getting “so nasty,” with the former Aventura head man.
Born in the Bronx, Santos has become the Jay Z of Bachata music, and New York City wasn’t shy in showing him the support as the sound of screaming fans ruled the night.
Early in the show, he wanted to see just how passionate the crowd was Sunday night. He explained in both English and Spanish that the left side was kind of weak Friday night but very strong Saturday. In a five-minute battle both sides of the arena battled for the prize as the most passionate side of night.
Santos has learned to master the crowd throughout the years and commanded the stage with a rare and perfect combination of both performance and interaction with the crowd.
Throughout the show, he spoke to the crowd numerous times, and even brought a few up there with him. First he borrowed one girls phone to take a selfie she would never forget as he kissed into it and gave her a first person point of view of some unmentionable areas. He then brought a lucky woman on stage as he danced on her and even gave her a couple kisses that may have made her lifetime.
In a comical part of the evening, Santos busted out with his hit single “Odio” which also features Drake. During the performance Drizzy’s part came up everyone stood up and screamed as they thought he flew in from celebrating with Serena Williams to join the Barclays Center crowd. You collectively heard the gasps of disappointment soon afterwards when everyone realized it was actually his backup singer. Then they continued to sing the lyrics.
The biggest highlight of the night came when Romeo asked who his biggest fan was. He wasn’t looking for a female this time though, he was looking specifically for a male. He asked the first guy out of a scale 1-10 how big of a fan they were. He said, “1,000.” After explaining how males go overboard trying to answer a question, he brought him up on stage to prove his fandom.
“Lying Mother F****er!” From the first lyrics the “fan” stood like a deer in the headlights, not knowing one word of the first song.
Then came Wander. This guy was confident he knew every Romeo and Aventura song ever made. So he was put to the test. After the first lyric, Wander stole the show finishing Romeo’s lyrics and rocking the sold out crowd. After about five songs, he was thrown a curve ball but didn’t even blink.
By the end of it he proved he was a real fan and performed one of Romeo’s biggest hits “Ella y Yo,” as he performed Don Omar’s lyrics…almost to perfection.
The Bronx native rocked out for three hours straight and didn’t seem to get tired one bit as he continued to rock the crowd. There was one intermission in which his backup singers performed Carl Thomas’ 2001 classic, “Can’t Believe” where you couldn’t tell it was the original performers themselves.
Overall, Romeo performed a show that was well worth your money, and more. Whether you enjoy bachata music or not, the energy of the crowd matched with his impeccable crowd interaction and flawless performance from not only him, but his backup singers and the band, make it a must see for any fan. Even if you don’t understand Spanish he made everyone feel welcome as he switched languages with ease so everyone understood.
If you haven’t gone to one of his shows you should make it your business to make it happen before it’s too late.