Bad Bunny brought his record-breaking “World’s Hottest Tour” to the 2023 Grammys stage, performing a mashup of “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa” to open the 65th annual awards show on Sunday night.
The Puerto Rican reggaeton titan kicked off his set off-stage and was backed by a live band who shook the venue with the vibrations of infectious merengue beats that brought stars like Jack Harlow and Taylor Swift to their feet.
Dancers dressed in colorful dresses and big caricature heads (of Puerto Rican figureheads like Roberto Clemente, Tego Calderón and Andy Montañez, among others) floated through the audience while Bad Bunny blasted through his performance. The CBS broadcast could barely keep up with his firey cadence, however, writing “Singing in Non-English” as captions during the performance.
“¡Que viva la música Latina!” the singer exclaimed towards the end of his performance.
Popular on Variety
“Un Verano Sin Ti,” Bad Bunny’s fourth solo studio effort, made Grammys history this year with its album of the year nomination. The 23-song set is the first all-Spanish language album to be nominated in the coveted category. He is nominated among ABBA’s “Voyage,” Adele’s “30,” Beyonce’s “Renaissance,” Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” Brandi Carlile’s “In These Silent Days,” Coldplay’s “Music Of The Sphere,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” Lizzo’s “Special,” and Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House.”
Preceding the 65th annual Grammy ceremony, Bad Bunny will make Coachella history as the first Latin headliner for the upcoming festival this April. In 2022, the musician became the No. 1 most-streamed artist globally on Spotify for the third year in a row. “Un Verano Sin Ti” is also up for best música urbana album.
While the Latin sensation has performed globally — and led 2022 with one of the most profitable sold-out stadium tours — this is the artist’s first performance at the Grammys, following his performance at the Latin Grammys in 2021. In addition to his three previous Grammy wins, Bad Bunny has been nominated for 26 Latin Grammys and won five since his first nomination in 2017.
Bad Bunny has also expanded beyond music. Recently the singer starred in the Sundance Film Festival selection, “Cassandro,” and the summer action flick, “Bullet Train” alongside Brad Pitt, Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. He’ll also star in the Sony “Spider-Man” villain spinoff “El Muerto” in 2024.
