Bad Bunny’s London show proved his appeal goes far beyond chart-topping hits; blending Puerto Rican pride, intimate fan interactions, nostalgic musical influences and surprise guest Damon Albarn, he turned a stadium into a celebration of identity and belongingEinav Schiff, London|During the second part of Bad Bunny’s concert, which takes place in the “casita” (Spanish for little house) that everyone has wanted to be in since his iconic Super Bowl performance, the setlist is interrupted and the music stops. This is not a technical malfunction. Bad Bunny sings and dances and will return to it shortly but first he needs to move through the front rows, shake hands with enthusiastic fans and hug and take selfies, like a politician on a campaign trail.Then one fan hugs him tightly for what feels like an eternity. From the singer’s expression, it sounds like she is whispering the story of her life into his ear. No one urges him to move along and he does not seem to be in any rush. It ends with a gentle kiss on her cheek and he moves on to the next fan. Several more minutes pass before the music resumes.Bad Bunny performs 'NUEVAYoL' at a concert in London (Video: Einav Schiff)It seems that this moment explains why, for the hundreds of thousands attending Bad Bunny’s rare European tour, this is about more than just a show by the hottest name in pop music. For many Spanish-speaking fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Bad Bunny has become more than a hit machine but a symbol of pride and identification: in language, in the homeland of their families in Latin America, in the music their parents and grandparents grew up with that did not always receive a warm welcome in the mainstream.The personal, physical and sustained contact with him gives the show the feel of a popular street celebration, as if it were truly a Puerto Rican block party rather than a stadium concert in one of the most expensive cities in the world. If the beautiful line “Debí tirar más fotos” (“I should have taken more photos”), the name of his excellent album released in early 2025, leaves a bittersweet taste of longing for the safe and warm space of home, then Bad Bunny’s show seems to fill the archive with new, defining and above all very joyful memories.Two hours earlier, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio takes the main stage in a tan brown suit and glasses with a bridge that make him look as if he was pulled out of a 1970s rhythm club. This is the classic segment of the show, continuing the loving tribute of “DTMF” to the musical roots he grew up on — salsa, rumba, bomba and more — built on infectious rhythms and excellent musicians. All that is missing is a Latin version of Israeli presenter Shimon Peres to declare a perfect Latin night.GalleryBad Bunny at a concert in London (Photo: ERIC ROJAS)In these songs, which are not familiar stadium anthems, it becomes clear that English is largely a non-issue in the show: not in the songs, not in the transitions and not in the level of audience participation. Even the instrumental performance on a cuatro guitar of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” (an unofficial anthem of the English national team at the World Cup these days), while Bad Bunny catches his breath, does not trigger uncontrolled hysteria. In contrast, the roar for the opening of “NUEVAYoL,” which closes this part of the show, can be heard all the way to New York.At this point, after a lesson in Puerto Rican slang via a video featuring a frog, the heat wave that had just left the city returns thanks to the “casita”: a replica of an average Puerto Rican home with a satellite dish and an air conditioner unit on the roof that many would steal if they could. At the entrance stands a large number of male and female dancers in the show’s official dress — almost nothing — raising the temperature in the stands as well.Bad Bunny has shed the suit and now wears shorts, a loose Adidas tracksuit and sunglasses. In his hand is a red plastic cup that never leaves him. The message is clear: he is the host and everyone is invited to lose themselves in the dancing.Bad Bunny and Damon Albarn perform 'Clint Eastwood' in London concert (Video: Einav Schiff)Unexpectedly, that is exactly what happens the moment the opening of “Tití Me Preguntó,” also known as Bad Bunny’s “selfie song,” begins, which also opened his Super Bowl performance. This is the looser, wilder and more overtly sexual part of the show, not only because of a barrage of reggaeton tracks from albums and collaborations but also due to a fish-eye camera capturing dancing bodies.The star himself frequently grabs his groin and moves in ways that have already earned names the internet can barely handle.Yet even within the sense of abandon, it is hard not to be impressed by how these songs have fused old and new traditions into a virus that has infected tens of millions around the globe. The powerful yet elegant beat, Bad Bunny’s addictive cadence as a rapper, the nostalgic wink and the melancholy tone that occasionally creeps even into the most danceable hits have updated the familiar portrait of a pop star, expanded its boundaries and revealed a vast audience hungry for this moment.The audience is hungry for every moment like this. Bad Bunny in concert (Photo: ERIC ROJAS)The grand finale is led by Bad Bunny again from the main stage, this time with some of his biggest hits and a surprise guest, Damon Albarn. Albarn used the Gorillaz networking platform to signal Bad Bunny and now receives his due with a joint performance of two songs: “Tormenta,” on which Bad Bunny originally appeared, and the iconic “Clint Eastwood,” in which he sings a verse in Spanish.“This guy, I’m telling you,” Albarn says and nothing more needs to be added.But even Albarn knows he is only a guest and nothing would have changed had he not been there: the stadium would still have been lifted to the sky hearing “DTMF” live, with images of audience members taken before the show and glow sticks shaped like cameras casting shifting colors of light.“EoO” closes the night with a kiss and fireworks, sending the crowd off to scroll through the many videos that captured two and a half hours of comforting heat. After a Bad Bunny show, no one walks away saying, “I should have taken more photos.”