The Knockturnal had the privilege of seeing the King of Bachata, Romeo Santos, in all of his glory this past weekend. Romeo Santos delighted a sold-out crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, giving the final U.S. performance of his Vol. 2 World Tour.
Not only was the King able to pack the 18,000 seat arena with fans and lovers of Bachata, but had everyone on their feet, dancing and screaming during the entire concert. Romeo, also known as “el chico de las poesias” (the guy of poetries), made every member of the audience fall in love with his charisma, charm, sensuality, and of course, incredible talent!
As the time approached for the Bronx native to make his entrance, the crowd began to roar louder and louder. You could feel the tension rising in the room, eager to see their king performing live. The lights went off, and the moment we were all waiting for arrived. As blue and yellow lights on stage dazzled us, a video animation of a castle began to play. Next thing we saw were pictures of the attractive singer, while a medley of his songs were played by members of the band. The music came to an end as a logo of his initials ‘RS’ appeared on screen. The crowd was screaming at the top of their lungs as Romeo rose up on stage, wearing a tight blue leather jacket, a white v-neck shirt, and a pair fitted jeans. He smiled at his audience, tapped the microphone twice and began the show with “Inocente” from his most recent album Formula, Vol. 2, released in 2014.
He brought us back to his days as the lead singer of the Bachata group Aventura, when he performed “Por Un Segundo,” released from The Last album, back in 2009. As he teased the audience with some sexy hip swirls, he performed “Loco,” a single which made with Enrique Iglesias. He finally decided to address his spectators, who went crazy with every word he said. He shared his excitement to be performing in New York, and showed appreciation towards the audience while shouting out to Latinos, mentioning nationalities of Central and South America. Santos went back to performing his second album’s songs with “Cancioncitas de Amor,” and then switched to his Aventura album The Last with “Su Veneno.” The crowd’s energy peaked again when they heard the beginning of the nominated Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Song “Promise,” featuring Usher, released on his first album Formula, Vol.1 in 2011. After performing “Los Infieles” from his Aventura album K.O.B, released in 2006, he divided the audience in half and challenged them to compete against one another, seeing which side could be the loudest. After cracking some jokes, he continued his performance with the hit reggaeton song “Noche de Sexo,” which he produced with the reggaeton duo Wisin Y Yandel. He went back and forth between Formula, Vol. 1 and Formula Vol. 2, performing “Soberbio,” “7 Dias,” “La Diabla,” “Tu Jueguito,” and “Llevame Contigo,” all of which the audience knew by heart.
Usually every show, Romeo asks for a girl to come on stage and be his muse. When the lucky lady was chosen, Romeo asked her (switching back and forth between English and Spanish), what kind of kisses she knew, leading to the performance of “Un Beso.” As he sang the song released in 2005, found on Aventura’s album God’s Project, he began to dance, placing the woman’s hands on his torso, and slowly moving them down, letting her feel his body. By this point, the women in the audience were wildly screaming out of jealousy. After escorting the lady off the stage and stealing a kiss from her, he sang “Necio,” (which he made with Carlos Santana on his last album) giving all of his energy, bringing the first half of the concert to its conclusion.
The few minutes of intermission consisted of Romeo’s back-up vocalists performing. Afterwards a special guest from Spain sang a Flamenco style song, as Romeo rose on stage, this time wearing a brown leather shirt and baggy khaki pants. With the background screens made to look like cathedral stained glasses of Romeo’s face, the band returned to play “Mi Santa,” jumping back to Romeo’s first album. Going from albums Vol. 1, K.O.B, to Vol. 2, Romeo performed “Odio,” “Mi Corazoncito,” and one of his popular hits “Eres Mia.” The time came again for another lucky audience member to come on stage. Romeo was hoping to find his most loyal fan, the one who knows every song by heart. The first guy he addressed was so confident that when he was asked to define how big of a fan he is, on a scale of one to ten, he answered 1000. Romeo decides to bring him up, but when it is time to prove himself, he fails at recognizing the first song Romeo sang snippets of. As he left the stage, Romeo spotted another fan, Wonder, who was absolutely more enthusiastic and confident than the first contestant. Wonder amazed Romeo with the confidence and charisma he exuded, along with his lyrical knowledge. The two boys get into a friendly singing competition, as “Hilito,” from Formula, Vol. 2 started to play. “Ella y Yo,” from Aventura’s album God’s Project then followed, in which Wonder also sang, delivering a very entertaining performance. As Santos thanked Wonder for coming forth, he swore to the audience that he had not met Wonder before that instance. After Romeo signed a CD, and took a selfie with this fan, he continued the concert with a complete treat for his fans.
As Romeo elevated in the air with an extension of the stage, the artist requested the audience to shout names of the songs they would like him to perform next. As soon as he caught the name of a song, he sang an extract of the song, which he did for five different requests, trying to please as many as possible. While he descended, he said he wanted to bring back some oldies, as we heard “Todavia Me Amas,” followed by “Amor de Madre,” from Aventura’s album We Broke the Rules back in 2002. The audience was thrilled to hear some of his first songs, and he continued to please us by singing “Hermanita,” found on Aventura album Love and Hate, released in 2003. Performing a big Aventura hit “La Boda,” from the God’s Project album, Romeo warmed up the audience for his departure. As he sang “Obesion,” Aventura’s most recognized song from the We Broke The Rules album, we knew the concert was coming to an end. The audience sang along, enjoying every lasting second they could. Many started to tear up. The song ended, Romeo thanked his audience once again and the lights went off. Of course, he could not leave without singing the song everyone was waiting for “Propuesta Indecente,” from his last album. Choosing one last lucky lady, as the lights went on again, we saw a king bed on stage. He flirted with the pretty audience member as he stole a kiss from her. He exclaimed “que rico se siente ser rey!” (how good it feels to be the King!). He threw her on the bed and covered her with bed sheets— all of this while he was performing the song. We saw articles of clothing (bra, pants, and undies) being thrown out of the sheets, making the audience clamor with jealousy and laughter. As the song came to an end, confetti exploded in the air, and lights dazzled us, giving the concert an epic and well-deserved finale.
Not only is Romeo an incredible singer and songwriter, but his whole persona is admirable. He complimented his romantic and sensual sides with his silly and humorous qualities. An alluring aspect of this concert was Santos’ genuine care and love that he allowed the audience to feel. He used his power as an artist to advocate for politeness and morality, while adding fun and joy. Romeo had us in mind the whole time, and allowed us to really enjoy every minute of his performance, enticing the crowd to sing along, dance, and get lost in the moment.