San Diego — Farruko invigorated the vibrant diverse crowd with chart-topping songs and inspirational pep talks on Nov. 19 at Viejas Arena.
Akim and Milly opened for his “LA 167” tour performance with a chill set of songs, prompting the crowd to sway back and forth and preparing them for the surprises Farruko had up his sleeve. Milly captivated the audience with his sophisticated dance moves and mini Chris Brown persona.
When the lights went down, everyone jumped to their feet. As people packed the dark arena, the room became illuminated with two orange and black gas station stands in the center of the stage labeled “Farruko.” The crowd screamed and chanted his name and momentarily, the man himself came out with a green and white track racing suit, decorated with brands like Ferrari, Perrelli and Redbull.
The stage setup mirrored his wardrobe with the themes of cars, city life, money and success. The Puerto Rican artist is proud to say he made it, but in songs like “Guerrero” and “$,” he makes it known his success was earned through hard work and struggle. Despite his acclaimed wealth, he remains humble to his roots.
Accompanying Farruko were four women dancers and two male dancers who shook the stage with sensual moves which really brought the songs to life and brought an electrifying element to the show. Not to mention, the amount of twerking occurring onstage left the crowd flabbergasted on how long they could do it. without breaking their backs. Even upside down!
The reggaeton superstar did not shy away from being back to the classics such as “Se le da,” “vamos para la playa” and “La Cartera,” which features reggaeton hitmaker Bad Bunny. True fans recognized these popular songs and rose from their seats at Viejas Arena to sing along.
After performing some of his top throwback songs, Farruko transitioned from a relaxed romantic vibe –– in which his song “Chillax” explicitly says “vamos a pasarla bien” which translates in English as “we are going to have a good time” –– to an upbeat party vibe that opened up with “Helicóptero” one of the most popular songs in his latest album “La 167.”
There couldn’t be a better song to start the party vibrations than “Helicóptero” simply because the song talks about Farruko setting up the scene at a club with him being the main attraction. Ultimately, the song points out that while you may have haters in your life, you will always also have your family, loved ones, and those who have passed away to provide support.
The crazy part in that song is when the beat drops and creates this contagious EDM/Reggaeton sound which makes people just want to dance and have fun.
The crowd was on fire with “Pepas,” “El Incomprendido,” and “Calma” being his most popular songs. “Pepas” brought everyone to a different dimension with confetti going everywhere and fire coming out of the stage. This created a bond that people in the arena accepted, letting them simply live in the moment as they sang the “Pepas” lyrics to one another while jumping up and down away from their assigned seats.
“Pepas” itself has been in the No.1 spot on the Hot Latin Songs Billboard Chart for 14 consecutive weeks and has been on the top charts for 20 weeks, while currently still holding the No.1 spot as of Nov. 28. It’s no surprise that the song became so popular since its release in June.
This new style of combining EDM and reggaeton along with other party beat sounds has taken over the hot Latin charts with EDM producers like Skrillex, Diplo and DJ Snake among others making their mark as well.
But it seems Farruko and his producers mastered this sound as he ended the concert with “Embalao,” a song that speaks directly to people who won’t stop partying till the sun rises with lyrics like “Bartender, bring me more bottles and hookah because I am planning on staying up till morning singing my songs.”
However, the part which makes everyone dance to the beat is when Faruko says “If one day I am going to die then today I want to do whatever I feel like doing because tomorrow nobody knows what’s going to happen.”
At that moment, everyone went wild one last time with a burst of fire erupting from the stage and Farukko saying goodbye to the crowd as the lights shut off at Viejas Arena.
