Pitbull’s 2024 “Party After Dark Tour” made its only California stop at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista on Thursday, Oct. 3. The event was a sellout, filling the venue with excited fans, many of whom dressed as Pitbull, wearing bald caps.
Special guests, T-Pain and SiriusXM Globalization DJ’s, opened the night. At 9:20 p.m., the party continued as headliner Armando Pérez, professionally known as Pitbull, took the stage as Mr. Worldwide while the band seamlessly transitioned from AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” to the chorus of one of Pitbull’s top songs, “Don’t Stop the Party.”
“I want to start off by thanking everyone from all the way to Tijuana and all of San Diego for showing me love over 20 years,” he said after finishing his opening song. “We know what San Diego and Tijuana are all about. It’s one thing and one thing only. Well, maybe two things: money and party.”
He then energized the crowd with a chant, asking, “Who came to party?” to which they enthusiastically responded, “We came to party!”
Pitbull kept the energy high with performances of “Hotel Room Service,” a mashup of “International Love” and “Bouncer Generation,” as well as a mashup of “Rain Over Me” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” He even treated the audience to a cover of Tag Team’s “Whoomp! There It Is” before leaving the stage.
In between each song, Pitbull entertained the crowd with clever puns that smoothly transitioned to his next acts.
While the audience awaited his return, they enjoyed a lively DJ set. Moments later, Pitbull returned, this time wearing a white suit jacket over his previous black button-down shirt, and continued the show with “I Feel Good,” followed by a cover of Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente.”
“There’s one thing that I love about music- music is a universal language that brings us all together,” he said after performing “Suavemente.” “I want it to always remind you that there’s one race and one race only. And that’s the human race.”
Pitbull said everyone in attendance speaks the universal language and acknowledged that both English and Spanish speakers were in the crowd. To ensure that everyone could leave “officially trilingual,” he gave a brief Spanish lesson. “When I say vamonos (go), you say sí. When I say paramos (stop), you say no,” he said.
After the lesson, he played “The Anthem,” followed by two covers: “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee and “Shake” by Ying Yang Twins. He then performed “Culo” and “I Know you Want Me (Calle Ocho)” before exiting the stage for the second time of the night.
The crowd enjoyed another DJ set for a few minutes until Pitbull came back, now wearing a red suit jacket and joined by T-Pain. They performed their song, “Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor),” which, based on the fans’ reactions, was a highlight and one of the audience’s favorite performances of the night.
T-Pain left the stage and Pitbull continued with a mashup of “On the Floor,” “I Like It” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love.”
Following the mashup, he delivered an inspiring speech, encouraging the crowd to be leaders and make a difference.
He then said, “Tonight you will remember and feel this motherf****ing moment,” launching into a performance of “Feel This Moment.” The next track was “Fireball,” during which several fans took photos and videos with their Fireball drinks. Afterward, Pitbull exited the stage.
The DJ set once again entertained the audience until Pitbull returned in a black suit jacket, accompanied by Lil Jon for a performance of “JUMP.” This was one of only two shows on the tour that Lil Jon attended.
Once Lil Jon exited the stage, Pitbull completed his look by adding a cowboy hat for the concluding songs. He then sang “Timber” and “Time of Our Lives,” emphasizing the lyrics “This is for everybody going through tough times. Believe me, been there, done that. But every day above ground is a great day, remember that.”
After performing “Time of Our Lives,” Pitbull paused to give a girl in the audience his hat, thanking her for continuously expressing her love for him throughout the night. He told her that he loves and appreciates her, and then added, “To everyone here, I love and appreciate you as well.”
Pitbull also took a moment to recognize the SLAM Foundation, a non-profit educational organization he founded in Miami that supports the expansion of K-12 tuition-free, public charter schools in underrepresented communities nationwide. Currently, SLAM serves almost 7,000 students across 14 schools in Florida, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona.
“If you didn’t spend your hard earned money to be here, we couldn’t help the kids,” Pitbull said. “Y’all are a part of the SLAM family. We appreciate you more than you know.”
As he transitioned to the final song of the night, “Give Me Everything,” which features the lyrics “Took my life from negative to positive,” Pitbull claimed that SLAM is the ultimate way of showing everyone that he took his life from a negative to a positive.
The show concluded with a guitar solo, accompanied by smoke, fire and lights that synced with the beat-elements that had also been present throughout the concert. As the crowd applauded and chanted “encore,” Pitbull expressed his gratitude to his production team, dancers, DJ LAZ, Channel 93.3, Lil Jon and T-Pain.
“Thank you for the love and support. Thank you for the opportunity,” he said at approximately 10:30 p.m., wrapping up the show.
Pitbull finished the tour with performances in Phoenix on Oct. 4 and Albuquerque on Oct. 5. He will return to California on Dec. 21, performing at Dodger Stadium. Still, San Diegans certainly had the time of their lives.
