Don Omar @ The Kia Forum

As I entered the Kia Forum’s parking lot, all I heard was the gradual increase of classic Don Omar hits playing out of cars on full blast, people on the street corners with their speakers, and even fans singing the lyrics together a capella as they waited in line. It’s obvious that this show was sold out by fans of all ages, from people who first started listening to Don Omar back in the early 2000’s to new young fans who aren’t even teenagers yet. You aren’t called “El Rey de Reggaeton” for no reason, you only get a nickname like that if you truly made an impact on the Reggaeton genre from its very start. Don Omar is more than a king of this music genre, he was a pioneer of it. Even at the age of 46 years old, he is still filling venues such as the iconic Kia Forum with fans wearing artist merchandise, Puerto Rican flags being waved, and of course fanatics dancing out of their seats prior to him even taking the stage. The Kia Forum is a venue known for hosting legends, and this tour being called “Back to Reggaeton” had lived up to its name, as you could see fans dancing to old-school hits before the concert had even started. It’s no secret that Reggaeton is not at the top of the Latin music charts at the moment, but this tour had broken today’s mainstream popular genres and truly brought back Reggaeton to every city in its tour to give fans what they wanted, a night of dancing and loud Reggaeton beats. 

After I finally parked my car and made my way to get checked in, I was greeted by the Kia Forum’s amazing hospitality staff, where I was led to an elevator. As the elevator went down I had a feeling in my stomach in which something huge was about to happen as soon as those doors opened. As I exited the elevator and was escorted to the media pit, all I could see was 17,500 fans cheering, dancing, and screaming to the music that the DJ was playing. Don Omar had not even taken the stage yet and you could feel the entire venue shaking to the thousands of fans who were ready to partake in a night of dancing with the king himself. As a concert fanatic myself, it is always amazing to witness so many people brought together to enjoy music. Seeing all these fanatics singing every lyric of the songs in Spanish made me feel proud to be a Latino, and proud that a legend like Don Omar in this day and age, 24 years into his career, is still relevant and playing an important role in the Latin music industry. As I was still taking in how packed the stadium was and appreciating the greatness of this fanbase, suddenly the lights went completely dark, the curtains closed onstage, and the DJ stopped playing his music. What we all had been waiting for was finally happening, and the longer we sat in the dark, the louder the screams became.

Finally, the curtains opened and LED screens on the wall started flashing lights. As the sound of loud drum beats began to get stronger and louder, I felt my body shake with every beat. One by one, dancers, singers, and musicians took the stage and a large silver skull began to rise up out of the floor.  The louder the beats got the faster the bright, colorful LED lights became. Finally, once I was able to recognize the beat of the music, the screams had gotten so loud as everyone in the stadium knew exactly what song was about to begin. But the entire time, I was still wondering, where was the man of the hour? Suddenly, there he was, rising out of the floor. There I started to see the braids, the sunglasses, the leather jacket and finally the king himself, Don Omar. For a few seconds, the music stopped and all you could hear were the screams of the entire stadium. As we looked at him and he looked directly back at us, no words were said, you just knew you were in front of Reggaeton greatness. As he finally got up from his literal throne, he waved to the entire crowd from left to right with the biggest smile across his face and took a bow, showing us his utmost respect. This man not only carried himself so respectfully, but that he clearly respected all his fans who made it that night. Once he got up from his bow, he brought the microphone to his face and began to slowly say the words, “Dile que bailando te conoci.” He then flipped the microphone toward the crowd and we all yelled, “Cuentale!” His most popular song’s intro was repeated three times until finally the beat dropped, all the fireworks went off, the Reggaeton beats got loud, and everyone around me was dancing out of their seats. As Don Omar and his dancers began to perform his famous song, it was clear that the party had officially started.  It no longer felt like a concert, but a huge dance club with the legend himself performing live for all his beloved fans.
As the night continued, it all felt surreal to think that this man is 46 years old and he still remembers every single lyric by heart and, most importantly, is an amazing performer. As the night kept going, so did his hit songs from “Danza Kuduro”, “Dile”, “Salio El Sol”, and even “Cuentale”. These are all songs you could only dream of watching live in today’s world, since they aren’t only such old classic hits but also because of the fact it’s not just any year that you can see the legend himself Don Omar perform live. This was the beauty behind the entire show, knowing that if you were here that night that you were getting everything that you could ask for–not only as a Don Omar fan, but as a fan of Reggaeton music. From the nosebleeds at the very top all the way to the floor, you could not see anyone sitting still in their seats; everyone had someone to dance with and all the walking aisles in between sections were filled with fans dancing the night away.

Once the man of the hour had performed his top hits all night long, he suddenly took the center of the stage and bowed as confetti shot into the air. He looked around and did his famous bow, blowing kisses to every section of the arena. We knew our time together was coming to an end, but of course, Los Angeles being Los Angeles, we don’t take goodbyes at concerts lightly, and we all started chanting for a final encore. As he left the stage and the lights went dark, I believed this really might be the end. But after he walked off, there was a brief moment of silence and all I heard was, “Encore! Encore! Encore!” Then, from every speaker in the stadium, I heard the famous guitar riff of his biggest hit, “Bandoleros”. As the music picked up, we saw Don Omar run back out onstage and begin to sing. This specific moment helped remind me just who this man is and how his career in this music industry has stuck around and will never fade away. Don Omar, El Rey de Reggaeton really did make us go back to Reggaeton during his performance, and allowed his very first fans to relive their past experiences and his newer fans to be able to say they witnessed the king of Reggaeton live at the legendary Kia Forum. 

Special thank you to Maxie Solters, Doriam Romero, and the Kia Forum for making this night possible.