Bad Bunny. Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images.
Bad Bunny performed the first headlining set of the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday (April 14), the first Spanish-speaking or Latin artist to ever headline the event. Though the Puerto Rican artist has played sold-out stadium tours around the globe, last night's marquee performance at one of the world's most prestigious popular music festivals did feel like a coronation of the underdog. At one point early on, Bad Bunny asked the rapturous crowd, “What do you prefer: me talking in English or hablando español?” The answer? A resounding "ESPAÑOL!"
As expected, Bad Bunny left nothing in the tank, delivering an energetic performance that lasted over two hours and spanned dozens of songs from across his catalog. A number of guests showed up throughout the show: Post Malone brought his acoustic guitar to perform a stripped-down version of “La Canción” from Bad Bunny's collaborative LP with J Balvin OASIS; while there were some technical difficulties, the crowd was more than happy to pick up the slack. Jowell y Randy, Ñengo Flow, and Jhay Cortez all appeared throughout the set as well, which took care to pay tribute to the music of the Caribbean that has influenced Bad Bunny. Between Bad Bunny's songs, viewers were treated to choreographed homages to classics like El Gran Combo's “Brujería” and Pete Rodriguez's “I Like It." See a selection of clips from Bad Bunny's set below via Twitter.
