See J Balvin Bring the Energy (and Ed Sheeran) to His Back to the Rayo Show in Brooklyn
J Balvin’s Back to the Rayo tour is in full throttle. On Sunday night, the Colombian superstar brought his reggaeton show to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, playing both his nostalgic hits and songs from his recent Rayo era.
The reggaeton singer surprised the audience with special guests, Ryan Castro and Ed Sheeran, who performed duets with him during the high-octane show. Sheeran and Balvin played a rendition of their 2022 collaboration, “Duele,” while Castro joined the reggaetonero for 2022’s “Nivel de Perreo.”
“What a beautiful night!!” Balvin wrote on Instagram after the show. “Thank you @teddysphotos @ryancastrro My little brothers, I love you.”
Balvin laced his career-spanning set with songs from Rayo, including show-opener “Swat,” and “Doblexxó,” “Polvo de Tu Vida” and “3 Noches.” “It’s the nostalgia I had of when I was in the studio for the first time. Sometimes you get so caught up in the business that you start just thinking about the business and not the music purely,” he told Rolling Stone about Rayo after dropping it last August. “So in this case, it was like when I was a kid.”
During the show, Balvin made room for Oasis, his collaborative album with Bunny, on songs faves such as “La Canción” and “Como un Bebé,” along with deep cuts like “Ahora Dice” with Chris Jedi and “Ay Vamos” from his second album. Also included on the set? Hits where Balvin was the featured artist, including Rosalía’s “Con Altura,” Anitta’s “Downtown,” Cardi B’s “I Like It,” and Sean Paul’s “Contra La Pared.”
Balvin will kick off April with a show in Connecticut, before making his way west with a five straight shows in Texas in late April, before closing the extensive run on the West Coast, including a show at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on May 9. The new run arrives three years after Balvin canceled his Jose tour due to “unforeseen production challenges” related to Covid. His last tour was his Arcoiris Tour in 2019, coinciding with his LP Colores.