Don Omar’s Back to Reggaetón Celebrates the Genre’s History

As reggaetón continues to dominate the music charts, the style’s legends, together with Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Ivy Queen, and Don Omar stay extra related than ever for his or her roles in shaping a motion that originated in Puerto Rico and finally went international. However Don Omar’s comeback has been a long-awaited one. The leyenda identified for his early 2000s hits like “Dale Don,” “Sácala,” and “Salió el Sol,” has formally returned to the scene together with his “Again to Reggateon” US Tour, produced by CMN. The tour not solely marks his extremely anticipated return to the stage but additionally superbly celebrates his two-decade-long profession and its impactful contributions to the style.

On Saturday, March 9, Don Omar took to the Barclays Heart stage to carry out a sold-out present that left the viewers crammed with pleasure and nostalgia. Most significantly, it proved that 20 years later, his music nonetheless hits. The Puerto Rican reggaetónero has been slowly making his approach again within the recreation since 2021, dropping singles that led to his 2023 LP “Endlessly King.” His new music has been a formidable mix of his signature early 2000s reggaetón with the trendy sounds which were taking up the style. However his present tour, which kicked off in Studying, PA, on March 7, speaks to the way in which the neighborhood has continued to honor and have fun the OGs who pioneered the motion.

It is really easy to overlook the originators behind a development or a motion and give attention to the large stars of in the present day, like Dangerous Bunny, Karol G, Younger Miko, or J Balvin. However in the present day’s reggaetón and Latin entice followers know to pay their respects — that a lot was clear at Barclays, which was crammed with followers who uttered all of the lyrics to the vast majority of Don Omar’s two-hour set record (particularly when he rapped his biggest hits, like “Pobre Diabla” and “Mayor Que Yo 3”).

The present additionally made it clear that each reggaetón’s OGs and its present stars are crediting others and their contributions to the style’s recognition. Don Omar did just a few tributes all through the evening, together with performing “Gata Gangster” and “Desafío,” throughout which he shouted-out Daddy Yankee as a legend.

“[Daddy Yankee] devoted 35 years of his life to reggaetón. I haven’t got anybody to argue with anymore,” he mentioned jokingly, alluding to their earlier feud.

Throughout his efficiency of “Entre Tú y Yo,” Don Omar shouted-out Luny Tunes and different Dominicans’ contributions to reggaetón, which regularly get missed.

Whereas the present and the tour have fun Don Omar’s two-decade-long profession, in some ways it additionally pays homage to the style, its beginnings, and the evolution of what it is turn out to be in the present day. Seeing Don Omar’s rise — an Afro-Boricua artist from Puerto Rico who kicked off his profession when reggaetón was banned by the Puerto Rican authorities — additionally speaks to how far the style has come.

“Thanks for making my dream come true. I used to be a highschool dropout, a church pastor, and in one of the best second of my life, you allowed me to be Don Omar,” he mentioned whereas closing the present. “I’ve made so many errors in my life, and at my age, it’s clear to me that having made errors is what has me the place I’m in the present day as a result of, from every one in every of them, I discovered. I discovered that on this planet, nobody has the important thing to heaven. The one key to heaven is your direct relationship with what’s in heaven.”

Johanna Ferreira is the content material director for POPSUGAR Juntos. With greater than 10 years of expertise, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central a part of Latine tradition. Beforehand, she spent shut to a few years because the deputy editor at HipLatina, and she or he has freelanced for quite a few shops together with Refinery29, Oprah journal, Attract, InStyle, and Effectively+Good. She has additionally moderated and spoken on quite a few panels on Latine id. .