Author: Anthony Villa

Posted: May 13, 2025

On Sunday, May 4, 2025, J Balvin turned Pechanga Arena into a party. Back to the Rayo Tour included a stop in San Diego! It's crazy to say that I witnessed an amazing artist perform back-to-back hits. J Balvin's artistic growth has been amazing to witness as a fan. From many amazing albums like La Familia, Energia, Vibras, Colores, OASIS with Bad Bunny, JOSE, and his latest album, Rayo.

The night began with an energetic warm-up set by DJ Pope, J Balvin's official tour DJ. He hyped the crowd with classics and remixes while there were visuals on the screen. He even had a facetime call with Mariah Angeliq who sings in the song EL MAKINON with Karol G. DJ pope even hosted an after party in San Diego that night. After this there was a kiss Cam going around as well

And then…the car. J Balvin made his entrance inside a reflective chrome color with butterfly doors, cruising onto the stage with smoke and lights around him. This car is a Volkswagen Golf and has an amazing story behind it. During the second half of the show, J Balvin performed on a separate stage where an inflatable sculpture of his head appeared on the main stage while the second stage revealed huge inflatable hands rising from the platform.

The concert took place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. J Balvin performed a variety of hits from different albums, and even from his latest album. Balvin’s setlist was a well-curated journey through his musical evolution and discography. The fans were excited for J Balvin!!! Balvin's setlist includes fan favorites like “Ginza,” “MI Gente,” “Ay Vamo,” “Safari,” “I Like it,” “La Cancion,” and more. J Balvin also paid tribute to some of the amazing Colombian artists. He performed songs like “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” By Karol G, “Según Quién" by Maluma and Carin Leon, “Hips Don’t Lie” By Shakira and Wyclef Jean, and more. Showing love and representing Colombia, where J Balvin is from. J Balvin dedicated his song “Rio” to his son Rio and wife Valetina.

Everyone went crazy when his viral song Azul was performed. Earlier this year, J Balvin's song Azul from his album Colores went viral on TikTok. It's a trend where two people dance with each other.

J Balvin also had a merchandise stand available where you can buy t-shirts, jackets, hats, pins, phone cases, and more. If you missed a chance of purchasing the merch, it's not too late because you can purchase the tour merch on J Balvin's website.

J Balvin went all out! One of the most exciting and unique moments of the night came when J Balvin used a live volume meter to detect or measure the crowd's energy. He told the crowd to let everything out! The arena was loud!

J Balvin came out with great energy and maintained a great show throughout the whole night. He was singing live and was engaging with fans. J Balvin had amazing background dancers. The outfits for his dancers were colorful and fiery, the same as J Balvin's outfit changes throughout the show. As a fan, J Balvin is considered a legendary artist to me, seeing him grow, release albums over the years, amazing collaborations, representing the Latino community, and more, Balvin has shown why he is a legendary artist. He will always be a legendary artist in music.

📸/✍️: Anthony Villa @antz.photo5