There has been a trend in recent years of Spanish-speaking artists playing to bigger and bigger audiences in the US. In fact, one such example was documented in TPi #278 – the stadium debut of Karol G in the United States. Another artist at the sharp end of this trend is Bad Bunny, whose collaboration with Drake and Cardi B saw him achieve a level of international notoriety that was previously considered unattainable for Spanish-speaking artists.
For his latest production, Most Wanted, the Puerto Rican had a clear vision to ‘bridge two worlds’, which manifested in a two-end stage show with an automated bridge connecting the two performance areas. Bringing in legendary show designer Es Devin to help realise this vision, it was an ambitious stage production with many highlights including the artist taking to the stage on a real horse.
Talking through the nuts and bolts of the two stages was WICREATIONS’ Raf Peeters. “We’d worked on his previous tour in 2021,” began Peeters, expressing his admiration for the artist and his work ethic. “During that first project I’ll admit I was not familiar with his work, but it’s astounding how big he has become in the United States. He’s an authentic artist.”
Peeters spoke of one specific part of the design process where he and the wider creative team were determining how they could get the singer from the elevated bridge down to the second stage where a piano was stationed. “It was about a 1.5m drop and while we threw out ideas of ladders and stairs, he decided instead to just jump down!”
In terms of the overall build, it was a tour of two halves with WICREATIONS handling all the floor packages and TAIT producing the automated bridge and flying element. “The split between the two companies really came down to a short timeframe to pull all the pieces together,” stated Peeters.
He continued to highlight the scale of this show, which filled 31 vehicles in the US. “Despite the size, the load-out took three hours on average,” he shared, praising the work of the touring production.
“Credit must go to Roly Garbalosa, Head of Production for the tour, who during rehearsals always programmed enough time to run through the load-in and -outs to ensure everything was prepped for a quick load in – especially as this run’s schedule was busy.”
Looking after the WICREATIONS elements of the show was: Crew Chief, Greg Vervoort; Operator, Kim Bennett-Abbiss; Technician, Senne Diels; Carpenters, Lance Weaver, Kyle ‘Gweedo’ Smith and Jake Van Egmond.
WICREATIONS constructed two motion-controlled semicircular stages positioned right in front of each other. The main stage – or King Stage – was set in motion by four WICREATIONS TP06 spiral lifts with a libera grid in between and a video floor above. The semicircle stage had a custom-brushed aluminium fascia. The stage is supported by 16 triple casters to allow to move it in proper alignment with the flown bridge by TAIT.
On the downstage side of the arena, the Queen stage had a 4m by 2m moveable platform supported by a rectangular lift and four TP21 hoists powered by EVO PM030 drives. The deck system, a combination of standard and custom decks, was specially designed to create a semicircle with video floor on top. Just like the King Stage, it was also finished with custom-brushed aluminium.
“During rehearsals, we made some big changes to the stage design due to the artist not being close enough to the audience,” Peeters commented, demonstrating not only how hands-on Bad Bunny is with his show design, but also how keen he was to have a close interaction with the audience.
Also aiding in this greater connection with the audience was PixMob, bringing its signature wireless LED technology – in this case in the form of a badge in the shape of a cowboy boot – to light up the audience.
“We’ve been working with Bad Bunny for six years,” stated PixMob’s Hila Aviran. “We brought our infrared moving head technology to arenas and used them to wirelessly program zones. With the LED badges the fans wore, jaw-dropping blasts of light swept through the audience.” Aviran further explained that the badges really “extended the stage lighting” into the crowd. “We’re thankful for Bad Bunny and his team,” he said. “They’re innovative and forward thinking and approaching things from a perspective that is 100 steps ahead.”
Peeters shared his final thoughts on the collaboration: “He’s now one of the biggest artists worldwide and he continues to bring in new elements and genres with every new album. As far as the show, the production is very deliberate when they use certain elements or gags. They never want to milk a look, making each moment very special for the crowd.”
Words: Stew Hume
