In a landmark trek across the continental U.S., Bad Bunny’s Most Wanted Tour became the fifth-highest grossing tour ever completed by a Latin artist, with sales exceeding $200 million and attendance totaling more than 700,000, according to Pollstar. Famous for his explosive performances and ambitious productions, the Puerto Rican-born megastar, also known as Benito Martínez Ocasio, sold out all 30 stateside dates, each backed by a Clair Global-supplied Cohesion P.A.
This tour joined 2022’s El Último Tour del Mundo (seventh-highest grossing tour all-time by a Latin artist) and World’s Hottest Tour (also 2022, number one all-time in the Latin Artist record books) as Cohesion-supported Bad Bunny tours.
The Most Wanted Tour production included a 360° video wall and a massive rotating floating bridge, bringing Ocasio close to the crowd both physically and visually, and included sensorial technologies like pyrotechnics, lasers and light-up lanyards for every guest that synchronized to each song.
The System
While the visual effects were staggering, the audio was equally engaging and had to both sound great and stand up to the rigors of real-world touring. A 220-box all-Cohesion P.A. system was chosen. Cohesion was originally launched as a private brand available solely through Clair Global’s rental division. However, based on its overwhelming success and subsequent market demand, Cohesion (cohesionaudio.com) is now also available to exclusive installations worldwide and continues to be trusted by some of the world’s most successful touring artists.
Ten clusters of 16 Cohesion CO10 3-way, dual-10” line arrays each comprised the main hangs, with low-end provided by six flown clusters of six Cohesion CP218 II+ double-18 subs. An additional 24 Cohesion CP6+ compact point-source boxes, split into two groups of 12, provided supplementary fill.
“The system exceeded our requirements for the Most Wanted Tour by far,” system engineer Ricardo Barragán said. “We seek sound pressure of 20 Hz to 20 kHz without compromising audio quality or intelligibility in the frequency range of the vocals. In addition to its acoustic characteristics, Cohesion’s reliability is a plus, show after show.”
Barragan described the selection of the Cohesion CO10 for the main hangs versus the use of CO12, which he and FOH engineer Luis “Peewee” Velázquez had used previously on Bad Bunny’s stadium tours: “For 360° arenas, the challenge is the great vertical coverage the system must achieve while being effective in medium throw. These are two of the virtues of the CO10. There is a huge advantage to using a sound system where all its loudspeakers have 10° of vertical dispersion, which makes it very versatile to cover large areas at medium distance. I am fascinated by what the CO10 can do on 360° arena tours.”
Reactions
Since Velázquez was introduced to Cohesion years ago, he and the production team have elected to use it for each Bad Bunny tour. Head of production Roly Garbalosa described Velázquez as “the ‘extreme feel’ engineer —100 percent, the speaker is going to reflect his personality.”
The audio team provided low-end coverage not by placing subwoofers on the ground — “not enough space” to do so in most arenas, confirmed Barragán — but by the flown CP218 II+ clusters that provided homogenous 360° coverage throughout the venue, from the floor to the highest stands.
“The CP218 II+ subwoofers are the best speakers I have ever heard and used,” said Barragán. “Not only does it have nice, deep, tight audio, but it also has an SPL that impresses. The whole system has a very clear, powerful sound and does not need extra EQ to sound great. It vibrates inside the body. There’s no doubt the audience enjoyed the sound at every show.”
Ocasio, who was the first non-English artist to top Spotify’s streaming lists, thrilled the crowds when he performed on the automated bridge nearer to the audience — and in front of the audio clusters. Barragán described how the Cohesion’s “robust and reliable” engineering and “good acoustic design in the horn” helped Velazquez achieve fantastic performances without feedback, all while optimizing the vocals during these fan-favorite moments.
“The Cohesion system also helped us with the orchestra playing above the fervor of the fans,” recalled Barragán, referring to the dramatic 10-minute introduction to Bad Bunny’s set from the 24-piece Philharmonic Orchestra Project, helmed by multiple Grammy Award-winner Carlos “Carlitos” Lopez. Surprise guests, including Feid, Eladio Carrión, Grupo Frontera and Yovngchimi, added to the mystique of the tour.
“I think this stands apart,” concluded Garbalosa about the Cohesion rig. “To me, it’s a precision speaker. The amount of people using it, the amount of tours using it — it’s spoken for itself.”
Bad Bunny’s Most Wanted Tour
AUDIO CREW
- Sound Company: Clair Global
- FOH Engineer: Luis “Peewee” Velázquez
- System Engineer: Ricardo Barragán
- Monitor Engineer: Brian “El Brian” Martinez
- RF Tech Coordinator: Pedro Danny “El Meca” Torres
- Monitor Tech: Carlos “Carlitos” Martinez
- P.A. Techs: Thomas Andreae, John Giacomuzzi, Steven Lawrence
P.A. GEAR
- Mains: (160) Cohesion CO10 in 10 clusters of 16
- Subwoofers: (36) Cohesion CP218 II+ flown in six clusters of six
- Fills: (24) Cohesion CP6+in two groups of 12
FOH GEAR
- FOH Console: Yamaha Rivage PM10
- Wireless Mics: (30) Sennheiser Digital EM 6000
MON GEAR
- Monitor Console: Yamaha Rivage PM10
- Outboard: KLANG:konductor 3-D in-ear processing
- IEM Hardware: Sennheiser SR 2050 IEM (30 channels)
- In-Ears (Bunny): Clear Tune Monitors DaVinci X
