September 21 marked a momentous day for Bad Bunny and Puerto Rico, as he wrapped up his 30-show residency, which many called his "love letter to the island and its people." The finale was streamed worldwide on Amazon Music, Prime Video and Twitch, marking the first time the music star shared a performance from his homeland live across the globe.
Every concert on this 30-show run — titled No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí (I Don't Want to Leave Here) — was sold out, showing just how much of an impact the superstar has in his home country. This was also seen in the livestreaming charts, as the finale, a special encore performance, ended as the official Amazon Music channel's most popular broadcast ever.
The broadcast of the residency's finale also entered the list of Twitch's ten most popular livestreams this year, outdoing prominent esports and online personalities like Marc "Caedrel" Lamont, Mark "ohnePixel" Zimmermann, and Zack "zackrawrr" Hoyt. The 341,536 Peak Viewers (PV) it touched, in fact, made a bit of history on the purple platform, becoming the entire Music category's top broadcast by peak live viewers.
The official Amazon Music channel on Twitch also reached a million followers during the course of this final concert on Bad Bunny's itinerary. The 94,107 followers it gained over the past week, i.e., between September 17 and 23, put it in third behind platform megastars Kai Cenat and Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr. for that period, which is pretty good company to keep.
The rise of Bad Bunny as a global phenomenon has been a huge source of pride for Puerto Ricans. His decision to host a 31-date Puerto Rico residency, the surprise finale of which marked the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria, was met with massive support, encouraged by the fact that the first nine shows were exclusively for Puerto Rican residents.
Moreover, to commemorate the anniversary, Bad Bunny and Amazon Music launched a multiyear initiative that will focus on education, disaster relief and cultural empowerment. The partnership will also "include programs aimed at strengthening Puerto Rico's economy and driving meaningful, long-term change across the island," as per an Amazon Prime Video news release.
The career-defining concert residency at Coliseo de Puerto Rico also came hot on the heels of the 31-year-old's sixth studio album release, Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos). With tensions regarding immigration to the United States also rising after the swearing in of Donald Trump as the President, the island nation's citizens needed something to act as a form of respite.
All these factors combined to create the perfect opportunity for their own rapper and singer-songwriter to come home and create history. The residency in San Juan also broke sales and attendance records, with an estimated 600,000 attendees attending the entire concert and emerging as a big win for the country's tourism.
As per a new study by Gaither International, and as reported by The Associated Press, the No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí concerts attracted roughly half a million people overall. They also generated an estimated $733 million for Puerto Rico, with celebrities like Penélope Cruz, Jon Hamm and Austin Butler making sure to drop in on the action.
All in all, Bad Bunny's latest set of shows ended as a resounding success, both in terms of their cultural and economic impact and livestreaming numbers. They also reiterated the fact that platforms like Twitch and TikTok are increasingly becoming hotspots for such entertainment events, attracting thousands of viewers and reaching demographies previously thought unattainable.
Header image via Eric Rojas
