Anuel AA’s concert on Sep. 19 at the Kaseya Center was everything fans expected, the good, the bad and the late.
Real Hasta la Muerte 2, his tour’s name, was promoted as a sequel to Anuel’s 2018 debut album, “Real Hasta la Muerte.” Yet, the sequel album has been teased for over a year without any clear release in sight.
With no new music, the tour feels more like a recycled victory lap than the beginning of a fresh chapter.
Ironically, like his sequel album, he arrived late. He hit the stage right around 11 p.m., almost two hours late, opening with his classic single “Amenece.”
The production carried the show. Flames, strobes, and visuals filled the arena with spectacle. Anuel put in little effort to match the scale of the setup. Movement on stage was minimal, leaving long stretches where not much was happening beyond the backdrop of special effects.
The crowd reflected that energy. For many songs, the audience only came alive during the choruses, leaving verses flat. Anuel repeated the same pattern for every track: perform the song in full, repeat the chorus a cappella and then launch into his signature gimmicks — yelling “¡Real Hasta la Muerte!” or “¡Ua!” for the crowd to echo back.
While fun the first few times, the repetition quickly became predictable and boring.Vocally, Anuel struggles performing live.
His raw delivery doesn’t carry well without studio polish, and the overuse of acapella sections only highlighted that weakness. As much as fans love his catalog, it’s hard to ignore that his stage performance lags behind his recordings.
Thankfully, the night was billed as a double feature with rising artist Blessed, who arguably outshined the headliner. Even though many in the crowd weren’t as familiar with his music, Blessed brought sharper energy, more movement and stronger engagement with the audience.
The concert stretched past curfew, ending around 1 a.m.. Despite that, one of the only true ‘wow’ moments came near the end, when a Lamborghini rolled on stage during “Deportivo”. It was flashy, but also underscored the lack of creativity elsewhere in the set.
To his credit, Anuel still manages to draw a sizable crowd. While the arena wasn’t at quite full capacity, it was a respectable turnout. That said, the fact that a double feature was needed suggests he may not be able to fill arenas on his own at this point.
At the end of the night, Anuel proved he can still gather fans — but he didn’t prove he can deliver a great live show. The production was standard, but production can’t carry everything.
For a performer with his catalog and stature, fans deserve more than cool lights and recycled gimmicks. They deserve a performance that matches the music.