Singer Pitbull, Mr. Worldwide himself, was on the Plains stage of the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) on Friday evening, in front of the biggest crowd of the summer.
The compact crowd of festival-goers, mostly very young adults, gathered on the Plains of Abraham so early that the site was crowded long before Pitbull arrived. Almost 10 minutes before the start of the main show, the organization of the FEQ announced the closing of the doors, the concert being officially sold out. About 100,000 people gathered at the site and outside Friday night for Pitbull.
From inside the site, it was fully felt, the dense crowd barely leaving the possibility of circulating.
After the bad weather and the cancellations of concerts the day before, the good weather resumed its rights and music lovers took full advantage of it. Many festival-goers had dressed up as Mr. Worldwide, mustaches and a goatee drawn on their faces, swimming caps on their heads to simulate a shaved head like that of the original.
This Pitbull concert was the perfect opportunity to make up for the wasted evening of Thursday, to the sound of those hits that everyone knows and which never fail to make you want to dance.
The Cuban singer from Miami is best known for songs he sings in collaboration with other artists, including Usher, Beyoncé, Marc Anthony, Chris Brown, Jennifer Lopez or Justin Timberlake. To translate this on stage as he performs solo, pre-recorded tracks from collaborating artists accompanied the singer throughout the evening.
Surrounded by talented dancers (whose mandate has a little too often been to perform lascivious dances on the singer), musicians behind him, he served up many of his most popular songs, starting the evening with Don’t Stop the Party.
Among the hits that had the crowd singing along to the choruses: Hey Baby, International Love, Hotel Room Service, Rain Over Me, On the fFoor, I Know You Want Me, Time of Our Lives or Give Me Everything (for the final).
At the time of his mega-hit Fireball, he cut himself off and apologized to his musicians, dancers, audience and production. He then pointed to a group in the crowd and asked that everyone be able to enjoy the evening without hurting others. “I see your energy, but I don’t want anyone getting hurt. I want everyone to have a good time. He then repeated the song from the beginning, which the festival-goers seemed to appreciate very much.
Honduran-born Montrealer Isabella Lovestory did very little to prepare the FEQ audience for the arrival of the star of the evening.
Winner of the Grammy for Best Reggae Album for her EP Rapture, when she was just 19 years old, the Jamaican artist is as convincing on recording as on stage. She was our favorite of the day, a talent to discover if you haven’t already.
Accompanied by musicians and dancers, Koffee worked with ease on stage to bring the ideal festive atmosphere for this mild summer evening on the Plains, reserved for festive music and dancing.
The FEQ must contend this year with very inclement weather, which forces cancellations. This Friday evening was a pleasant break, during which the temperature rose on stage and in the crowd, for the pleasure of all.
