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A prominent, Latin-flavored pop pairing
that continues to build momentum

Enrique Iglesias/ Pitbull
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, IL
February 20, 2015

Enrique Iglesias

Pitbull

Story and photos by Andy Argyrakis

The pairing of prominent, Latin-flavored pop stars Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull continues to build momentum even as each artist transitioned into another album cycle since initially hitting the touring trail together. This time through suburban Chicagoland's Allstate Arena (which logged yet another AEG Live-produced sellout), Iglesias tipped off the double bill with tunes from his latest bilingual collection "Sex And Love," plus highlights from a more than 100 million album selling career that's now twenty years strong.

The 39-year-old star showed he's still a major player in the pop world with the electro dance opener "I'm A Freak," though the 75 minute set also spent plenty of time addressing his Latin roots (all accompanied by bursts of light on floor to ceiling panels). A secondary platform in the back of the venue offered a more vulnerable view of the heartthrob and his temporarily unplugged band, though several stripped down originals beat Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" with a younger male fan who barely knew the words.

Upon his return to the main stage, Iglesias unfurled several of his biggest English-language smashes, swiveling through "Be With You" and "Escape," then racing around to the primal beats of "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)." The power ballad "Hero" kicked off the encore, and even though the co-headliner wasn't entirely pitch perfect, his sincere thankfulness towards the cell phone light-waving crowd for their ongoing support was surprisingly poignant.

From there, Pitbull picked up the baton without missing a step, supporting much of his new project "Globalization," but also recalling loads from his collaboration-ripe past that's cumulatively resulted in more than 50 million single sales. No matter the material, the rapper oozed charisma out of every pore, smoothly working the catwalk alongside his sensual dancers and continuously spreading the message of turning a negative into a positive.

In addition to catching Mr. Worldwide's solo staples like "Back In Time" and "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)," he also offered a steady stream of big screen tag teams, including "International Love" (Chris Brown), "Rain Over Me" (Marc Anthony), "Feel This Moment" (Christina Aguilera) and "Timber" (Kesha). Yet none had greater impact than a real life alliance with Iglesias on "I Like It," during which the entire audience came completely unglued as confetti covered practically every sightline and the high energy pair partied like it was the end of the planet.