The band Big Time Rush started on a sitcom starring Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr., and Logan Henderson. The plot of the second most watched sitcom in the history of Nickelodeon to this day begins with four hockey players from Minnesota who fell into the stardom world without will or preparation, yet ended up conquering the hearts of the fans along with a whole generation.
Big Time Rush went on air between 2010 and 2013, releasing three studio albums, going on four tours, including two stops in Brazil, and uncountable planetary-reach hits. They have not worked together in years when the unexpected livestream from the boys singing the fan favorite “Worldwide” was launched in the first year of the pandemic, followed by the reunion and tour dates announcement that came out on July 19th 2021.
The first night of the “Forever Tour” in Brazil took place in São Paulo on March 3rd at Espaço Unimed, a venue with capacity for eight thousand people. Although it was not sold out, the audience that showed up were not disappointed. From women to men, huge fans dressed in hockey jerseys and filled with nostalgia. There were kids accompanied by parents and people of age who grew up with the TV show. So, you can state for a fact that they managed to keep a strong and loyal fan base in Brazil throughout the years.
Previous to the show, the expectation energy was built with a remix of all their most successful songs playing on the speakers. The cheers got progressively louder each time a new known chord was heard, and, at the end of it, the curtains fell revealing the band. The stage structure to this tour was thought very smartly, with four platforms put together in various levels, so at most part of the performance they were on a higher level than the stage, which made the vision great, and impacting when we saw them for the first time.
Currently all members of Big Time Rush are between 32 and 33 years old, Carlos Pena Vega is married with the former “Spy Kid”, Alex Vega, father of three children, and that didn’t stop them from having the same talent and energy as ten years ago. It is pleasant to watch a concert when the artist really appears to enjoy what’s happening onstage, they made it a fun night for everybody (including themselves) and that’s what made it memorable. They put together an event with good structure, organization and quality. Even though their voices matured with time, every lyric was sung perfectly, just one of the high notes had to be replaced by a guitar solo, which the public didn’t seem to notice, and playback was only utilized at the introduction of “Boyfriend”.
Like every other boy band, dance was a strong trait for BTR, they made it work with simple and cheesy dance steps, some of which the viewers still remember nowadays. It was a big part of the concert. All of the songs had well rehearsed choreographies, we got to see original ones from 2010, but also new moves, including some risky back flips that left the public speechless. Still, a highlight of the night was the TikTok trendy song “Zona de Perigo” from the brazilian singer Leo Santana, played in a boombox on stage. They danced to it and the audience went insane. Videos of this moment went viral on the next day.
Regarding Brazil, the energy in concerts is contagious. Kendall said, and I quote it, “every show was 10 out of 10, this one is like 10.5”. The public sang along and danced to every single song, while the boys are trying to evolve as a band and experimenting with new sounds. It is obvious that a lot of people are still attached to the old ones and an small number of fans knew the new tracks, but either way the vivacity and animation was there and they compensated for it with their greatest hits, like “Windows Down”, “City is Ours”, “Halfway There” and “Any Kind of Guy”.
The setlist was well balanced and, with the encore, included 24 tracks that totalised surprisingly almost two hours of non-stop singing. In every show they pick out fans from the audience to come up on stage and, then, they dedicate “Worldwide” to them, which is very special to witness since this is all about showing their love and care for the ones who got them where they are. I believe that this moment is the most expected of the night because of the collective feeling that anyone could be picked, and it was nice to see genuine effort from the public to make the girls onstage feel happy and comfortable.
Lastly, after so many love dedications for the Brazilian public, before the two final songs, Carlos Vega announced that a new album is coming out and they intend to come back really soon! After two memorable nights, Brazil is already missing them and will be waiting with open arms for the next concerts.
Besides Big Time rush, 2023 is the year of international concerts. You like the topic? Check out HC’s article about it!
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This article was edited by Giulia Howard.
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