Iglesias, Pitbull take full control at Staples

A week into the first leg of their tour Saturday night, Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull electrified the Staples Center audience with back-to-back sets that made it difficult to spend any time sitting. For those lucky enough to land a ticket, precision production, stellar musicianship and positivity channeled through pop singles ensured that the price of admission was money well spent.

For a little more than an hour, Pitbull proved relentless with a barrage of hits that kept the entire arena moving. Transitioning from club staples like the Lil Jon collaboration “The Anthem” into an instrumental of Celia Cruz’s “La Vida Es Un Carnaval,” Mr. Worldwide showed that his ability to play to his fans was as impressive as his skill at rocking a party. He asserted the style and flair that has become his signature with selections like the Harry Belafonte-sampled “Shake Senora” and “Bon, Bon.”

Flexing his charisma between songs, Pitbull reminded the crowd, “This is the United States, not the divided states,” and implored the arena to disregard the negativity that seems so prevalent in the media. Encouraging his followers to “lose their minds” if for only a night, Pitbull took on tracks like “Hotel Room Service” and “Fireball” with the kind of spectacle that could make fans forget their day-to-day troubles.

He added some context to his career between myriad hits that made the tunes especially meaningful. Before tackling a medley of his older material, Mr. 305 explained, “If you don’t know where you come from, you don’t know where you are going.” He also thanked fans for still wanting to hear his older material. Diving into “Shake,” “Culo” and “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” he left the audience dizzy.

Pitbull finished with what he called his favorite record to perform live, “Give Me Everything.” Judging by the roar of the fans, he’s in no danger of losing his place at the top of the heap.

Emerging from underneath the arena floor and onto a catwalk positioned in the middle of the arena, Enrique Iglesias made sure there was no lull in the evening’s energy. He opened with his latest, the Reggaeton-influenced “Subeme La Radio,” which, combined with the pageantry of his top-notch stage production, left the fans in awe. Getting a bit risqué, he followed up with “I’m a Freak” and rounded out his opening combination with “Duele El Corazon,” during which he bounced from the arena floor, taking selfies with fans, to the drum riser with sticks in hand. The atmosphere transformed a pop concert into an arena-size celebration, with Iglesias as master of ceremonies.

Iglesias pulled out a bit of theatrics by taking the entire show to the middle of the arena floor. With band in tow, he set up on a satellite stage that added a feeling of intimacy for acoustic renditions of “Loco” and “Cuando Me Enamoro,” leaving his fans weak in the knees. Performing with the kind of vigor that would suggest this was his first time at Staples, Iglesias later confided, “I have been playing this place since 2002 and I still get … nervous.”

Naturally, his pop essentials proved to be his most effective. Selections like “Bailamos,” “Escape” and “Be With You” would have been enough to anchor a successful evening on their own, but with an encore that included a stirring rendition of “Hero” and the turbocharged Pitbull collaboration “I Like It,” Iglesias demonstrated why, after 20-plus years, he continues to be relevant among the ranks of pop music.

Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull

Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles

When: June 10