“My heart has been waiting for this moment,” Maluma told a roaring crowd at The Forum on Friday (Sept. 3). It was the second show of his Papi Juancho Tour, which he kicked off on Thursday in Sacramento, Calif., after not touring for 18 months.

Waiting until every single person made their way to their seat — the lines to get into the venue moved at an exceptionally slow pace — the Colombian star kicked off his 90-minute set at 10 p.m. Giving off Matrix vibes with an all-black outfit that included a long black coat and dark sunglasses, Maluma appeared onstage with a smile from ear to ear, taking in the cheers and applause from the thousands of fans that gathered to watch Papi Juancho perform.

He kicked off the performance with his global smash hit, “Hawái.” In the middle of the set, he stopped and let the more than 15,000 people in the crowd sing an entire verse from the song as he stood there in admiration. “I f—ing missed you guys,” he said, visibly emotional.

Working the in-the-round or 360-style stage, which allowed for more interaction with fans from every corner, Maluma went on to perform other chart-topping tracks such as “Corazón,” “Borró Cassette,” “Felices Los 4″ and “Chantaje.”

Here are five takeaways from Maluma’s sold-out show at The Forum from his Papi Juancho Tour.

Heart to Heart

Before Maluma took center stage, a pounding heart was projected onto a white rectangular canvas that was erected in the middle of the stage as a narrator told the story of Juan Luis (Maluma’s real name) and his journey that’s been filled with emotion, passion, joy and music: “He’s always been Juan Luis and has given you his heart. Now, it’s time to give him yours.” Then it was Maluma’s turn to speak: “My heart has been waiting for this moment. Today, I give you mi corazón.”

A Melancholic Maluma

Mid-concert, Maluma — by this point he had ditched the long black coat and opted for black slacks and a fitted black sleeveless T-shirt to show off his bulky arms — reflected on tough moments during the pandemic, asking fans to enjoy their loved ones while they’re still alive. “I have everything right now. I feel so blessed. But there were many lessons learned during this difficult time,” he said. “During the pandemic, many things happened and one of those things was this song that is so special. Without a doubt, it’s my favorite song from my Papi Juancho album. I want to sing it for all of you tonight.” With just a piano in tow, he serenaded fans with “AMDV,” the ballad that peaked at No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart (dated July 10, 2020).

Jamaican Vibes

In an ode to his #7DJ (7 Days in Jamaica) EP, Maluma performed all seven tracks from the set while smoking hookah and surrounded by his troupe of dancers, who wore neon orange leotards. Following the exact order from his EP, the medley kicked off with “Tonika” and ended with “Peligrosa.”

Oldies but Goodies

Maluma may have kicked off the concert with some of his newer material — such as “Hawái,” “Parce” and “Madrid,” all off his 2020 Papi Juancho album — but fans also got to sing along to some of his slightly older anthems, such as “Felices Los 4,” “Vente Pa’Ca,” “Chantaje” and “Cuatro Babys.”

COVID-19 Mandates

Before entering The Forum, you had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Once inside, staff and/or security walked around the venue with a sign that read “mask must be worn.” If you weren’t wearing a mask, they would promptly ask you to put it back on. In Los Angeles County, everyone, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask in all indoor public settings, including venues.

Maluma continues with his Papi Juancho Tour Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Former Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge has confirmed that the band’s founding member, bassist and singer Mark Hoppus, has completed his chemotherapy treatment, and is offering “some modest advice” for what to do next.

In a text exchange posted as a screenshot to Instagram on Friday, DeLonge asked Hoppus whether there are more treatments planned, to which Hoppus replied in a series of separate messages: “No more planned. Doctor said I can take my port out. I think because he thinks chemo did the trick and I’m done but also if the chemo didn’t work we do a different treatment entirely?”

DeLonge responded with, “Wow. That’s great news.” He then emphasized: “Time for LIVING.”

The musician then made a suggestion. “u need to f— as many things as possible. Shoes, gopher holes, golfers. Anything u can catch.”

In the caption, DeLonge described the reasoning behind his message. “I wanted to be a good friend to @markhoppus and just give some modest advice on what he should do next, now that his Chemo treatments have subsided and it looks like they may have worked wonderfully,” he wrote.

Hoppus, 49, announced his cancer diagnosis last June, revealing that he had been undergoing chemotherapy for three months at that stage. “It sucks and I’m scared, but at the same time I’m blessed with incredible doctors and family and friends to get me through this,” he said at the time.

He revealed during a Twitch stream later on that the type of cancer he was battling was stage four diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the same type his mother had. “My blood’s trying to kill me,” said Hoppus in recordings captured by multiple YouTube accounts.

Over the past few months, Hoppus has referenced his condition via Instagram a handful of times, including one day sharing art he made before his first chemo session.

Earlier this week, the musician posted a photo of the top of his head, sharing that he was trying to grow back his hair. “Keep your chin up, fighter,” his caption included.

“Feeling terrible this week but trying to stay positive and count my blessings. I hope everyone is doing great, staying healthy, and being kind to each other. If anyone needs me, I’ll be on the couch for the foreseeable future.”

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

André 3000 has responded to the “unfortunate” leak of his Kanye West collaboration, “Life of the Party,” the previously unreleased Donda outtake that seems to take shots at Drake.

Drake played “Life of the Party,” which had originally been previewed at one of Kanye’s Donda events but ultimately didn’t make the final cut of the album, this weekend in a guest DJ mix on SiriusXM.

In a statement obtained by Billboard, André 3000 explained that when he contributed his verse to “Life of the Party,” his intent was to support Donda’s concept in tribute to his own late mother, and that he was not a part of the diss that ended up on the song.

“A few weeks ago Kanye reached out about me being a part of the Donda album,” said the Outkast rapper, who was in Cleveland filming a Noah Baumbach film when they made contact. “I was inspired by his idea to make a musical tribute to his mom. It felt appropriate to me to support the Donda concept by referencing my own mother, who passed away in 2013. We both share that loss. I thought it was a beautiful choice to make a clean album but, unfortunately, I didn’t know that was the plan before I wrote and recorded my verse. It was clear to me that an edited ‘clean’ format of the verse would not work without having the raw, original also available. So, sadly, I had to be omitted from the original album release.”

He continued, “The track I received and wrote to didn’t have the diss verse on it and we were hoping to make a more focused offering for the Donda album but I guess things happen like they are supposed to. It’s unfortunate that it was released in this way and two artists that I love are going back and forth.”

“I wanted to be on Certified Lover Boy too,” he pointed out. “I just want to work with people that inspire me. Hopefully I can work with Kendrick on his album. I’d love to work with Lil’ Baby, Tyler and Jay-Z. I respect them all.”

On “Life of the Party,” Kanye says, “I put Virgil and Drake on the same text and it wasn’t about the matching Arc’teryx or Kid Cudi dress / Just told these grown men stop it with the funny shit,” referencing designer Virgil Abloh and the pre-pandemic fashion moment when Drake and Abloh posed together wearing the same camouflage Arc’teryx jackets. “Thought we was the new Abu Dhabi / Told Drake don’t play with me on GD and he sent that message to everybody / So if I hit you with a WYD, you better hit me with, ‘Yessir, I’m writing everything you need.’”

Certified Lover Boy, Drake’s just-released album, includes a track that seemingly targets Kanye. “7am on Bridle Path” has him rapping, “Get that address to your driver, make it your destination / instead of just a post out of desperation,” presumably referencing the incident when West shared Drake’s Toronto address on social media.

The same day Drake brought “Life of the Party” to SiriusXM, he left a comment about “waste removal” on Instagram.

Less than two weeks after the fatal shooting of a Colorado tourist, Miami Beach’s top administrator announced the city would once again ramp up police and code enforcement in the … Click to Continue »

Miami-Dade County has launched a free online platform to serve as a mediator between landlords and tenants in eviction cases. The platform, called courtHELP (court Housing Eviction Landlord/Tenant Platform), can … Click to Continue »