Michael Bublé ignites the crowd in Guadalajara during Coliseo GNP Seguro’s opening night with Daniela Spalla as his opener
On September 22, Zapopan and the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG) celebrated a historic milestone with the official opening of Coliseo GNP Seguros. Following years of transformation at the famous Estadio 3 de Marzo, former home of the Tecos Estudiantes, a joint partnership between OCESA, UAG, and GNP Seguros brought the venue into a new era. International star Michael Bublé headlined the opening night, while Daniela Spalla made history as the inaugural artist to step onto the Coliseo GNP stage to open the show.
Prior to her performance, Daniela shared a few words with the press during a brief interview, expressing that opening the venue’s inauguration day felt like a dream come true, adding how special it was to look up at the open sky while singing. She emphasized how meaningful it was to open for Michael Bublé, noting that he has been a major inspiration in her career since her own musical journey began in jazz. When asked about her connection to the Guadalajara crowd, she shared that touring through the city is always a memorable experience thanks to the warmth and affection of her fans.
Turning to her current projects, Daniela revealed that she is working on a new album focused on self-reflection and her journey as an artist. Having moved to Mexico thirteen years ago, she reflected on the deep gratitude she feels for the doors Mexico opened for her, while also acknowledging the complex reality of living as a migrant. “I’m not from here, nor am I from there, but I belong to both places,” she explained. “My body and heart are in two places.” She shared that the new record explores these exact feelings of distance, family, and belonging. Daniela also noted that two singles have already been released, expressing her excitement to give La Espina its live debut that evening alongside a setlist carefully chosen around fan favorites and personal treasures.
As the doors opened, the concertgoers flooded into the Coliseo, eager to sing along with Michael. But first, Daniela Spalla was ready to set the stage, warming up the crowd with her introspective songwriting and superb dance moves.
She then took command of the stage, pouring everything into a lively opening performance that completely captivated the crowd. Delivering a short yet powerful setlist, songs like Lejos De La Ciudad, Vete de Una Vez, and Te Veo a la Salida were met with jubilee as fans sang along to every word.
Then the stage was set for the headlining act, but just before that, the Coliseo showed the audience a brief presentation of upcoming shows at the venue: Natanael Cano, Gorillaz, Alejandro Sanz, and Panteón Rococó. The preview ended on Michael Bublé’s poster for opening night, and a few minutes later, the lights went down and the show began.
Michael Bublé’s performance was phenomenal and deeply engaging for the crowd. Bublé didn’t wait to build up the energy, after a short overture, he immediately launched into his biggest hit, Feeling Good. As soon as he stepped on stage, the entire venue roared and sang along. He then jumped straight into another hit, Haven’t Met You Yet. With those two songs setting a high energy level felt throughout the Coliseo, he took a moment to introduce himself and make a couple of jokes in Spanish, which he continued to speak for the rest of the show from time to time. It was during this pause that he gave the audience a chant they would use for the rest of the night: to the rhythm of the iconic Olé, olé, olé, olé…, Bublé encouraged the crowd to chant Bublé, Bublé, Bublé, Bublé.
After chatting with the public, he went back to singing more of his well-known songs; tracks like L-O-V-E and Quién Será? / Sway were distinctively cheered across the entire Coliseo. A couple of songs later, he walked down to the barricade to sing with fans, handing them the microphone and having them sing parts of the songs or singing along with them. This became a recurring theme throughout the night as he moved from side to side along the barricade.
During a highlight moment in the concert where the crowd was singing in total unison, he took a pause to express how much he loves an audience that sings along, encouraging them to keep singing every word they knew for the remainder of the show. He also gave a shoutout to a section of his orchestra, highlighting an all-Mexican women ensemble invited to bring the show to life for the night.
He pointed out how beautiful it was to play in an outdoor venue before introducing his trumpeter, giving him the floor to sing a song where he left the entire venue speechless with his talent on both the trumpet and vocals.
Covers from a variety of rock and roll, jazz, blues, and pop legends were played throughout the concert. Among the most emblematic were You Don’t Know Me by the one and only Ray Charles, alongside a medley of Elvis Presley songs that culminated in confetti shrouding the venue in a rain of blue and gold.
He left the stage after singing How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) by Marvin Gaye, only to return for an encore that featured an instrumental cover of Smile, followed by Cry Me a River by Julie London, and his own rendition of Gwen McCrae’s Always On My Mind.
Before concluding the show, Bublé took center stage to ask the crowd for a round of applause for every member of his musical crew. He shared a heartfelt message about how grateful and happy he feels to have a family in his fans and to share his life and happiness with them. He appeared genuinely moved after his final song, shedding tears and expressing “thank you” to the crowd in every way he could, a gesture that truly spoke to how touched he felt by the Tapatío audience.
Moments after Bublé left the stage, fireworks lit up the sky above the coliseum, filling it with color and marking the end of a successful inauguration concert.
Here at ListenSD, we want to thank Michael Bublé for an amazing opening show and our friends at OCESA for inviting us to witness this unique event on Mexican soil, we congratulate this partnership in UAG, GNP Seguros and OCESA for a really successful inaugural night as the future looks bright for Guadalajara’s newest venue. Keep an eye out for our upcoming article about Coliseo GNP Seguros, along with all of our coverage for more events to come. We also recommend you follow both Michael Bublé and Daniela Spalla on their streaming platforms and social media to keep up with their projects and tours.