Aitana turns Sant Jordi into a new kind of nostalgia

Aitana began the first of her four Sant Jordi concerts by surpassing, in spirit and scale, the record she set only a year ago, when more than 45,000 people gathered at the Estadi Olímpic. “It’s crazy,” the Catalan singer said, admitting that singing “at home” still makes her nervous.

The concert transformed Blue Room into a stage world of its own. Divided into five sections that moved through the hours of the day, the show opened with the heartbreak of 6 de febrero, performed slowly as Aitana lay on a bed inside the blue room. The audience responded with the force expected at a homecoming, singing along through the hot Friday night until many were nearly hoarse.

The production was highly theatrical, even including a small dressing room, but screens dominated the performance. They repeatedly isolated Aitana in carefully timed close-ups, matching songs such as 24 rosas, which she performed alone. For Blue Room, the screens were sometimes the only way to follow her, as curtains hid her from the audience while she sang from the bed.

The dancers combined classical choreography with more restrained, stage-focused movement in songs including Trankis and Música en el cielo, the latter dedicated to her grandfather. The staging also carried echoes of Rosalía’s work on the Lux tour. With no new material to present, the show became a return to Aitana’s established universe: the bright pop of Segundo intento, the flirtation of Duele un montón despedirme de ti, the disco sound of miamor and guitar-led ballads such as +.

Dressed in pale pink, with a tulle skirt and high boots, Aitana performed as though the audience might revolt if she skipped any part of the show. The retro sound of Los Ángeles, the 1990s references in Las Babys and the simple, magnetic rhythm of Mon amour all added a layer of nostalgia to songs that are not yet old. Vas a quedarte offered a melodic contrast to the synth-pop that dominated much of the evening.

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It’s crazy.