The first weekend of the ninth edition of Rock in Rio was marked by rains, political demonstrations by both the public and the artists, giant attractions that did not enthuse and smaller ones that even surprised.

In some cases, it can be said that shows in less popular spaces overshadowed main stage stars, and some Brazilians were more celebrated than gringos.

Despite everything, the big event of the first three days of Rock in Rio was the presence of Justin Bieber at the Olympic Park. After rumors that he was canceling the show due to mental health issues, the Canadian pop star not only attended the meet on the world stageas he jumped up, took off his shirt and melted fans with a full performance.

He delivered everything he could – hits from his teens like “Baby”, dance tracks like the Latinized “Sorry”, acoustic hits like “Love Yourself” and tracks from his more mature, current phase. in which he talks about God, activism and mutual aid, taken from the album “Justice”. It didn’t appear that he was mentally or physically impaired, nor did he use reading – at least for the vast majority of the performance.

The audience on Sunday night, when Bieber performed, incidentally, was slightly different from previous days, with many headlining aficionados waiting for him to take the stage early. Demi Lovato, who – like Miley Cyrus in Lollapalooza – showed on the same stage hours earlier her transition from Disney princess to rocker, was also celebrated by fervent fans, albeit in smaller numbers, with a show vigorous and full of aggressive guitar riffs.

It was the biggest day for the Mundo scene, despite some fun but unmemorable shows like Jota Quest and Iza. The presence of the Migos, icons of American trap, who canceled their show in the country on the eve of the festival, was missing.

On Saturday, Post Malone had to weather a heavy downpour to hold back the eagerly awaiting crowd. With a trap that alludes to the party, but sounds full of angst and melancholy, he got emotional and surrendered to the situation, singing in the rain and interacting with a soaked audience.

Featuring Jason Derulo’s likable and sultry TikTok pop, these are the main highlights of the main stage. That’s because DJs Alok and Marshmello weren’t very enthusiastic about their sets, and Iron Maiden’s show was one of the chilliest they’ve ever played at Rock in Rio, where they used to playing, due to low sound, news of uncelebrated songs, and an audience that only interacted with the band in the hits, all concentrated in the final stage of the show.

Despite being the day’s headliner, Iron Maiden changed their schedule with Dream Theater, which ended the first day with the Mundo stage very empty and despondent. The “metal day” indeed brought to the Olympic Park a slightly older audience than the average, who attended in small numbers concerts like that of France in Gojira.

The highlight was Sepultura merging their thrash metal with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, as supergroup Metal Allegiance also received little prestige on the Sunset scene.

The secondary space, by the way, hosted the most interesting show of that day, by Living Colour, a point outside the curve in terms of politics – alongside Ratos de Porão, who exalted the movement of landless rural workers on a very small stage. The Americans, who showed their heavy and swinging rock, played with guitarist Steve Vai, dedicated the show to Marielle Franco, cursed fascism, held up a sign defending democracy and asked the public to vote in the elections.

In other shows, there were even choirs cursing Jair Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party, a constant at the festival, but in very small numbers compared to other days. At the Iron Maiden show, in fact, part of the public even shouted “myth”, in defense and exaltation of the president.

What has undoubtedly worked is getting more funk and trap artists on board the festival lineup, albeit on smaller stages than audience demand. Os Racionais, the nation’s biggest rap group, made history with their festival debut, closing the Sunset stage to a crowd, in a show that was inherently political, even without any partisan talk.

With L7nnon, Hariel and MC Carol, producer Papatinho offered a show worthy of the Mundo stage at the start of the afternoon. Matuê, also earlier this afternoon, took former members of Charlie Brown Jr. and an ice rink to the stage to draw thousands in with his hedonistic trap – and he received a standing ovation when he slammed Bolsonaro . Another presentation that brought people together as far as the eye could see at sunset was that of Luísa Sonza, even if it was lukewarm.

On even smaller stages, MC Poze do Rodo had audiences jostling to hear their music on speakers that couldn’t handle the demand, as well as funk singer Don Juan’s packed show, held at Espaco Favela.