Bad Bunny: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

During the first of his two sold-out stadium shows in November in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bad Bunny lost his voice.

There he was, standing in the middle of the vast stage, barely able to hear himself through the roar of the very loud 40,000-plus crowd, when his voice deserted him.

“It was all of a sudden, like a click,” recalls Bad Bunny, snapping his fingers. “Like the temperature or something. Seems like one of my vocal cords was suffering, and boom, it happened. And I’m thinking, ‘This can’t be happening. These people are giving me the most cabrón energy. It’s the most euphoric audience I’ve had all tour, and I’m going to lose my voice? It’s not possible.’ ”

Yet he didn’t lose his cool. He briefly left the stage as if nothing had happened, drank warm tea and did vocal exercises until his voice returned. Then he powered through the rest of his nearly three-hour show, and no one was the wiser. After two days of complete vocal rest, he’s now revealing to me for the first time what really happened. It’s our second encounter since his World’s Hottest Tour began playing stadiums in North and South America in Orlando, Fla., last August, and we’re in a trendy Buenos Aires club, where a master sommelier pours us glasses of red wine from renowned Uco Valley vintner Jose Galante. Bad Bunny’s trademark deep bass sounds perfectly normal, and his demeanor is nonchalant as he leans against the bar, a black suit with a rose print draping his tall, athletic frame.

Read Billboard‘s full Bad Bunny cover story here.