Gasping at the sudden live footage of Young Miko walking, attendees waited impatiently as the singer dabbed up her crew, fixed her in-ears and walked up onto a large platform.
On Saturday, María Victoria Ramírez de Arellano Cardona, known as Young Miko, performed at Austin City Limits Music Festival on the American Express stage, showing off her stage presence, live vocals, dance moves and Puerto Rican heritage.
“For those of you that don’t know me, mi nombre es Young Miko soy lo Puerto Rico,” Miko said. “It is my first time out here in ACL with you guys, so I’m pretty excited. Thank you so much for being out here with me, let’s have a good time!”
“El intro,” true to its title, opened the performance with laidback confidence emphasized by Miko’s simple outfit –– a grey and white striped tank top, dark jeans and long blue scarf hanging through her belt loop. Bringing her dancers out for “What’s Ur Vibe,” Miko welcomed physical contact as her dancers circled her and one another before she blew attendees kisses during “Lisa.”
Immediately transiting into “Riri,” Miko imitated a girl dancing in front of her, dancing on her while the crowd sang along before she played her latest collaborative song, “After,” a song by Conep featuring Miko.
“Meiomi” switched the vibe from pop-heavy reggaeton to something more sensual, featuring a women’s silhouette dancing in front of flashing red lights. “Likey Likey” brought fan interaction; Miko looked into the camera while getting down on one knee, as if proposing while singing “puede que te haga mi wifey.”
Lyrics flashed on stage for “Esa nena” as dancers performed in typical reggaeton style before Miko experienced some technical difficulties.
“I’m going through a little bit of technical difficulties, so don’t mind me. I’m gonna change my belt pack real quick, so we can have a good time, right?” Miko asked her audience as her crew rushed onstage to switch out mic-pack. “I’m like, ‘si yo pon un poquito reggaeton’ … I’ve got to be able to listen to you guys.”
“Chulo pt. 2” showed delays would not undermine her performance, with Miko lifting up her shirt, showing off her abs and tattooed stomach. Bringing out a row of chairs for “BIAF <3” the crowd chanted Miko’s name as she received a lap dance from her dancer before slapping their backside during “BnB.”
“FINA,” originally a collaboration with Bad Bunny, excited the crowd as Miko asked fans to sing along. “Mami, sé tú,” Miko would sing before fans responded with “Que se joda. Y que se joda.” Miko continued with another popular collab, “CLASSY 101” with Feid, a performer at last year’s ACL. Miko performed his parts of the song, as loud bass deepened her voice.
Ending her set with “WASSUP,” attendees jumped and clapped alongside Miko as she performed her most intense, cardio-filled choreography of the set. Thanking her audience, a camera followed Miko off-stage, ending her performance the same way it began.
