“I didn’t think I was going to be able to do another show...but it’s all thanks to you.”
In May of 2017, Ariana Grande’s Sweetener Tour was abruptly halted to the earth-shattering moment of the Manchester Bombing which terrorised an entire nation. Yet Grande has recently returned into the hectic scheduling of performances this year - marking her last show of the European leg tonight, as well as producing her 5th LP of late last year, thank u, next. Filled with pop-trap bangers tied to Grande’s darkened roots of death, destruction, and breakups, my curiosity fortunately led me to see her on one of the grandest stages in the country, The O2 Arena. Having built upon this conclusion of her tour for the past 2 years, this was a moment I endeavoured to witness.
Positioned underneath tonight's grandiose stage, Grande suddenly disrupted the crowd’s shoe-gaze with her emphatic vocal range in her rendition of ‘Raindrops’. The reverberating, bending guitar notes soon visibly introduced her to the sea of 18,000 fans rupturing in a chorus of high-pitched screams along to the ensuing tracks of ‘God is a Woman’, ‘Bad Idea’, and ‘Break Up With Your Girlfriend’. Exuding pop-trap tropes amongst these ubiquitous tracks of the past few years, the mixture of pseudo-rapping and explosive hook-based choruses deemed a significant reincarnation of the likes of Rihanna.
Providing more of a personal, homely feel to the capacious arena setting hosted by Grande and her entourage of backing dancers, a peppering of home videos from her childhood added a necessary realness to the glossy sheen of Grande’s elaborate facade. Unfortunately this facet couldn’t paper over the apparent cracks of the set’s mid-section - weighed down by some albeit insta-worthy yet vapid set design of Grande’s two illuminated globes, earth and moon, being utilised within ‘NASA’ and ‘Tattooed Heart’.
Thankfully, like many pop stars with Grande’s repertoire, the set was imminently pulled back into the fray of glitzy pop bangers over the past half-decade of her career, bringing together the R&B, soulful effects we had come to witness. ‘Dangerous Woman’ and ‘No Tears’ were not only bolstered by the beefy synth chords and drum clashes on stage but also the inevitable screaming fanboy situated next to me on this evidently memorable night for him. The affirming positive words of Grande, “I’m picking it up”, seemed to work to full effect on this particular fanboy who plunged us into the finale of tonight, ‘thank u, next’. With her most lauded single to date, encouraging heart-broken adolescents to move on from breakups, Grande ultimately gauged herself within the LGBTQ communities as her entourage paraded along the pedestrian catwalk holding their colourfully vibrant flags.
Some critics of Grande may have particular qualms with her LGBTQ bandwagoning within her live sets, as well as nitpicking her rather insular on-stage presence, yet it felt as if this was a significant step for the 26-year-old singer looking to put to bed the Sweetener tour that drastically altered her life. Whilst the set production and choreography may have proven stale at points within the hour-and-a-half set within this arena, Grande ultimately provided a slick, well-rehearsed set showcasing her catalogue of R&B/trap-pop bangers which have triumphed her career up until this point: long may her and her fanboys’ stride continue.
7/10
Ariana Grande's latest LP, thank u, next, is out now and can be found here.
Comments