It feels inconsiderate of Ariana Grande to bring a tour called Eternal Sunshine to the UK at the tail end of the year’s fifth heatwave. Haven’t we suffered enough already?
But the fans packed into London’s O2 arena on Saturday night didn’t seem to care about the heat and the sweat.
They came ready to dance. Thousands of them, dressed in cat ears, bridal gowns and elaborate floral headpieces.
They scream when she references rumours she’s back together with her ex, Ricky Alvarez. And they bounce in unison when she plays colourful club anthems like Into You and Break Free.
It’s the first time Grande has played in the UK since 2019, partly because of Covid, but also because of her Oscar-nominated role in the movie musical Wicked.
She rewards fans with a few of Glinda’s signature hair tosses, external and, more importantly, a two-hour show that highlights the incredible agility of the star’s voice.
Sure, the production has all the paraphernalia a major pop tour – big sets, plumes of smoke, inspired choreography – but there are long stretches where it’s just Grande on stage with her band. Her stunning, four octave vocals come first. Everything else is a distant second. And rightly so.
If you dig around on Grande’s YouTube channel, there’s a famous video of her recording the song Positions, external, directing her sound engineers as she layers vocal harmonies and ad libs, finding new note combinations on the fly.
It’s a bravura performance that showcases her facility with melody and arrangement – and she essentially recreates it live on stage at the O2.
After the opening run of songs, she hushes the audience and spends two minutes looping her voice. First the lyric, “I don’t care what people say, it’s true”, in high and low registers. Then she adds short phrases: “Won’t break. Can’t Shake. Deep breaths…. Tight chest. Life. Death. Rewind.”
They become the backbone of the next song, Eternal Sunshine.
They’re also the backstory of the whole show.