It feels somewhat inconsiderate of Ariana Grande to bring a tour titled Eternal Sunshine to the UK at the tail end of the country’s fifth heatwave. Haven’t we suffered enough already? Yet, the thousands of fans packed into London’s O2 arena on Saturday night didn’t seem to care about the oppressive heat and the humidity. They arrived ready to dance, many dressed in cat ears, bridal gowns, and elaborate floral headpieces, creating an atmosphere of pure devotion.
This marks the first time Grande has played in the UK since 2019, an absence caused partly by the global pandemic and partly by her commitment to her Oscar-nominated role in the movie musical Wicked. She rewards these patient fans with a few of Glinda’s signature hair tosses and, more importantly, a two-hour show that highlights the incredible agility of the star’s voice, proving she remains at the top of her craft.
Sure, the production has all the paraphernalia of a major pop tour—big sets, plumes of smoke, and inspired choreography—but there are long stretches where it is just Grande on stage with her band. If you dig around on Grande’s YouTube channel, there is a famous video of her recording the song Positions, directing her sound engineers as she layers vocal harmonies and ad libs, finding new note combinations on the fly. It is 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. These loops become the backbone of the next song, Eternal Sunshine, and they serve as the thematic backstory for the entire show. The tour kicked off in California two months ago and will wrap up in September after 10 dates in London.
Like the characters in Michel Gondry’s 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which gives the tour its name, Grande has tried to erase some of her most painful memories. The singer is a survivor of tragedy and heartbreak, including the death of her former boyfriend Mac Miller and the Manchester bombing that killed 22 fans after one of her concerts in 2017. Over time, however, she has realized it is better to hold those memories, to honour her losses, and to learn and adapt.
That narrative, mostly told through lavish video interludes, is about reckoning and reconciliation. But since the tour began, intense public scrutiny regarding Grande’s personal life, her health, and her weight have prompted the star to withdraw from the spotlight. Grande has reassured fans that the decision to step back for a “long, long, long, long, long time” came from a thoughtful, empowered place and had been planned for a long time.
Fans at the O2 were overwhelmingly supportive of her need for a break. “She took a stand to keep away the remarks, the critics,” said Brian, a French fan attending the first of several shows. Another attendee, Cory from Banbury, added, “It’s awful. I think that’s gross.” Damon, a fan from China, noted, “She needed time to recover. And if she comes back, we’ll be in the front row.”
Whatever private battles the 33-year-old may be fighting, they are never present on stage at the O2. If anything, Grande is having a blast, teetering around in perilous heels, blowing kisses to the audience, and laughing at the crowd’s enthusiasm. “This is so incredibly overwhelming,” she says during a rare pause in the music. “I’m just going to savour every single second of these last 10 shows.”
The only time she appears to get emotional is during the song Hampstead, a ballad that deals with her portrayal in the media. Her voice breaks as she sings the lyric, “But I knew who I was when I got here,” but it transpires that she is simply reacting to a fan in the front row. “You’ll make me cry,” she smiles in sympathy. But that is a blip; at every other point, Grande is locked in.
She opens with a theatrical flourish, striking silhouetted poses with her dancers for several minutes before the music fully kicks in. The show proceeds with the fluid choreography of Positions before Grande dons her famous bunny ears for a slinky segment. They scream when she references rumours she is back together with her ex, Ricky Alvarez, and they bounce in unison when she plays colourful club anthems like Into You and Break Free.
There is a little victory dance when she pulls off the live vocal production of Eternal Sunshine. The setlist is largely pulled from 2024’s Eternal Sunshine album, sometimes at the expense of major hits like God Is A Woman. She isn’t cavalier enough to jettison everything, though; both 7 Rings and her Lady Gaga duet Rain On Me raise the roof.
A powerhouse version of Dangerous Woman claps like thunder, and Grande’s vocal riffs on Safety Net are so tremendously precise that they leave the audience breathless. As the tour nears its end, it is clear that Grande is leaving her fans with a definitive statement of her artistry, ensuring that while she may be stepping away, her impact on the pop landscape remains indelible.
(Ricky is Ricky Alvarez, one of her former dancers, who Grande is reportedly dating again, 10 years after their initial break-up.
They went Instagram official, external last week).
There’s a ripple of laughter during We Can’t Be Friends, meanwhile, when a tiny cluster of the audience screams over the “silence challenge”, external that’s become a meme during the tour’s American leg.
Her stunning, four octave vocals come first.
Then she adds short phrases: “Won’t break.
Despite that, the quiet moments are the most effective.
It’s delicate and gorgeous and strangely intimate in a room of 20,000 people.
The lyrics are sad but hopeful, a promise that broken people can find happiness.
And, whatever happens during Grande’s upcoming hiatus, you have to hope it’s a promise that holds.
A masterpiece,” said Harry, a Chinese fan living in London.
“It was probably the best concert I’ve ever been at,” agreed Clare, who’d flown from Monaghan in Ireland for the opening night.
“We didn’t get to shake hands with her, but we were definitely breathing the same air.”
We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)
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