It's been months ever since I heard that this next act was coming to town, and not even a final exam would stop me from coming to this concert. Words cannot state how satisfied I was to see the one and only, Ariana Grande. Without further adieu, let's get into it!
Heart could not contain the excitement!
April 16, 2015The day finally came when I got to see this pop tart, and it was phenomenal! My cousin has been a fan of Grande ever since her Nickelodeon days, and I am pleased to see where her career has gone so far. When it comes to her tour, I must say her first international tour is impressive.
To open the concert, she had two acts: Cashmere Cat and Rixton. Didn't make it in time for Cashmere Cat (I heard that Ariana joins him for their song), but did manage to see Rixton. Not familiar with them, other than one song, but they are quite a crowd pleaser. The main singer, Jake Roche, worked his charm with the crowd, getting close to a little shy fan:
He asked her for a little request...
To wear her cat ears!
Adorable, indeed! Their bit was family-friendly, but had enough pivot-al points to make the crowd swoon for them. Not only did they perform their own songs, they threw in a few pop hits such as Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" (well, the attempted moonwalk, at least). All in all, they were having fun, and so was the crowd.
Some dashing fellows, I must say
The only down point in their set? When they introduced a certain song, and thought it would be funny to throw in a joke... They had people's hope really high. I did manage to film their last song, the only one that I know:
Me & My Broken Heart
And now we have the act that everyone has been waiting for that night: Ariana Grande! No glitzy introduction, just an interview talking about what she wanted to do for the first song, and it's just classic:
Rising up from the stage, back facing the crowd
Simple & clean with such a big impact
Starting up the crowd with the ear worm "Bang Bang," there were explosions and the whole shebang, it was a great way to get to party started. She followed up with a few selection off of her recent album "My Everything," and they were enjoyable, but I think it didn't quite fit in with the flow of the list. Can't put my finger on a point, but it felt awkward to see her dancing provocatively in front of the tween girls in the audience (makes me wonder what adults thought when I watched Britney Spears when I was their age). But then she lightened things up with this entrance:
Head in the clouds
She followed the breakup-makeup song with this little track, where she samples "I'm Coming Out," which is one of my personal favourite tracks:
Break Your Heart Right Back
The backdrop gives enough sample of the rappers, it went well with each theme
In the midst of changes, there was the MC who gave a lot of pump-ups, never having a dull moment within the concert:
He can rap, he can tap, what else can he do?
The best segment of the show would have to be the Gatsby-inspired theme, it was well-put, and it was a thrill to see her not pop up from the top once, but twice:
Swimming on the chandelier
This segment was dedicated to her earlier album "Yours Truly," and it just sparkled the whole place:
Big Sean makes an appearance, in the backdrop
Right There
Swanky, if I do say so myself
Mac Miller looking all dapper
Got to move those chairs in style, you know
What gentlemen to escort her down a step
Not only did she perform older hits, she included one surprise, a song called "Pink Champagne," and that made the bit absolute perfection! I do hope she makes songs more like that, it would be nice to see a reminiscent memory of her older works. To end the throwback segment, she had one more song to sing:
All eyes on Ariana
Tattooed Heart
I would have been pleased if the whole theme revolved around this one segment, there was so much energy given in this part! But, the show must go on, and there are many more hits from this little talented songstress. And with an introduction that includes violins, everything becomes much better. Honestly, I thought I would have been bored with this song, but she makes it all up with her performance:
One Last Time
She pleases the crowd with her voice
There were fancy vocal techniques that she added after her performance, with some sort of device where her arm controls the alteration of her voice. That was something I haven't seen before, and something I wouldn't mind seeing again in future performances. But once the mechanical arm came off, it was time to put on those vocal pipes to sing a sweet song she had trouble singing herself:
Belting out the notes one minute
Crying the next
She managed to finish the performance
The song "My Everything" gave chills, being able to sing on note after recovering from her waterworks. A few more ballads were performed on stage before the happening arrived on stage, which came in the form of dancers. What made this performance special? Lucky Aces were there to get the crowd going.
The hype kids
One part silly, one part amazing. I loved that they used the song "Lovin' It," my personal favourite track, which lead to my all-time favourite single, "Love Me Harder:"
Simple, yet mesmerizing
It was a nice touch for letting Lucky Aces perform right next to her, though I do wish she performed the whole track (where's The Weeknd when you need him?) And another surprise would have to be the next song, coming from the soundtrack "Mockingjay, Part 1," a song I'm rather obsessed with even to this day:
All My Love
With hit after hit, you don't think it could get any better, right? Wrong! She threw in an old song from "Yours Truly," followed by her two biggest hits that spiralled her into the atmosphere. Just a few more photos to come to light:
Short, sparkly, and catty
Just like the video!
I found myself not fanning like most tween girls at the concert (then again, I'm no longer a tween), but it was a solid show. Other than those cat ears, I must say everything was spot on. Hopefully in the years to come, her shows become more elaborate and highly entertaining for everyone to appeal to the mass audience. After all, it's only evolving that goes beyond this point. Well done Ariana, I can't wait to see what's next.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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