Ariana Grande leaves problems at home as her tour hits the UK

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.

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’s realised it’s better to hold those memories. To honour her losses. To learn and adapt.

That narrative – mostly told through lavish video interludes – is about reckoning and reconciliation. But since the tour began in California two months ago, it has taken on added significance.

Intense public scrutiny about Grande’s personal life, her health and her weight have prompted the star to withdraw from the public eye when the tour ends in London next month.

Grande reassured fans that the decision came from a “thoughtful, empowered place”, and had been planned “a long time ago”.

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 embracing the physical and vocal demands of her show.

“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 Hampstead – a ballad that deals with her portrayal in the media and the darker corners of the internet.

Her voice breaks as she sings the lyric, “But I knew who I was when I got here”, but it transpires that she’s simply reacting to an audience member who’s blubbing their eyes out.

“You’ll make me cry,” she smiles in sympathy.

But that’s 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 lights drop, the curtains are whisked into the rafters, and she struts into view with the defiant Yes, And?

The show proceeds with the fluid choreography of Positions before Grande dons her famous bunny ears for a slinky version of The Boy Is Mine.

There’s a little victory dance when she pulls off the live vocal production of Eternal Sunshine. And there’s a sly grin when she changes the lyrics of the break-up song Thank U, Next from, “Wrote some songs about Ricky, now I listen and laugh“, to “Wrote some songs about Ricky, we don’t talk about that.”

(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).

The setlist is largely pulled from 2024’s Eternal Sunshine album – at the expense of major hits like God Is A Woman, Problem and Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored.

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 colossal they should be registered as the eighth wonder of the world.

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.

Despite that, the quiet moments are the most effective.

On Imperfect For You, Grande sits face to face with her long-time guitarist Johnny Najeraas, as though they’re singing together in her bedroom. 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.

After the concert, fans were bowled over by the star’s vocals and stage presence.

“Ten out of ten. A masterpiece,” said Harry, a Chinese fan living in London.

“When she came on stage, I was right at the front, so I was literally bawling,” added Poppy from Kent. “She’s the best singer ever.”

“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.”

Asked about Grande’s decision to retire from live performance for what she has called “a long, long, long, long, long time”, fans said they were fully in support.

“I’m proud of her. She took a stand to keep away the remarks, the critics,” said Brian, a French fan attending the first of several shows.

“It’s awful,” added Cory from Banbury. “The public has bullied her out of it. We’ve bullied her out of fame. I think that’s gross.”

“She needed time to recover,” said Damon, another Chinese fan.

“Maybe she will make some more movies… I love her movies. And if she comes back, we’ll be in the front row.”

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