ARIANA GRANDE

@ Rod Laver Arena 05/09/2017

(Live Review)

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Walking towards Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday night didn’t seem real. I’ve been waiting six years for global superstar Ariana Grande to finally come down under and give us Australian’s a killer show. I’ve been a massive fan ever since her breakout role on hit television show Victorious and I feel like such a proud parent seeing her come this far. The Dangerous Woman World Tour was coming to a near end and what better place to go out with a bang for one of Ariana’s last nights than in Melbourne.

Entering the arena was extremely exhilarating. The mosh pit was completely full and I don’t think there was an empty seat in the house for the sold out show. As soon as I took my seat, a ten-minute countdown appeared on the screen sending the crowd into a massive roar. The countdown teased the arena as close up visuals of Ariana showed her cupping her hand towards her ear, making the audience scream louder each time. As I was observing my surroundings, it was stimulating to see a mixed crowd of people as you would expect the starlet to bring mostly female fans. As the countdown came to a zero, the lights dropped and the arena was ready.

As the instrumental to the opening song Be Alright had begun, the crowd was in frenzy as the dancers were placing themselves into their positions. Ariana walked out and joined them in the middle with a cute little black number and knee high stiletto boots. From the first note the songstress hit, her vocals were absolute perfection. It was almost like listening to the CD, but better. She had black and white visuals of herself behind her on a massive screen as Ariana and her dancers strutted around the stage and performed choreography as if they were from Madonna’s Vogue music video. What a perfect opening to an electrifying night ahead.

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After greeting the crowd as the first song finished, Ariana then picked up the pace by performing her tracks Everyday and Bad Decisions. The atmosphere was thrilling as the audience was singing along with every word as they threw their hands up to dance to the beat. The big screen behind Ariana showed her close up during the concert and she looked flawless. The starlet then slowed things down again and sang her hit Let Me Love You as her dancers left the stage leaving all eyes on her. As the song finished, Act I was complete and Ariana was off the stage and ready to transition.

Act II began with more visuals of Ariana on the big screen singing to a song that isn’t featured on any of her albums. The songstress returned to the stage and it was time for her to slow things down completely. She opened up with Knew Better Pt.II along with a white ensemble that was covered with a massive coat. As she was working the stage from every angle with her backup dancers, the song then transitioned into Forever Boy and the vibe was extremely chill. It was a reflective moment of the show that allowed the audience to sit back and take everything in for a few moments.

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The arena then completely lifted as the instrumental for One Last Time began playing. Camera flashes were out and arms were waving around as Ariana sang the theme song to the terrible tragedy that occurred at her show in Manchester. It was such a special moment to be apart of and witness as the whole arena was screaming the lyrics along with Ariana. She then ended the segment with Touch It which is my personal favourite from her Dangerous Woman album, as well as Leave Me Lonely where her vocal capabilities to sing live shone beyond belief.

Before Act III began, visuals of Ariana posing in different provocative positions appeared on the screen with words such as “sexual”, “raw”, “strong” with the phrase “not asking for it” appearing several times as she was making a feminist statement. The crowd was in an uproar as they supported the message that Ariana was trying to convey through the intro to Act III. As the screen went black, Ariana and her dancers rose from the stage on exercise bikes as she began singing to her massive hit Side To Side. It was the loudest I’d heard the crowd so far as Ariana was strutting her stuff on stage to her mega hit with a revealing two-piece ensemble. It was quite evident that she used Act III to perform her more upbeat tracks as she went on to sing and dance to Bang Bang, Greedy, Focus and I Don’t Care. I couldn’t stop smiling throughout all these songs as the energy in the arena was once again electrifying as I was singing and dancing the night away with my friend. The band then gave Ariana an outro as she ran off stage (ridiculous in the height of her stiletto boots) to get ready for Act IV.

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Act IV started with the instrumental to Moonlight, the intro song to her album Dangerous Woman, and the arena was once again in frenzy. She walked out with a cute little baggy red jumpsuit that had a moon across her chest. As she performed Moonlight and Love Me Harder, I was quite in awe of her vocals as hearing them live felt truly mesmerising as you could feel her passion through each note. The starlet then performed one of her past hits Break Free that had the whole arena up and bopping to its electric dance beat. Ariana then took a moment to talk to the crowd and crack a few jokes that showcased her sweet personality. She then performed Sometimes and Thinking Bout You, slowing things down once again.

After smashing her vocal performance on Thinking Bout You, also another one of my personal favourites, the Manchester icon of the black ribbon with the Ariana rabbit ears appeared on the screen behind her. She walked up to the top of the stage where she performed a cover of Over the Rainbow, a track she chose to sing during the benefit concert she held for the Manchester bombings at her concert. The arena was completely still and focused as it was gut-wrenching to witness the songstress perform such a personal song. Towards the end of the performance, Ariana broke down in tears and could barely keep her words together to sing the next few lines. I don’t believe there was a dry eye within the arena including myself, as it was such an extraordinary and raw moment to be apart of. To pick the pace back up again, Ariana performed her breakout song Problem with a bit of a remix that was extremely entertaining to watch. She then ended Act IV with her one of her recent hit songs Into You, which I will always strongly believe was the song of 2016, and boy was it a beautiful moment to scream those lyrics and witness it live.

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Ariana then came out one last time for her encore performance of Dangerous Woman. She wore an overdramatic black ensemble with a massive black cape that draped across the floor and it suited her persona perfectly. As it was the last performance for the night, the arena came together one last time to belt out the lyrics along with the songstress and enjoy the last few moments we had left. As she left the stage with a massive thank you, the Dangerous Woman World Tour was officially over for the night and I couldn’t be more upset and satisfied at the same time.

Leaving the concert, I felt myself still processing the last two hours as it didn’t feel real at all. I’d been waiting for so many years for Ariana to come to Australia and the wait was totally worth it. From her overly impressive vocal capabilities to her fun, charismatic charm on stage with her dancers, it was quite evident that the starlet knew how to put on a magical show as there was not one quiet moment the whole night. It was inevitable that she stole the show from start to finish and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to witness something truly enchanting. Ariana Grande came to slay and I promise you I left Rod Laver Arena 100% slayed.

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