Ariana Grande review, O2 Arena: One of the most rousing pop shows of the year

The boundary between Ariana Grande and her public is both paper thin and impenetrable. At tonight’s O2 Arena show – the first European outing of the singer’s Sweetener tour – security is tight: sniffer dogs, police presence, a “clear plastic bag” policy for 20,000 ticket holders. But later, you’ll find the star holding hands with the front row and gazing into the eyes of her adoring fans. If Grande is trying to establish her own safe haven, it’s somewhere in between: away from the spotlight and yet soaking up its glare.

There’s a reason for this dichotomy. Two years ago, the Manchester date on Grande’s Dangerous Woman tour was targeted by a suicide bomber, killing 22 people. She took a short time away, before returning to the city two weeks later to hold a charity concert fundraiser, weeping through “One Last Time”, a poignant pop ballad that has since become an anthem for those who were affected by the tragedy. You might question why a pop star who’s been through one of the most tumultuous five years in the public eye is here today, performing to a crowd of 60,000 people over three nights (this is her 52nd Sweetener show), but it seems that performing has become therapy to Grande.

But there are few moments of bare faced vulnerability here – “One Last Time” doesn’t get a place in this setlist. Instead, Grande jumps straight in with material that showcases her strongest and most foolproof asset: her voice. After performing a note-perfect “raindrops (an angel cried)“ a cappella from beneath the stage, she charges into ”God is a woman” with such briskness that you’re unsure of where to look. The underrated “Bad Idea” from her 2019 album thank u, next follows, before “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” rounds out the first act.

The whole show runs at this rapid pace, in one sense leaving little room for error, in another giving Grande no time to relax and soak it in. There are very few opportunities for meaningless small talk; it’s a relentless wall of pop wonder, every box ticked. Next, fan favourites like “Be Alright” and “Love Me Harder” come out of the woodwork. Grande is both brilliantly eager to please and a steadfast believer in keeping control of what she does, and it makes for a brilliant pop setlist crammed with little curveballs.

There are a few distractions. The lighting is a little muddy at times, causing Grande to blur into the same shadow as her back-up dancers, and for a top tier pop show, the jaw-dropping visual spectacles have been somewhat sidelined in favour of Grande’s voice. But what a voice. Whether she’s dabbling in the cocky rap-talk of “Fake Smile” (“arms crossed with the attitude, lips pouted”) or nailing the runs on “Dangerous Woman”, Grande has gone from being a mere vocal acrobat to knowing and living in her voice’s nuances. The notes most stars leave to the backing track are the ones she singles out and smashes.

As the audience erupts for “No Tears Left to Cry” and the encore, a super sweet “Thank U, Next”, you realise the whole thing is carved out of Ariana Grande’s heart. After the devastating tragedy three years ago, this a show that means something to so many people. That she’s standing here today, the biggest pop star on earth, is a testimony to her resilience as a woman, and as a public figure. That she’s able to pull off one of the most rousing pop shows of the year while doing so? Well, that’s a minor miracle.