This is just the beginning of world domination for Grande. And by the way, she won’t be stopping anytime soon.
March 20th, 2015: the first of two sold-out shows for Ariana Grande at Madison Square Garden, “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” The sold-out arena, though unfortunately filled mainly with rich moms and their spoiled children, had a great energy to it. Everyone was up on their feet for the entirety of Ariana’s performance. Security was heavy but much needed for the pop princess. Light-up cat ears filled the audience to add to the overall feel of the concert. It was pure 90 minutes of heaven on earth.
Grande has come such a long way from starring in two sitcoms on Nickelodeon, Victorious and Sam and Cat. Her look has changed, from her then signature red hair to her now signature brunette long pony tail. Her fashion has matured, and even more so has her voice. And don’t be fooled by her size! Her voice was able to fill the entire arena with absolutely no problem. It was a night filled with fun and great music.
The first of Grande’s opening acts was Cashmere Cat, featured with Grande on “Be My Baby” off of My Everything and producer of the song. Though I am a fan of Cashmere, most of the crowd did not seem to get into it. I felt kind of bad. There were some people here and there that were up and dancing, but not nearly enough. In Cashmere’s defense, it’s hard to pump up a crowd full of teenage girls that probably listen to pop music much more than EDM. But for his last song, Cashmere spun “Adore” and the crowd were on their feet. “Adore” is Cashmere’s newest song which features Grande with vocals. Cashmere seemed to be into his own performance, but sadly, most of the crowd wasn’t.
The second and last of Grande’s opening acts was Rixton, known for their smash-hit “Me and My Broken Heart.” Both Rixton and Grande are represented by Scooter Braun, who was in attendance. Anyway, the crowd was much more into this performance (what do teenage girls love more than British boy bands? Well, maybe Ariana, but you get the point). Opening with “Wait on Me” and closing with “Me and My Broken Heart,” Rixton’s performance was pretty good. It did seem to go on for a little longer than I would have liked, but it was still enjoyable. But I have one big critique of Rixton’s performance: in my opinion, it seemed as if three of the four members of Rixton were shunned during the performance. Only the lead singer, Jake Roche, had a spotlight on him for the duration of the performance, while the three other members were basically in the dark at the back of the stage. Roche strutted around the entire stage and the catwalk, but the other members did not go anywhere. At least give them the spotlight! Rixton is a group, right? Overall, the performance was enjoyable!
And then it was the time everyone had been waiting for. Opening up with a bang with “Bang Bang,” this was one of the highlights of the entire show. Grande’s vocals live sounded just as amazing as they do on the radio (very little autotune here, which is always a good thing). Even without Jessie J or Nicki Minaj, Grande was able to still entertain the crowd.
After a few songs, Grande shocked the crowd by coming out on a huge cloud for “Best Mistake” which made everyone go crazy (including myself)! It was absolutely amazing! I remember reading that during her first concert, Ariana was nearly killed on the cloud because it almost collapsed, but I am happy to announce that Ariana made it without any issues (phew).
And not much longer into the concert, Grande surprised us again with one of many costume changes and flying in on a chandelier for “Right There!” Move over, Sia! Ariana is truly swinging from a chandelier!
(As a side note, some of the celebrities in the crowd included Ariana’s brother Frankie, Frankie’s friend and winner from Big Brother Derrick, and Matt Bennett, known for playing Robbie alongside Grande as Cat on Victorious.)
One of the many highlights of the night included Grande’s performance of “Tattooed Heart” from her freshman studio album Yours Truly. The crowd sang along with Grande in her heart-felt ballad.
After a tribute to her Grandfather who passed away over the summer, Grande took the stage on top of a piano for “My Everything.” During the song, Grande broke down into tears yet was still able to make it through. Even while crying, Grande’s voice sounded like an angel. Additionally, one of my personal favorite performances of the night was “All My Love,” which was featured on the soundtrack to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One, curated by Lorde. The song includes EDM superstar Major Lazer.
With her last song of the night before the encore, “Break Free” was a true party. Grande was just as absolutely amazing nearly 20 songs and a breakdown into tears later as she was opening with “Bang Bang.” This is true talent, and Grande is the epitome of it.
For her encore, the song the crowd had been waiting for the entire night: “Problem.” What also made “Problem” special to me was that I believe it was the song that proved that Grande was not a fluke even with “The Way” or “Right There,” but instead someone who could compete with (and surpass) any of the big names in the music industry.
Everybody in the sold-out crowd were on their feet singing along, and the audience truly came alive (and so did the cat ears that nearly the whole audience had on). To be a part of this experience was truly amazing.
The Honeymoon Tour was one of the greatest nights of my life. If I have the opportunity to ever see Grande again, I definitely will. I only have two critiques of the concert: first, at times, the lighting seemed to be oddly-placed and made it very hard to take pictures. Second, I really wish that Grande would have used the catwalk attached to the stage a little bit more. She seemed to stay back on the stage for the majority of the concert, and a few times she got lost in the lights, props and numerous dancers.
Here is the set list from the concert, with my favorite performances from the concert bolded:
- “Bang Bang” (Listen here)
- “Hands on Me” (Listen here)
- “Best Mistake” (Listen here)
- “Break Your Heart Right Back” (Listen here)
- “Be My Baby” (Listen here)
- “Right There” (Listen here)
- “The Way” (Listen here)
- “Pink Champagne” (Listen here)
- “Tattooed Heart” (Listen here)
- “One Last Time” (Listen here)
- “Why Try” (Listen here)
- “My Everything” (Listen here)
- “Just a Little Bit of Your Heart” (Listen here)
- “Love Me Harder” (Listen here)
- “All My Love” (Listen here)
- “Honeymoon Avenue” (Listen here)
- “Break Free” (Listen here)
- Encore: “Problem” (Listen here)
The merchandise was very expensive (but in Ariana’s defense, merchandise always is at concerts). Perhaps the most expensive items for sale included a Jersey with “Bang Bang” and “Grande” written for $85, and a pair of cat ears that lit up during the show in sync with the music for $40 (they even sold out). I purchased a black t-shirt for $40 that pictured Ariana on the front along with “The Honeymoon Tour” and had all the dates of The Honeymoon Tour on the back.
Overall, I would give the concert a 8.1/10. For her first major tour, Grande did absolutely amazing. I can not wait to see where she goes from here (and that won’t be anywhere but up)!
Click here to order My Everything (Deluxe) on iTunes. Click here to order My Everything (Deluxe) on Amazon. Click here to order My Everything (Deluxe) from the official Ariana Grande website. Click here to follow Ariana Grande on Twitter. Click here to follow Ariana Grande on Facebook.
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