Ariana Grande live in London review: stunning vocals drive poignant pop spectacle

Seven years on from her last UK show, Ariana Grande made a spectacular return to London on Saturday as she kicked off a huge 10-night residency at The 02. 

She arrived for the mammoth residency after recently announcing that she’ll take a “step back” from public life after this final leg of her Eternal Sunshine tour amid “endless, ongoing public scrutiny”. But amid this apparent attention, there were no signs of the American singer struggling or not wanting to be there. 

Quite the opposite, in fact: beaming throughout the two-hour show, which was split into five acts and an encore shaped around cinematic sci-fi-leaning videos reminiscent of Katy Perry’s Lifetimes dates, Grande seemed on incredible form.

Although she kept mid-song chat during the 26-track set to a minimum – aside from a brief attempt at the British accent, thanking the adoring audience for their support and savouring the deservedly deafening applause – her energy was tireless, especially during choreo-heavy opener ‘yes, and?’. 

Later, a trifecta of euphoric EDM-pop bangers – ‘One Last Time’, ‘Rain on Me’ and ‘Break Free’ – turned the 02 into a club as a rainbow’s worth of colourful strobes illuminated the stage and she and her impeccable dancers and band gave everything to the performance.

While these hits had 20,000 fans bouncing, Grande was equally comfortable to strip the scale of the production back: holding the arena at a pin-drop silence, she live-looped her stunning ‘eternal sunshine’ vocals alone from the mid-stage.

Talking of that voice, there’s no question about it — Ariana Grande is one of the best singers of her generation. Effortlessly showcasing her four-octave acrobatics, a backstage-glimpsing ‘Into You’ and an epic ‘Dangerous Woman’ were just some of the highlights that demonstrated her incomparable range as a powerhouse belter. 

Considering she recently scored her sixth consecutive UK number one album with eighth record ‘Petal’, her choice to leave renditions of chart-topping single ‘hate that I made you love me’ as well as surprise live debuts of ‘kiss me’ and ‘bad thing (bunny hop)’ until the last section of the concert conveyed the strength of Grande’s discography. 

‘God is a woman’, ‘no tears left to cry’ and ‘break up with your girlfriend, I’m bored’ might have only featured as backing track snippets during an earlier interlude, but there was no shortage of fan-favourite throwbacks throughout the show, which played like an era-spanning voyage through time.

Fittingly, the on-screen galaxy of stars and planets orbiting Grande served as a reflection of her glittering 13-year career, before a poignant finalé of ‘supernatural’ saw her defy gravity and ascend in golden light. 

If this is to be Ariana’s final run of shows for a considerable time, what a shining, unforgettable farewell.

Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine tour is at The 02 in London until September 1