Ariana Grande Reclaims the London Stage After 7 Years: 5 Best Moments

‘Violent Fairy Pop Core’ reads the block-capitals slogan emblazoned across Ariana Grande’s new, hardcore-inspired merch line. It appears to be the singer’s personal embodiment of the sound and aesthetic of her latest LP, Petal, which arrived last month (July 29) and feels like a distillation of the music itself: equally ethereal and defiant, with guitar-driven, lightly abrasive sounds propelling themes of femininity, freedom and contending with life in the public eye.

In the fortnight since it dropped, Petal has topped both the Official U.K. Albums Chart and the Billboard 200, with Grande scoring her best single-week performance of the 2020s thus far on the latter. All 12 songs from the album landed in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40, while the newly-released video for its title track has also sparked intense online discourse about the singer’s physical appearance. The conversation has, at times, threatened to eclipse the contents of a project that is already preoccupied with the pressures of visibility.

Suffice to say, then, that Grande arrives in London at a charged moment. It makes for a particularly intriguing juncture in the wider Petal campaign, which has had a notably darker, disillusioned and more confrontational feel across its lyrics and imagery compared to the singer’s previous output — particularly given that, earlier in the month (Aug. 2), her representatives confirmed she is set to take a hiatus once these shows conclude her Eternal Sunshine Tour. She has also pulled out of leading the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George, which was expected to open next summer in the capital.

That sense of an ending — or, to reference a previous Grande project title, a “bye for now” — inevitably hung over opening night at The O2 (Aug. 15), the first of a sold-out 10-show residency at the 20,000-capacity arena. The venue was previously at the center of the 33-year-old’s 2020 Netflix special, Excuse Me, I Love You, and it’s one she will call home again through Sept. 1.

But if Grande is approaching these shows as a farewell to this particular chapter, and potentially a more significant break from the spotlight, she certainly isn’t performing like someone ready to quietly bow out. It was an evening blazing with vertiginous vocal runs, an abundance of intricate video imagery, as well as live sample looping and the fans’ elaborate ‘fit checks and fervent enthusiasm.

Below, find the five best moments from Grande’s opening night of the London (and final) leg of her Eternal Sunshine Tour.