American pop superstar Ariana Grande emerged from the floor to perform her duet with Nicki Minaj, “Side To Side.” While bouncing along on an exercise bike and dancing among the equipment with shirtless male dancers, she was singing live. She was doing it for almost a minute and didn’t show any hint of exhaustion.
If it was an ordinary singer, the person would have wheezed from the time he opened his mouth to belt out the first note. Obviously, nobody can do it like Ariana because dancing and pedaling on a stationary bike in rapid succession while singing at the same time is a tough act that can only be done by a superhuman.
The American pop superstar brought Mall of Asia Arena stage to life during the Dangerous Woman World Tour on Monday, which marks her second sold out concert in Manila. The 90-minute and 21-track show was underscored by the 24-year-old diminutive chanteuse’s powerful vocals and infectious energy. It’s good to note that Ariana was even under the weather during the show.
“Thank you, guys! I’m really sick today but you guys made me feel so much better. Mahal kita!” Ariana told the crowd at the Smart Music Live-sponsored concert.
In a separate Instagram post after the two-hour concert, she poured more love for Filipino Arianators saying, “Manila, I love you always! Thank you for having me and for always bringing me so much light! Whenever I’m under the weather, you give me so much life.”
She added, “Thank you for your love, your sincerity, your sense of humor and overall you-ness. You stay recharging me. I love you with all my heart and appreciate you more than you know. Mahal kita!”
Ariana won the hearts of people around the world by returning to the stage just three weeks after a suicide bomber attacked her concert in Manchester in May. All-grown up and showing the world how to rise above a tragedy as devastating as the bombing that happened during her concert, asserted her hold over a sold out concert in spite of the rains that flooded some parts of the metro.
With about 10 dancers joining her onstage, Ariana stretched her vocals and dance moves while singing her hits like “One Last Time,” “Let Me Love You,” “Bad Decisions,” “Touch It, Leave Me Lonely,” “Bang Bang,” “Love Me Harder,” “Break Free,” and an emotional rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which she dedicated to all her fans especially those who died and got injured during her concert in Manchester.
While Ariana did not need any extravagant stage design – her vocals as her instrument and her undeniable stage presence were more than enough to punctuate her Manila tour a resounding success. But there’s no denying that people have set high expectations on Ariana’s second concert in Manila.
Many regarded the 2015 show as her best yet. In fact, Honeymoon World Tour can be encapsulated into three words – surprising, entertaining and deafening. Though the concert on Monday was still full of rabid fans screaming from the top of their lungs, the words surprising and entertaining are hardly the right adjectives to describe the Dangerous Woman Tour, unless of course you’re an avid fan.
The show opened with Ariana backed up by some dancers grooving through the first song of the night. Initially, one wouldn’t realize that Ariana was actually already part of the lineup due to lack of appropriate lighting (the stage was dark all throughout). Her wardrobe that consisted of black and grey most of the time made her almost unrecognized onstage, if not for her signature ponytail-draped-over-a-shoulder do, she would have blended with her backup dancers.
Unlike the scenes from Honeymoon Tour that looked perfect even in pictures taken with a smartphone, Dangerous Woman was the complete opposite. Nonetheless, it was still a perfect show for the audience – many of whom are cat-ear-sporting teens who follow the pop star like she’s the only singer on the planet.