Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman Tour

By: Kim Olson

Ariana Grande premiered her Dangerous Woman Tour at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on Friday, February 3. The show kicked off around 5 p.m. local time for VIPs. (The doors opened for the general audience an hour later at 6 p.m.) There were two types of VIPs – those who had “Ultimate Bkstg VIP Meet and Greet” and those who had “‘Let Me Love You’ Bkstg Soundcheck Dance Party.” There were about 200 VIPs total. Right inside the arena there was a booth for VIPs to check-in and pick up their super cute, holographic VIP passes. The ultimate fans toured backstage, saw props and costumes from the show (there are about seventy for Ariana and her dancers combined) and caught a glimpse of Little Mix’s soundcheck before joining the rest of Ariana’s VIP loves for Ariana’s soundcheck.

At soundcheck, the MC was one of Ariana’s “twins,” presumably Scott [Nicholson]. All of the dancers introduced themselves and they were going to play Ariana trivia with the fans for shirts and hats, until Ariana joined them on stage. Ariana came out in a sweatshirt and her sky-high, I Dream of Jeannie-esque ponytail. She sat on the stage while fans screamed WILDY! She had already cried thirty-six times that day and would cry twice more before the Q&A portion of the event was over. A fan in the front row presented her with a beautiful book a few fans made for her and Ariana cried. She went down on the floor to hug the fan and Scott gave the fan a hat for her efforts.

Ariana answered fans’ questions while her boyfriend, Mac Miller, and manager, Scooter Braun, sat in the back supporting her. The first question came from Ariana’s childhood best friend from Boca Raton, Florida, Misha Lambert. (Misha had starred alongside Ari in her first YouTube video – “Ain’t No Other Man.”) Misha asked Ari what her top five things she loves about her fans are and Ariana said she loves that her fans are friends with each other because of her and she thinks of them as her friends as well. Her fans are her motivators. When it comes to her music and tour, she’s always thinking of them. “What will my fans think of this? What will they want here?” She thinks about her fans more than they realize. She also said her fans are hilarious. She always wants to tweet at them “that was so funny,” but restrains herself. (She only listed four things because, like her character Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, she skipped three.)

Ariana’s brother, Frankie Grande, then joined her on stage. He sat next to her while a fan asked him a question. When asked how supportive he is of his sister he said he cried the previous night just knowing he was coming to see her perform. Ariana told the fan “now you’re just trying to make me cry.” Ariana and Frankie talked about how Frankie knows literally nothing about the show. It’s a real nail-biter he motioned, moving his foot up to his mouth as if to bite. Ariana was afraid he might actually die, but he didn’t want any spoilers even when Ariana asked him, “Do you want me to tell you something?”

A fan then asked Ariana if she prefers singing or acting more and she says that it’s complicated. She can’t decide. Both. Singing she can do whenever she wants. Just open her mouth and… la. When asked if she could only sing one song for the rest of her life, she couldn’t pick just one. Singing is her “therapy.” She uses it to process her emotions. But then acting is fun because she gets to be silly and someone else. She can’t really be funny while singing, unless… She dances to “Cotton Eyed Joe.” (This would have been great to film, but security was real sticklers about no phones – photos or videos – during the Q&A.)

Ariana was having so much fun on stage during the Q&A she didn’t want to leave. She just wanted to stay with her fans and have them keep interviewing her. She was so relaxed and herself, she even said “fuck” twice. She realized she has to watch her language now that she’s out on tour, but couldn’t stop cursing. The last question came from a nine-year-old in the back. “What’s your favorite song off this album?” she asked. Ariana said “Dangerous Woman” because it’s just fun, “Be Alright” because it’s like a hug from her to her fans and “Sometimes,” thinking it would surprise her fans. That concluded the Q&A portion of the VIP experience. Ariana, Frankie and her dancers threw out the remaining merchandise to the VIP fans before leaving to get ready for the show!

Those who had meet and greet, about fifty people, proceeded to take pictures with Ariana and get a signed poster of the Dangerous Woman album cover while everyone else headed to the VIP lounge for a private party. On the way to the party, fans had an opportunity to stop and buy merchandise before the general audience arrived. Frankie and Joan Grande (Ariana’s mom) got their shopping in early as well. The merch mostly consisted of shirts with Ariana’s face on the front and lists of stops on the tour on the back. The most eye-catching, popular item was a white sweatshirt that said on the front in big black letters, “I Give Zero Fucks And I Got Zero Chill In Me,” a lyric from Ariana’s hit song with Nicki Minaj “Side to Side.” That item sold out before the end of the night.

On the way into the party, VIPs received exclusive merch – black canvas bags that say “Dangerous Woman 2017,” black baseball caps that say “Dangerous Woman Tour 2017,” a white square pin that says “Zero Fucks,” and a pin of Ariana’s iconic black bunny mask. Inside the party there was a legit candy bar with gumballs, Skittles, Nerds, sour watermelons, lollipops, licorice, candy hearts and peppermints; a snack bar with chips, guacamole, pita and veggies and a drink bar with mocktails inspired by Ariana’s songs. The drink selection included “Everyday Bellini” – carbonated water, peach syrup, grenadine syrup and a maraschino cherry – “Moonlight Mojito” – lemon-lime soda, splash of cranberry, chopped fresh mint leaves, simple syrup and a lemon wedge – and “Side to Side Grapefruit Cooler” – grapefruit juice, lemon-lime soda, simple syrup and grenadine. There was also a photo booth and vanities with samples of Ariana’s fragrances for fans to enjoy while listening to popular music. The party carried on for about ninety minutes until Ariana’s first opening act, Victoria Monet, took the stage at 7:30pm.

In her 15-minute set, Monet played a mix of new and old music, including her song with Ariana “Better Days.” The real focus of her act though was her dancing. The girl can dance! At one point, her two male back-up dancers were carrying her like a queen!

After about a ten-minute intermission, the second opening act took the stage. The sensational British girl group Little Mix opened their set with the breathtaking song “Salute.” The girls, particularly Jesy [Nelson], were quick to connect with the audience who were ready to have some fun! The girls then had some fun of their own, whipping their long “Hair” back and forth in their sexy camo-esque outfits. The oh so cute Perrie [Edwards] got the audience involved on a song by having them lift the flashlights on their phones up and down and “clicking” their fingers, or as Americans call it snapping. The girls then took to the end of the catwalk to break their hearts and the audience’s, belting out their slow jam “Secret Love Song.” Following that, they brought the mood back up with the sexy “Touch” and their current mega hit “Shout Out to My Ex.” They finished their 40-minute set with “Black Magic.”

A 20-minute intermission followed between the opening acts and Ariana taking the stage. During the intermissions, and even before the show entirely, fans would SCREAM if any Grande walked by – Frankie, Joan or Nonna (Ariana’s grandmother). Frankie was very nice and open to meeting people, but it became extremely crowded around him extremely quickly. At one point, there was a ten-row long line waiting to meet him! At about 8:50pm, a 10-minute countdown started enticing the audience for Ariana’s arrival. A video of Ariana getting ready – removing her bra, taking a shower, and doing her hair – played on a screen onstage while the audience chanted “Ari! Ari! Ari!”

At 9 p.m. sharp, Ariana emerged on stage in her iconic, full, sky-high ponytail donning a short, black skirt, black turtleneck, diamond encrusted necklace and black, knee-high, high-heeled boots. She opened the 90-minute show with the intricately choreographed “Be Alright.” She then threw an orange lined, black puffy jacket over her outfit, holding it at her elbows in true Ariana fashion. She set the house on fire with “Everyday” while her back-up dancers connected with the audience members who were dancing right along with them. The multi-level “Bad Decisions” and sexy, gothic “Let Me Love You” followed before Ariana disappeared off stage for her first wardrobe change. While she was gone, an interlude of her singing a beautiful, melodic, never-before-heard song projected on the screen, covering the entire back wall of the stage. (Lyrics heard: “I just wanna look up at the moon and wonder if he’s looking at it too and I don’t know what to do.”)

Ariana then resurfaced for “Knew Better: Part II,” in long, baggy, white pants, a white bra and a long white jacket, resembling a lab coat while sitting on steps, surrounded by her dancers. The following song, “Forever Boy,” was literally banging! Ariana and her dancers banged sticks on the ground, lighting up multi-colored pedestals. Judging by the smile on her face, Ariana clearly had fun playing around.

Ariana owned every inch of her I-shaped stage. She made sure to notice every corner of the audience. Slowing it down for the next song, “One Last Time,” she sat at the furthest end of the stage. She then went back to the top of stage to lay down for the sexy, “Touch It.” Afterward, she moved halfway down the catwalk for her heartbreaking ballad “Leave Me Lonely.”

While she disappeared for another outfit change, a pro-female, anti-rape (“Not asking for it”) interlude projected on screen. In the video Ariana is looking sexy with wet, blonde hair in a nude bathing suit and dark knee-high boots. Adjectives flashed on screen – “playful,” “soulful,” “willful,” “raw,” “gentle,” “ferocious,” “sexual,” “sensual,” “soft,” “hard,” “divine,” “strong,” and “human.”

Ariana then reappeared on stage with her most elaborate set of the night. In a gym setting – bikes, bars, punching bags, lockers and benches included – she soul-cycled her heart out to “Side to Side.” Following that, in a gray Calvin Klein bra, high-waist gray leather shorts and gray knee-high boots, she performed her 2014 hit “Bang Bang.” The whole room turned green with greed when the bass dropped on “Greedy” and money (fake with Ariana’s picture, signature and birthday) fell from the sky! Ariana then slowed it down for a moment with her back-up band for “I Don’t Care,” before leaving the stage once more.

Ariana reemerged at the other end of the stage, sitting in long, high-waist bell bottom jeans that glow, a black and white bra and black heels to perform “Moonlight.” Fans then proceeded to lead her in “Love Me Harder,” in a sea of green and blue strobe lights. She followed that up with an unexpected, even more electronic rendition of her 2014 hit “Break Free.” She then serenaded her fans back with “Sometimes,” holding the hands of a lucky few. (Even if one sat next to the stage, it didn’t mean they could even try to reach to touch her hand. There was too much distance between the railing and the stage and security was strict and heavy. Only the lucky few could actually reach for her hand.) At the end of the number, giant pink balloons dropped on the audience.

Ariana then sat on the steps at the back of the stage to belt out “Thinking ‘Bout You” while multi-colored lights projected silhouettes of different sexual-orientated (straight, LGBT, etc.) couples on the screen behind her. The screen often projected visuals setting the mood for the songs, like with “Let Me Love You” or projected videos of Ariana so fans in nose-bleed seats could see her better, like with “Greedy.”

Ariana then strutted back down the catwalk performing “Problem,” her hit off her previous album My Everything. It wasn’t the “typical” version of “Problem.” It was insane! Jaw-dropping! Breathtaking! Star Wars resembling! Star Wars! That’s such a Grande thing to do! Ariana “ended” the show with her hit single from the summer of 2016 “Into You.” Or did she? The arena went black and everyone started chanting “Ari! Ari! Ari!” She reemerged for her encore in black knee-high leather boots and a black latex gown. She set the room on fire with her actual last song of the night, the title track from her latest album “Dangerous Woman.” Now, it was actually over.

The show was so long, but so short. Why’d it have to end?! There were so any emotions, mostly happy and crying from so much happiness – ear drums blown out, voices lost and bodies exhausted, ready for bed.

StarryMag caught up with Frankie Grande after the show. He wasn’t literally dead like Ariana worried, (thank God) but he told us exclusively the renditions of Ariana’s older songs had metaphorically killed him dead. “Break Free” ended his life and “Problem” was just the final nail in the coffin. Suffice it to say, we feel the same. Those renditions need to be available on iTunes and Spotify ASAP!

Make sure to catch Ariana Grande in concert when she performs the Dangerous Woman Tour in a city near you.