Natalie Sitek<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\tThe performance was one of a plethora of sublimities in a concert (her first in six years) that could best be described as, well, cinematic. That comes as no surprise, given how the Sam & Cat vet has demonstrated her prowess on the big screen with a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Wicked. Steven Spielberg may have an alien pic in theaters with Disclosure Day, but Grande gave the UFO at the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind a run for its money in terms of sheer climax. Speaking of money, floor tickets are going for as much as $3K. If you have to go into debt, \u201cEternal Sunshine\u201d is worth the bill.<\/p>\n
\n\tSpoiler alert: she ultimately ascends to the heavens:<\/p>\n
\n\tGrande co-directed the concert with Christian Breslauer, her music video helmer from \u201cYes, And?\u201d to the most recent \u201cHate That I Made You Love Me.\u201d The short films shot for the concert were projected on the hovering cylinder screen in the near center of the Crypto, hued in green and light blue tones, evoking Richard LaGravenese\u2019s 2013 Southern-set YA movie Beautiful Creatures. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe opening sequence of the concert shows Grande getting ready in a light sea-green tiled bathroom. Pipes start breaking, and the Southern mansion is filled with a Titanic-level of water. Water bursts from a door, and Grande finds herself in a room where a version of herself is plugged into a computer with her memories being erased. The tour\u2019s name is reportedly a nod to one of her favorite films, the 2004 Oscar-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but in no way is she ever running around with joyous love through Grand Central Station or waking up on a snowy beach with her better half. Ultimately, in a later video shown during the show, Grande encounters another doppelg\u00e4nger plugged into a computer, where they, too, have their minds zapped. At one point, she falls through an\u00a0Alice in Wonderland-like hole surrounded by her hands, which are reaching out to her as she falls. All of this, mind you, is far more riveting than the car chase scenes in Disclosure Day. <\/p>\n
\n\tWhat\u2019s it all mean? Fans have their deconstructions. Deadline\u2019s Natalie Sitek, who has a PhD in Grande, tells me that the interlude pieces are a continuation of the Brighter Days Ahead short film, which won a 2025 VMA Video Award of the Year. It shows Grande as the character Peaches, debating whether she wants to clear her memories from her prior eras: \u201cYours Truly,\u201d \u201cDangerous Woman,\u201d \u201cOne Love Manchester,\u201d and \u201cSweetener.\u201d In one room, Grande is adorned in her One Love Manchester outfit, while the second version of herself is supposed to represent the time when she dated late b.f. and \u201cThe Way\u201d and \u201cMy Favorite Part\u201d collaborator, Mac Miller. She\u2019s trying to erase the pain and reconcile with her younger self, who she meets on a swing, and an ultimate senior citizen. The 32-year-old conveys the weight of her mind via fantastical epic means.<\/p>\n
\n\tLike Madonna before her, Grande is playing her personal life symbolically out on stage. Read: Madonna\u2019s 2006 \u201cConfessions\u201d tour began with black-and-white footage of the Material Girl taming the horse that threw her in August 2005, a wink to the crowd that she was then the stronger.<\/p>\n
\n\tBy the way, the flooded house plays out onstage in what looks to be a condemned estate. Eventually, in the latter part of the show, production designer Rob Sinclair\u2019s set becomes overrun with flowers.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut back to a cappella moments. Typically, a performer of Grande\u2019s vocal wattage has to stop the music for one to savor their sonic gifts. However, Grande is always able to bust wonderfully through the noise, evident in her high notes during \u201cPositions\u201d, \u201cDandelion,\u201d and quite sublimely in \u201cHampstead\u201d (When she elevates \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with a little bit of\u00a0poison? Tell me\u201c, it\u2019s emotional).<\/p>\n
\n\tWith a slew of pop princess concerts since last year, including Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, and Sabrina Carpenter, cynics might think these events are like comparing shades of polyester, but, no, there\u2019s a lot of method that goes into each of these performers to distinguish themselves more than the rivalry of 1990s hipster indie filmmakers. They keenly watch one another as they prep for their own acts. For example, Carpenter\u2019s fun romp \u201cShort n\u2019 Sweet\u201d sets itself apart in being a love letter to 1980s cable TV,\u00a0Nick & Nora\u00a0movies, and\u00a0How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In a sea of twenty-to-forty-something touring performers, the choreography here in \u201cEternal Sunshine\u201d by Will Loftis, Scott Nicholson, Brian Nicholson, and Associate Choreography Darrion Gallegos shows its distinction: Grande\u2019s back-up entourage is like a kaleidoscope, fanning and spinning symmetrically around her with each breath and beat. Read, they literally break free in a rush on the runway during \u201cBreak Free\u201d, pounce and prance like cats during \u201cThe Boy Is Mine\u201d, breezy sash-shay around her during \u201cThank u, Next,\u201d and strut slowly and twirl around Grande during \u201c7 Rings\u201d like ballerinas in a kids\u2019 jewelry box. Sure, Carpenter\u2019s cut-the-ruggers are pizzazzing with their flips and cartwheels, but the Grande gang make formidable dance foes in the Sharks and Jets sense of the word.<\/p>\n
\n\tBreslauer was the creative director on the show as well. Law Roach put together all of Grande\u2019s glam looks, from her \u201cBoy Is Mine\u201d Ludovic de Saint Sernin Catwoman lingerie get-up to Wiederhoeft ballet-style dresses to the Givenchy floral dress in the finale, which takes her to heaven. Her first night in L.A. on Saturday had the same lineup as her Oakland, CA, opener, a set in which roughly half the ditties came from her \u201cEternal Sunshine\u201d album. While she included \u201cHate That I Made You Love Me\u201d from her forthcoming July 31 \u201cPetal\u201d album, it remains to be seen whether she includes new tracks from that as she continues on the road until Sept. 1. Grande played last Sunday and Wednesday in town and winds down her L.A. stop tonight and tomorrow at the Kia Forum.<\/p>\n
\n\tYes, touring at any age is exhausting. But it\u2019s fun to get fans all riled up by telling them it\u2019s your last one, even when you\u2019re in your 80s (just ask Rod Stewart). <\/p>\n
\n\tDespite Grande saying this will be her last tour in a \u201clong, long, long, long, long time\u201d, our thoughts on that promise is that she\u2019s talkin\u2019 way too much, and she should never give it up. <\/p>\n
\n\tAct I<\/p>\n
Yes, And?<\/p>\n
Positions<\/p>\n
Dandelion<\/p>\n
The Boy Is Mine<\/p>\n
\n\tAct II<\/p>\n
\n\t5. Eternal Sunshine<\/p>\n
\n\t6. Just Like Magic<\/p>\n
\n\t7. Thank u, Next<\/p>\n
\n\t8. 7 rings<\/p>\n
\n\tAct III<\/p>\n
\n\t9. Imperfect for You<\/p>\n
\n\t10. Warm<\/p>\n
\n\t11. Safety Net<\/p>\n
\n\t12. One Last Time<\/p>\n
\n\t13. Rain on Me<\/p>\n
\n\t14. Break Free<\/p>\n
\n\tAct IV<\/p>\n
\n\t15. Twilight Zone<\/p>\n
\n\t16. Past Life<\/p>\n
\n\t17. Dangerous Woman<\/p>\n
\n\t18. Honeymoon Avenue<\/p>\n
\n\t19. Hampstead<\/p>\n
\n\tAct V<\/p>\n
\n\t20. Into You<\/p>\n
\n\t21. Hate That I Made You Love Me<\/p>\n
\n\tEncore:<\/p>\n
\n\t22. We Can\u2019t Be Friends (Wait for your Love)<\/p>\n
\n\t23. Supernatural<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Jon Brion would perform at Largo in Los Angeles, the enthrallment of his show entailed watching the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367800,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[34182,143334,48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-367799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ariana-grande","tag-eternal-sunshine-tour","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}