To be honest, I’ve never fancied myself as much of a “pop” girl: I grew up listening to alternative rock and I like playing indie folk songs on my guitar and ukulele. Like everyone else, I’ve only heard of Ariana Grande and seen her a couple of times as the red-headed Cat on the show, iCarly on Nickelodeon a few years ago. It wasn’t until she rocked a frilly dress with the super-catchy “The Way” that I sat up and paid attention to this pint-sized wonder. I spent an entire week listening to her two albums, Yours Truly and My Everything, and I was HOOKED. I told myself, “If Ariana Grande hits the scene big time and holds a concert in the Philippines, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
And now, two hit albums and several smash singles after, Ariana has traded in the red locks and cocktail dresses for high ponytails and go-go boots, and is now the hottest thing in the pop scene!! And as her legions of fans or “Arianators” would attest, our girl AG definitely did not disappoint during last Sunday’s show, “The Honeymoon Tour” at the Mall of Asia Arena!
I could go on and on and on how Ari blew all her Pinoy fans away during the tour, but I’ll try my best to stick to 5 reasons we love her harder after the #SmartArianaGrande Honeymoon Tour!! (Go figure out the reference.)
#SmartArianaGrande In Manila: 5 Reasons Why We Love Her Harder
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5. Flocks of dedicated “Arianators” filled the arena… all in their kitty ears!
Of course, the Honeymoon Tour wouldn’t be complete without seeing the whole arena decked out in Ariana’s trademark kitty ears, something AG herself took notice of! As a whole flock of fans were shown onscreen wearing kitty ears, she exclaimed:
“You guys are so cute and so, so sweet, I love you guys. I just want to pinch all of your faces one by one!”
The kitty ears were such a huge craze that night that Pinoy teen sensations Kathryn Bernardo, Liza Soberano, Andrea Brillantes were spotted wearing them as they were shown several times onscreen right at the frontlines! Of course, they came along with fellow stars Daniel Padilla, Julia Barretto, Enrique Gil, and Darren Espanto. Other celebrities such as Sofia Andres and Kim Chiu among others were also spotted in attendance, making it a truly star-studded (and kitty-eared) affair!
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4. The choreography was brilliant.
On the #SpinnrArianaGrande Honeymoon Tour in Manila, one thing is clear: Ariana is the real star of the show. While other artists amp up their production with razzle dazzle theatrics, it’s the choreography perfectly executed by Ari and her ensemble while belting out her hits WITHOUT missing a breath that blows you away! Even as she moves to different ends of the stage, while shimmying her hips and twisting and twirling, her singing is FLAWLESS, and her movements fall in perfect timing with the rest of the dancers and the entire number. It’s like seeing poetry in motion.
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3. Ariana sang live… and it’s better than you can ever imagine it to be.
Everyone who’s looked forward to the Honeymoon Tour were all expecting one thing: to be blown away by Ariana’s vocals. Let’s just say that she isn’t called “Baby Mariah” for nothing! Fans were treated to her four-octave vocal prowess, and we’re left wondering how she sounds EXACTLY as she does on her albums, on top of dancing to a perfectly-synced choreography (see above)! Unlike other artists who choose to have backing vocals (possibly to help them get through months of non-stop tours in different countries), Ari sings everything LIVE, including those oh-so-high notes! Ari sings just like a dream. Check out her “Break Free” performance to see what we mean!
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2. Ariana sang a rare cover performance of “I Have Nothing” in Manila, the second time she’s performed it on her tour.
Manila just made Honeymoon Tour history after Ariana chose to sing a fantastic cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing”, making it just the second time she’s performed the iconic song on the tour, after first singing it alongside David Foster back in Los Angeles. Before easing her way into the first notes of “one of her favorite songs of all time”, she said:
“I don’t usually do this, I think I’ve only done it on tour one time. But I wanted to do something special for you guys.”
It’s hard not to shed a tear after this performance!! Youtube user Jun Roxas was able to capture the whole moment on video:
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1. “Mahal kita!” and calling her Pinoy fans “cute” and “sweet”.
If her immense talent isn’t enough, Arianators know by heart how big of a sweetheart Ari is!! While she didn’t talk much during the whole affair, she did spend a valuable amount of time letting her Filipino fans know how much she loves and adores them, exclaiming “Mahal kita!” several times throughout the concert, you can’t help but feel she’s directing her love towards you.
“I’ve wanted to come here for you guys for such a long time… You guys on Twitter, always on Twitter like, ‘Ariana, come to the Philippines!’ So I’m finally here! Woo!!”
And of course, the crowd went wild when she uttered the magic phrase: “And hopefully, I’ll come back soon.” And judging by these tweets, this doesn’t seem too far-fetched from reality:
No matter what, we’ll always welcome you back with open arms!!
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Of course, an hour and a half was not enough for us to truly get over the experience, but the #SpinnrArianaGrande concert was short and sweet… just like her!! It’s a good thing there’s #SmartFreeIG for to help us get through the never-ending LSS and hangover that we’ll probably have for weeks!
#SmartArianaGrande
#SpinnrArianaGrande
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