Welcome back to another pop culture recap, with this week featuring a review of Ariana Grande's O2 Residency in London - her first tour since 2019, an outline of tomorrow's All Points East festival in London, Phoebe Bridgers' intimate shows rescheduling amongst an unexpected birthday 'present', and remembering stars Hayden Panettiere and Frank Beard.
Ariana Grande's O2 Residency begins - a review
Ariana Grande began the UK leg of her first tour since 2019's Sweetener World Tour last Saturday, performing an extensive set of twenty-four songs in London's O2 Arena - spanning until September 1st with ten dates in total. This follows Grande's latest album Petal, with the singer introducing the title track as a new addition to the tour's permanent setlist, with it quickly becoming a fan favourite since its initial debut earlier in the tour on the US leg.
I myself was lucky enough to experience Grande's Eternal Sunshine Tour last Sunday, where I got to witness her electrifying performance first-hand, following the strenuous search to acquire tickets during the tour on-sale last September.
It is obvious that Grande has curated a show perfect for her biggest fans, as well as for those less versed with her discography, performing her greatest hits such as 'Into You' and 'Thank u, Next', accompanied by songs from the deluxe of her latest album Eternal Sunshine, which the tour primarily revolves around, such as 'Twilight Zone' and 'Hampstead'.
The purposeful sandwiching of the setlist with both old and new songs meant no five minutes were dull in the arena - where the crowd continually fueled Grande's performance and added to the nostalgia, and Grande's concurrence in the music industry, through the reaction to her showstopping performance.
In addition, my date came with the surprise reunion of Ariana Grande with Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo, who arrived during the encore to sing 'For Good' and a cover of 'Get Happy / Happy Days Are Here Again' in an emotional duet by the two incredible singers. This surprise not only elevated the already fantastic night of entertainment, but really demonstrated Grande's sprawl in what she has accomplished over the past couple of years - with her pursuit within music as well as her return to acting, but cementing her impact in the industries.
Grande's residency is set to last until September 1st, with a recently announced hiatus to follow - but rumours are circulating around the London shows being recorded for a potential live music film, so Arianators can only hope to savour the tour during Grande's departure from the public eye later this year.
Post courtesy of @arianagrande and @cynthiaerivo on Instagram
Forthcoming Live Shows: Festivals and Intimate Performances
The yearly All Points East festival kicks off this week, with Jorja Smith and Tems headlining the Friday date, Lorde following on Saturday, and Deftones closing out the opening weekend. Tyler, The Creator is set to headline both Friday and Saturday of next weekend, with Twenty One Pilots closing out the 2026 festival next Sunday in London's Victoria Park.
All Points East is renowned for its day festivals which branch out to cover a variety of different genres, with this year's including pop, metal, rock, drum and bass, and more, with there being something for every music fan to enjoy.
Lorde's headlining tomorrow is set to be an electrifying day, accompanied by a star-studded line-up including:
- Djo
- Zara Larsson
- PinkPantheress
- Sienna Spiro
- Audrey Hobert
So it is blatantly obvious why the Saturday date sold out so quickly - with the park heading to attract at least 50,000 people to just this event, especially due to the virality of these artists.
Post courtesy of @allpointseastuk on Instagram
In other news, Phoebe Bridgers' newest album 'Lost Weekend' reached UK number 1 on the album chart today, and live shows were also supposed to accompany its release, yet Bridgers was hit with an unexpected birthday 'present' which has led to the rescheduling of these intimate performances.
As posted on her Instagram story, Bridgers revealed that she had suffered appendicitis on her birthday, just before she was due to take stage to perform her new album to her biggest fans. As for this, these shows have had to unfortunately be rescheduled, where London's Banquet Records has announced these shows will now take place all the way in December, sadly.
As for the album, Bridgers continues to demonstrate her dominance in the Indie music scene, with a project addressing grief in ways unparalleled to other albums released this year, with Taylor Swift even awarding her praise for the new album.
Post courtesy of @phoebebridgers on Instagram
In other pop culture news...
- Hayden Panettiere, known for her various acting roles in the 2000s, has died aged 36
- Frank Beard, drummer from the American rock band ZZ Top, has died aged 77
- Harry and Meghan, formally Prince and Duchess, are, controversially, set to return to the UK - with Meghan in talks to reprise her acting career, reportedly in talks with Netflix
It has certainly been a week defined by live music, but that is without remembering the deaths from two stars prominent in the pop culture soon, where their legacies will not be forgotten. Join me next week for further updates on pop culture!
Article thumbnail image courtesy of @PRFitzrovia on Wikipedia under Creative Commons License
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