Grande shared the stage with such diverse musical acts as Rachel Platten, hip hop recording artist Fetty Wap, electronic dance music sensation Martin Garrix.
She began her set a few minutes late with the spitfire “Bang Bang,” her noteworthy collaboration with songstresses Jessie J and Nicki Minaj. It was followed by her flirty single “Into You,” as well as “Problem,” which was the song that propelled her to pop super-stardom.
Grande took her fans on a trip down memory lane to 2011 with her first Top 10 hit single, “The Way,” her duet with rapper Mac Miller. “One Last Time” was one of the highlight songs of her set, where everybody in the audience was singing along with Grande. Seeing her fans in the audience, wearing their cat ears, was a real treat.
She closed on a liberating note with her smash hit “Break Free,” as well as the sultry “Dangerous Woman,” which is the title track of her third studio album, which was released on Republic Records.
The Verdict
Overall, Ariana Grande was able to deliver at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater as the first day of the Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival came to a close. It is always a pleasure to hear her four-octave range live, and whistle register, coupled with her choreography. The only downside was that she performed for a little less than an hour, and was unable to include two of her biggest hits (“Focus” and “Love Me Harder”) but there was a huge line-up of artists for this festival. Her live show garnered four out of five stars.
