I don't want to prioritize one art form over another... honestly, I don't. But after Ariana Grande opened her "Eternal Sunshine Tour" at the Oakland Arena on Saturday night, it's tempting to send the multifaceted artist a message, if you could, and it would go something like this: Dear Ariana... The world needs this more than "Fokker's Mother-in-Law 2.".
Of course, after all is said and done, it doesn't necessarily come down to choice. But Grande sent her fans into a panic late last year when she said, "I know I'm really excited about this little tour, but I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long, long time. I'm going to give it my all, and it's going to be amazing. I think that's why I'm doing this, because I'm like, 'One last push!'" She also reiterated that she has no intention of retiring from music, but when you say the word "long" five times in a row, it really does create a sense of anticipation. We'd be more reassured if she'd assured us she was taking a break from touring—as if the six and a half years she just spent away from music weren't enough (five times)—so she could film half a dozen musicals. The point is that the galaxy would appear emptier if it lacked even one of these octaves, let alone all four.
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At the Auckland arena, one could have lapped up the show like it was Pancake Day before a famine, in which case the 105 minutes would likely have felt too short. Or one could have hopefully embraced it as one of many upcoming tour highlights, in which case the "Eternal Sunshine Tour" feels like a satisfying meal, at least giving us enough food for thought without having to exhaustively pore over every single item in the catalog. While the evening had its share of theatrical moments you'd expect from a diva, the tour felt like a lighthearted affair. fun , and not as some dramatic farewell. She wiped away tears early in the evening as she expressed how glad she was to see everyone again. Who knows? This feeling might stay with her long after she's able to schedule many more competing performances.
The tour's name doesn't lie: Nearly half of the 23 songs on the setlist—11, to be exact—are either from her 2024 album, "Eternal Sunshine," or from the bonus section of the deluxe edition that came out a year later. This isn't "The Sweetener Tour"... at all. I can say that "Sweetener" is my favorite Grande album, and I'd say "God Is a Woman" is her best song, and it didn't occur to me until an hour after leaving the arena that the show had no trace of either. (Well, trace …there was a short instrumental snippet of «God Is a Woman» as a transition.) It’s a testament to how good «Sunshine» was, and remains, that it feels not just appropriate but necessary that the show was built around it. For one thing, it’s her most mature-sounding album—of course, any album that doesn’t feature «34+35» will feel mature by comparison. But it encompasses all the musical and emotional dynamics a concert could require, from the joyful, Madonna-esque self-assurance of «Yes, And?», which opened the show, to the genuinely vulnerable «We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),» which served as a cathartic climax to the concert’s penultimate song.
The final one The song of the night, "Supernatural," was creepier and less impactful, but Grande had a reason for putting it there. As a group of dancers surrounded her on the second stage, she was discreetly strapped into a special structure that lifted her, languid but vocally powerful, into the heavens, or at least into what looked like a UFO hovering above the arena. The effect was impressive, but equally impressive was that it was, in essence, the only one effect.
The stage design, like virtually every modern concert show, pays considerable attention to the set design, yet it feels like the concert wasn't built around it. On the main stage, Gande, her band, and dancers first perform in a house that looks like it's been bombed out, and later, when she performs more delicate, ballad-like numbers like the gorgeous "Imperfect for You," the two-story house is covered in greenery as nature intrudes slightly. But nothing about the set is intended to overly distract from the performances. And this is definitely not an Eras Tour-style show, where every number is so conceptual it feels like an excerpt from a Broadway production. Essentially, this is a show where the singing comes first and the dancing comes second; the non-choreographic visual aspects are obviously carefully crafted, but still take a backseat. It seems to be just the right balance.
The first half of the set will definitely evoke a sense of déjà vu for those who've seen the "Sweetener" tour. In the opening numbers, Grande dances with her dancers under predominantly reddish-orange lighting, without much use of individual spotlights, so it can be difficult at times to pick her out from the ensemble. While it might seem challenging to get stunning individual shots of Grande during some of these early songs, the atmosphere this approach creates is magnificent: despite Grande being a superstar, these numbers, featuring the entire cast, give the impression that she genuinely enjoys being part of the ensemble, if not the community... and the dim lighting creates the feeling of a very relaxed nightclub, the kind of place you'd want to spend a few hours after the hustle and bustle of the mall.
And if you're hoping to see Grande under a bright white light, don't worry, it will happen; most of the show takes place on the long, long, long, long, long walkway leading to the B stage, and the designers aren't going to artfully illuminate her from below when she's in the center of the crowd. As the concert progresses, we see fewer and fewer dancers, until for a while it practically becomes a one-woman show. Which is exactly what you'd want, as the setlist veers toward numbers that would be perfect for a classic Caesars solo performance—namely, the anticipated hits "Dangerous Woman" (where, as always, she's joined by a dangerous lead guitarist, one of the instrumentalist's few bright spots) and "Honeymoon Avenue.".
You might be wondering about the show's mood swings, veering from warm to cool, even before Grande performs "Warm," a song that literally touches on that difference. The good news? She has a special talent for creating a show—constantly shifting the color palette in interesting ways, and alternating the music and emotion between relaxation and tender restraint—so that warmth and graceful lightness constantly balance each other. It's a subtle, complex art… as complex as turning each number into a Broadway production.
Some highlights: "Dandelion" remains a slow, funky number from the deluxe edition of "Eternal"; even if she didn't bring a live trumpet to replicate the melody's signature sound, the brass sample and crimson lighting made it feel like it was set in a fantasy roadside diner—Sinners without the blood. And the lighting wasn't so dim that the audience couldn't see and applaud Grande when she stretched her leg out onto a second-story railing... which seemed nearly impossible, since the platform shoes and boots she wears are so enormous that each one appears to weigh about 10 pounds.
As if the room didn't already have enough bunny-eared girls and boys, the cat mask returned for "The Boy Is Mine," the color scheme became sexy, and a whip was brought in for the tug-of-war between Grande and one of her dancers. (The tug-of-war is pretty much the only thing it was used for; it's a pretty decent show, save for the profanity in the lyrics, which would technically qualify it for an R rating.)
For her performance of "Eternal Sunshine," Grande stood alone on the side stage, asking the audience to remain silent while she stood behind a synthesizer and created vocal loops for her sing-alongs. (The arena's acoustics rarely allowed her to clearly hear anything she said, but everyone was instructed to turn down their volume for a second.) In a pleasant, paradoxically symbolic touch, the series of vocal interludes creates a lush choral effect in a song that explores the erasure of identity.
«"Thank U, Next" was the most effective example of using choreography as a rallying cry: Grande joined the dancers on the pink stage, positioning herself on or around a couch and swaying energetically from side to side. The crowd loudly chanted the part where Grande sings about "Ari" being her new best friend, but the dancers created a counternarrative, showing that true friends are for chilling out and watching Netflix after a breakup. "Thank U, Next" is hardly one of Grande's best vocal performances, but the effortless transition to her highest register before the song's final chorus added to her appeal. drive .
And what about highlights? Discussing Grande's low ponytail, even momentarily, isn't the most obvious topic. In the video for "7 Rings," she had her hair up in a bun, but one of her dancers took it down and carefully brushed it, allowing the singer to replicate the famous "Wicked" hair flip several times during the group walk. Unless, of course, it wasn't intentional and now just happens, but we'd all like to think that hair flip was essentially the only "Wicked" cover of the entire evening.
Despite the emphasis on her newest material, Grande understands the importance of turning to her golden hits to spark a rave with "Break Free." But after that pleasant, inexpensive pleasure, the more satisfying track was the following, less emotional "Twilight Zone," which marked the only time Grande performed for the camera throughout the song, visible on a screen above the stage.
(By the way, this set design doesn't feature any truly "big" screens; the camera is filmed on a fairly thin strip that wraps around the top of the A-stage proscenium. If you were planning on staring at a 50-foot-tall face on video all night, be prepared to have your attention diverted... which shouldn't be a problem, given how effectively this production engages the entire auditorium.)
The most jarring moment was the repeated performance of the duet with Lady Gaga, "Rain on Me," with Gaga's vocals artificially reproduced. It's hard to imagine anyone in the Oakland audience who wouldn't have preferred to hear another original solo composition by Grande instead of this less-than-favorite collaboration; with or without the recorded duet, it's an extremely unfortunate choice, given what was left behind the scenes.
But there were plenty of highlights, and at this level of superstar arena shows, it's rare for every one to be purely performance-driven, regardless of all the elaborate special effects. Perhaps the best song of the final set was "Hampstead," one of several that make the extended version of "Sunshine" a rare example of a deluxe edition where the bonus tracks outshine much of the standard edition. Seated on a stool throughout the set, Grande held the audience in her arms for several minutes. Perhaps it wasn't so difficult, considering her fans can name every song in her set in a note and a half or less. But even a more discerning crowd would agree: this was one of the greatest voices to make the arena their home. So, Fokkers, stay away.
Ariana Grande's setlist for the Oakland Arena on June 6, 2026:
Yes, so what? PositionsDandelionThe Boy Is MineEternal SunshineJust Like MagicThank U, Next7 RingsImperfect for YouWarmSafety NetOne Last TimeRain on MeBreak FreeTwilight ZonePast LifeDangerous WomanHoneymoon AvenueHampsteadInto YouHate That I Made You Love MeWe Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)Supernatural
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