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Ariana Grande: hits the right notes
JP/Wendra AjistyatamaAmerican songstress Ariana Grande hit all the right notes in her âHoneymoon Tourâ concert in Jakarta on Wednesday, mesmerizing fans with her impeccable performance in dance and ballad numbers
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JP/Wendra Ajistyatama" border="0" height="317" width="510">JP/Wendra AjistyatamaAmerican songstress Ariana Grande hit all the right notes in her âHoneymoon Tourâ concert in Jakarta on Wednesday, mesmerizing fans with her impeccable performance in dance and ballad numbers.
Ariana Grandeâs concert in Jakarta reaffirmed her as one of the stars who can bring the house down with her, powerful four-octave soprano voice.
With the all-black stage at JI Expo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta and few backup dancers, the pop sweetheart made it clear from the start that she did not intend to seek attention with a visual spectacle. The 90-minute concert was all about her soaring voice.
As the clock struck 8 p.m., the 22-year-old singer appeared onstage, belting out her mega-hit âBang Bangâ.
Sporting a black bralet top, high-waisted shorts and her trademark catâs ear headbands, Grande moved along with the dancers while impressively reaching all the notes.
âHow are you feeling, Jakarta!â Ari, as she is fondly referred to, greeted thousands of concertgoers, before leaping into an upbeat number, âHands on Meâ.
Grande paid a tribute to her favorite singers with a mash-up of âIâm Every Womanâ and âVogueâ.
âThis is for those who love Madonna and Whitney Houston as much as I do,â she said before performing the songs.
She communicated only briefly with the audience, swiftly moving from one track to another, including âRight Thereâ, âThe Wayâ and âBaby Iâ, which was accompanied with anime-inspired animation displayed on three LED screens.
In the second half of the concert, Ari threw out major hits from her sophomore album My Everything, the soulful âOne Last Timeâ and âLove Me Harderâ and âBreak Freeâ, giving a great chance for the audience to sing along and swing their bodies.
In the concert, Grande did not leave her collaborators behind.
She performed together with four recording artists, including rapper Childish Gambino in âBreak Your Heart Right Backâ and hip hop singer Big Sean in âBest Mistakeâ, who appeared virtually on video playback.
âIâm so happy to be here in Indonesia! You guys are so sweet. I hope youâll have me back,â the songstress said.
Chants of âWe want moreâ and âAriâ brought her back for an encore. Ari, now dressed in a black-and-white checkered shirtdress with white thigh-high boots, gave her final rendition, âProblemâ, a chart-topping hit that features Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
âThe show was amazing. I loved to see how she shook her ponytail while dancing,â said Andini, a 21-year-old fan, who had a sticker of her idolâs moniker on her cheek.
âAnd also when she was touched upon seeing a fan holding up a placard depicting a photo of her and her late grandfather,â said Andini, who came to the show with fellow Arianators â as the singerâs fans are called.
JP/Wendra Ajistyatama American songstress Ariana Grande hit all the right notes in her 'Honeymoon Tour' concert in Jakarta on Wednesday, mesmerizing fans with her impeccable performance in dance and ballad numbers. Ariana Grande's concert in Jakarta reaffirmed her as one of the stars who can bring the house down with her, powerful four-octave soprano voice. Indeed, Ari was seen pointing to the placard before covering her mouth with her hand and skipped some of the lines of 'My Everything'. 
With the all-black stage at JI Expo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta and few backup dancers, the pop sweetheart made it clear from the start that she did not intend to seek attention with a visual spectacle. The 90-minute concert was all about her soaring voice.
As the clock struck 8 p.m., the 22-year-old singer appeared onstage, belting out her mega-hit 'Bang Bang'.
Sporting a black bralet top, high-waisted shorts and her trademark cat's ear headbands, Grande moved along with the dancers while impressively reaching all the notes.
'How are you feeling, Jakarta!' Ari, as she is fondly referred to, greeted thousands of concertgoers, before leaping into an upbeat number, 'Hands on Me'.
Grande paid a tribute to her favorite singers with a mash-up of 'I'm Every Woman' and 'Vogue'.
'This is for those who love Madonna and Whitney Houston as much as I do,' she said before performing the songs.
She communicated only briefly with the audience, swiftly moving from one track to another, including 'Right There', 'The Way' and 'Baby I', which was accompanied with anime-inspired animation displayed on three LED screens.
In the second half of the concert, Ari threw out major hits from her sophomore album My Everything, the soulful 'One Last Time' and 'Love Me Harder' and 'Break Free', giving a great chance for the audience to sing along and swing their bodies.
In the concert, Grande did not leave her collaborators behind.
She performed together with four recording artists, including rapper Childish Gambino in 'Break Your Heart Right Back' and hip hop singer Big Sean in 'Best Mistake', who appeared virtually on video playback.
'I'm so happy to be here in Indonesia! You guys are so sweet. I hope you'll have me back,' the songstress said.
Chants of 'We want more' and 'Ari' brought her back for an encore. Ari, now dressed in a black-and-white checkered shirtdress with white thigh-high boots, gave her final rendition, 'Problem', a chart-topping hit that features Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
'The show was amazing. I loved to see how she shook her ponytail while dancing,' said Andini, a 21-year-old fan, who had a sticker of her idol's moniker on her cheek.
'And also when she was touched upon seeing a fan holding up a placard depicting a photo of her and her late grandfather,' said Andini, who came to the show with fellow Arianators ' as the singer's fans are called.
'I love you, Jakarta!' she said before resuming the song.
The concert was filled with middle- and high-school kids who skipped class to line up at the entrance gate hours before the show started.
Twelve-year-old Syafa and her four classmates proudly held up a placard adorned with Grande's photos and a statement: 'I skipped school only to see you'. The girls, who wore cat's ears just like their idol, arrived at the venue at 1 p.m., seven hours prior to the show.
'I have so much homework and my teacher was not happy when she learned that I skipped class. But we want to see Ariana and our parents allow us,' said Syafa.
Fifty lucky fans won the chance to greet and snap some pictures with their idol in a meet-and-greet event held before the concert. One of them was 13-year-old Ivana, who won a video contest held by the concert promoter, Dyandra Promosindo.
'In the video, I said that I'll always stick by her amid so many negative rumors plaguing Ariana, including the unfounded gossip that she cheated on her former boyfriend, Jai Brooks.'
Moments before the meet-and-greet, she appeared to be equally ecstatic and nervous. 'I want to say to her how much she means to me and her songs make me happy everyday'.
Wednesday's concert came with a pleasant surprise as it turned out the singer had many male fans too who danced, sang along and held up their smartphones to record her performance. Among them were Mahdi and his two friends.
'On a scale of 0-10, I gave her 10 for the concert because she could maintain her voice all the time. Her set list was arranged wonderfully, shifting from upbeat to mellow songs and sealed with a dance number,' the 25-year-old interior designer said.
Some parents of the young Arianators opted to skip the concert, waiting just outside the concert hall or chose to visit the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) in the adjacent hall.
'The ticket was quite pricey, but I bought it anyway because my daughter is a fan. I will not join her,' Lia from Bandung, West Java, said about her 16-year old daughter.
The ticket prices ranged from Rp 800,000 (US$56) for a Purple seat, which was located furthest from the stage, to Rp 6 million for VVIP class.
The prices were considerably higher than recent major pop concerts in town, such as One Direction's 'On the Road Again 2015' in March, the tickets for which cost between Rp 500,000 and Rp 2.75 million; and Katy Perry's 'Prismatic World Tour' in May, which cost between Rp 900,000 and Rp 5 million per ticket.
But judging from the packed concert hall on Wednesday, Indonesian concert-goers did not hesitate to spend more on their idol.
'We sold around 9,000 tickets, or equal to 90 percent of the total tickets,' said Chairi Ibrahim, manager of the sports and music division of Dyandra Promosindo.
The VIP and VVIP tickets were sold out, he added. From Jakarta, Grande flew back to the US, to bring her 'Honeymoon Tour' to that country, starting with the Aug. 29 show in Las Vegas.
Ari's show may not have dazzled fans with a tech-savvy stage or variety of props or costumes ' she only changed clothes once and swapped her cat's ears few times; or indeed a warm interaction ' some fans wished she would bring a concertgoer or two onto the stage as she did in other countries, but the pop star made quite an impression on Jakarta with her octave-spanning vocals, which sounded almost as good as the tracks on her albums.
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