Cynthia Erivo joined Ariana Grande onstage at London's O2 arena for a surprise duet of "For Good," the title track from last year's sequel film Wicked: For Good, in which Grande and Erivo reprise their roles as Glinda and Elphaba. The pair also sang a medley of "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again," a homage to a famous mashup Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand performed together on television in the 1960s, according to video Rolling Stone posted from the show.
The O2 date fell on the second night of a sold-out 10-show residency, Grande's first UK concerts in seven years, which together drew roughly 40,000 fans across the opening weekend alone. The run is part of the closing stretch of her Eternal Sunshine tour and wraps on September 1.
The residency comes as Grande prepares to step back from public life once the tour ends. "Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine tour," a representative told People in a statement, adding, "She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily." Grande later addressed the decision herself onstage in Chicago: "It was something that I have decided," she said. "A plan that I had quietly made a long time ago." "Boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes," she added.
That step back also means Grande will no longer appear opposite her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey in a planned West End revival of Sunday in the Park With George, a production that would have marked her West End debut.
The show also arrived in the middle of a strong commercial run: her album Petal reached the top of the US albums chart earlier this month, a record she has described as written from an unfiltered, angrier place than her earlier work. Reviewing the O2 run's opening night, NME called the show "brilliant business-as-usual before the singer takes a break from the spotlight," praising how the setlist blended older hits with newer, deeper cuts.
With the tour's final show set for September 1, the O2 run is one of the last chances to see Grande perform live before the break she has said she is planning, another highlight in a packed year of pop crossover moments.
The facts
- Cynthia Erivo joined Ariana Grande onstage in London for a surprise duet
- The pair sang "For Good," the title song from Wicked: For Good
- They also sang a medley of "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again"
- The show was the second night of a sold-out 10-date O2 residency
- The residency drew roughly 40,000 fans across its opening weekend
- The tour's final date is September 1
- Grande has said she will step back from public life once the tour ends
- Her album Petal reached the top of the US albums chart earlier this month
How this checks out
Confirmed
Reported by 3 independent outlets
Independent outlets reported it separately, enough to treat it as confirmed.
Cited sources 3
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