The Sun Sets on Ariana Grande’s ‘Eternal Sunshine Tour’

For “One Last Time,” Ariana Grande took the stage to close out her 41-show “Eternal Sunshine Tour” Sept. 1 in London. 

After seven years away from touring, Grande returned to the stage, bringing fans to a new bloom in her career with a vibrant performance and a new album release. 

Getting tickets to the “Eternal Sunshine Tour” was as difficult as leaving the era behind. Fans rushed to enter the virtual queue Sept. 10th 2025, arenas sold out within minutes, with scalpers reselling tickets for astronomical prices. Due to the high demand, Grande added eight more shows to the U.S. leg, resulting in mini-residences in both Brooklyn, New York and London.

The tour’s production was inspired by the dreamy, cinematic world of her 2024 album “eternal sunshine.” A house inspired by Grande’s 2025 short film, “brighter days ahead,” sat on the main stage, while a catwalk extended through the crowd to a smaller circular stage. 

Much like the eponymous album, the tour explored themes of memory erasure and revisiting her past, featuring clips of Grande trying to stop herself from getting her memory wiped and visiting rooms with personified versions of her past eras hooked up to memory-wiping machines. 

Shows opened with Grande’s shadow appearing behind a curtain as the opening beat of “yes, and?” played. When the curtain dropped, Grande and her dancers launched into choreography from the music video. 

Dressed in a black lace outfit, Grande welcomed the crowd with a nod to her role as Glinda in the “Wicked” series, asking, “It’s good to see us, isn’t it?” 

The atmosphere shifted during “Positions,” where muted guitar strings and red lighting transformed the arena into an intimate, private lounge. The feeling continued into “dandelion,” where Grande and her dancers performed passionate choreography in a sultry shift that drove fans into a frenzy.

“But I can’t ignore my heart, boy,” Ariana sang as she whipped the stage’s catwalk with a lace cat mask and 6-inch black heels performing “the boy is mine.”

A video clip of Grande floating in satin rings with a white camisole played alongside  “Saturn Returns Interlude.” She then appeared on the circular stage in the middle of the crowd wearing a long pink dress with a fringed skirt to perform a live looped version of “eternal sunshine.”  The crowd watched seemingly in awe as she built the performance before transitioning into the full song. 

Traveling through her past musical eras, Grande performed  “just like magic” from “Positions,” “The Way” from her debut album and “Sweetener” single “no tears left to cry.” 

The stage then transformed into a pink house inspired by the “thank u next” era, with Grande performing the album’s title track, revisiting one of her career-defining hits. 

“Wrote songs about Ricky and they still kinda slap / Wish I could thank Malcolm, ‘cause he is an angel,” Grande sang, changing the song’s lyrics after her rekindled relationship with dancer Ricky Alvarez became public. 

After a quick lip gloss touch-up, the opening beat of “7 rings” brought the audience to another one of Grande’s hits, the arena loudly singing along in response.  

Just as important as the live performances were the film interludes. One showed Grande meeting a younger version of herself on a swing set, while another featured her watching “The Wizard of Oz” with her younger self, connecting her present-day career to her debut in the music industry. 

A slow and steady groove opened Grande’s performance of “imperfect for you.” Her new lace outfit with flowers welcomed fans to bask in the cozy atmosphere as she sang “warm” and waved to fans in ​​obstructed sections.  

The emotional center of the show came when “One Last Time” began to play, a tribute to the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack. Grande walked to the edge of the circular stage and reached into the crowd to hold fans’ hands as the audience erupted in screams. 

The emotional moment quickly turned energetic as Grande performed “Rain On Me” and “Break Free,” encouraging the audience to dance and sing along.

“In my dreams, it felt so right, but I woke up every time,” Grande sang, a pitch-perfect belt hitting the arena. 

Later, Grande donned a purple dress for “twilight zone,” “past life” and “Dangerous Woman.” “Honeymoon Avenue” followed with its upbeat arrangement, accompanied by a projection of The Yellow Brick Road, representing a return to her debut album, “Yours Truly.”

 “Are you having a good time so far?” Grande asked the crowd, to a response of cheers. “You are so loud. I am so lucky I have the best fans in the entire world and I love being able to spend this time with you. I love you and thank you for being by my side. All the way from the beginning of time.”

The screen then lit up with a video of Grande getting ready backstage in a shiny black dress, singing “Into You.” The scene featured r.e.m beauty, blending the concert with a behind-the-scenes look at her beauty brand. 

Grande returned to the stage to perform “hate that i made you love me.” For the final batch of songs, Grande reappeared in a floor-length white lace camisole and performed “we can’t be friends (wait for your love).” 

After running up the catwalk and closing the door to the house set, Grande performed the finale “supernatural.” At the end of her set, strapped into a harness before being lifted into a UFO prop reminiscent of “brighter days ahead,” Grande was lifted into a mesmerizing light.

As Grande floated, the screen flashed white, revealing past, present and future versions of herself leaning on one another’s shoulders. The credits then began to roll as “ordinary things” played, bringing “The Eternal Sunshine Tour” to a cinematic close.

The tour also included surprises -– planned and unplanned. From singing acapella due to technical difficulties, an album release mid-run and several surprise guests, fans in attendance and online were on their toes throughout.

But the tour wasn’t all sunshine, as throughout the tour Grande faced intense online scrutiny about her appearance and health. While some fans expressed genuine concern, others used the discussion to bully and criticize her. 

Grande’s representative first announced through PEOPLE that the singer would step back from public-facing work after the eternal sunshine tour, which she later confirmed during the first show at Chicago’s United Center, clarifying the planned break had already been in the works long before the the announcement and wasn’t a reaction to the circumstances surrounding the tour. 

After years away from touring and an emotional journey through her past and present, Grande closed the “Eternal Sunshine Tour” on her own terms. Whatever comes next, hopefully she can take the time she needs to rest, create and enjoy life beyond the stage.