ARIANA GRANDE EXPANDS HER “SWEETENER WORLD TOUR” TO INCLUDE APPEARANCES IN MANHATTAN AND BROOKLYN

BY TIA KIM

Early this year, and happily for those of us in the Big Apple and nearby, multiplatinum artist Ariana Grande announced an expansion of her “Sweetener World Tour” to include dates at Barclays Center in Brooklyn ( June 14 and 15) as well as at Madison Square Garden ( June 18 and 19). The tour kicked off March 18 in Albany and concludes in October in Zürich, Switzerland, for a total of 81 shows across North America and Europe. In support of her fourth and fifth studio albums, Sweetener (2018) and this year’s Thank U, Next, this is the third major tour in the short career of the 25-year-old Florida native, and one largely praised by critics.

The Grammy Award winner also fit in two back-to-back weekend Coachella performances in April one during which she sang with NSYNC, filling in for Justin Timberlake the results “epic,” according to Billboard writer Lyndsey Havens, who added that Grande “continues to rewrite the rule book for pop stardom, and admittedly fosters a new relationship with herself.” The tour set so far has included “Raindrops (An Angel Cried),” “God Is a Woman,” “Bad Idea,” “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” and “Be Alright,” and typically ends with “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” The last song seems particularly resonant for Grande, given real-life events of the last six months, including breaking an engagement with Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson and being subjected to a raft of media speculation about her rumored bisexuality.

At time of press, seats for the Manhattan performances started at $240, for Brooklyn $189. A VIP Sweetener Sound check Package (starting at $699) includes one premium general admission ticket in a VIP area on the floor, a Sound check party and Q&A session hosted by Grande’s dancers, and invitations to the Sweetener lounge (all activities occur pre-show).

Ariana Grande
Sweetener World Tour / arianagrande.com ticketmaster.com