Playing the second of three nights at Centre Bell just hours before her album release, the superstar celebrated the occasion by debuting a new track and performing the previously teased "Petal," while also choosing 2016's "Sometimes" as the night's surprise song.
Ariana Grande's new album Petal is out now, and Montreal got the first listen.
Yesterday (July 30), the chart-topping singer celebrated her new LP just hours before its release while taking the stage at Montreal's Centre Bell for the second of three concerts in the city on her Eternal Sunshine tour. Before wrapping up the show, Grande premiered "Like I Do," a brand new song from her album Petal, which released at midnight following the concert.
Fans cheered at the sound of never-before-heard vocal hums, hours before the rest of the world would get a chance to hear them. The track's darker energy and heavy bass resonated throughout the arena as Grande sang its bold and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, including "My ego small, but I'm still Grande," and the chorus, "You need me like I, you/'Cause no one f---s you like I do."
It was a night full of surprises, as Grande also delivered a decade-old hit during her surprise song segment. After scanning fans' phones for a song title, she landed on "Sometimes," an acoustic cut from her 2016 album Dangerous Woman, which she giggled about "not knowing how it goes," before the crowd joined her in unison. Ahead of "Like I Do," she also gave the second-ever performance her unreleased track "Petal," which she premiered during her previous Montreal concert.
After handpicking Montreal as the host city for her run of Canadian shows, the hitmaker voiced her gratitude for being able to play her show in tandem with an imminent career milestone, and she received loads of love and excitement throughout the entire night.
"I'm so grateful to be here with you guys tonight and for these three nights, " she said. "You guys have been the most incredible crowd and I'm so excited to be sharing with you, my album comes out tonight. I'm just really grateful and really excited so thank you. There's nowhere and nobody else that I'd rather be."
advertisement
The Eternal Sunshine tour show is a walk down memory lane for fans, as well as Grande herself. Revolving heavily around her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine and the 2004 romance filmthat inspired it, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the five-act concert is structured around cinematic interludes where Grande engages with the process of trying to erase beloved memories to heal more easily.
Her five-octave range and standout voice were on full display, with the singer belting out the higher harmonies on numerous tracks including "Break Free" and "Dangerous Woman" as smoke cannons went off and coloured lights dazzled the arena. She also built up to her track "Eternal Sunshine" by doing a live vocal stack, combining layers of harmonies as an ethereal light circled beneath her.
The set list was heavily anchored in the warm pop songs and ballads from Eternal Sunshine and its accompanying deluxe edition, while also touching upon early career standouts like "Honeymoon Avenue" and her chart-topping singles in Canada from Thank U, Next.
The show culminated with Grande levitating into the sky, recreating the album cover of her Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead (Deluxe) cover as the bright harmonies of "Supernatural" soundtracked her ascension, capping off her show with a superhuman finish. With one more show set for tonight (July 31) and Petal officially out to the masses, fans are guessing which new song they'll be treated to next.
