Amidst a handful of rumors that Ari has been displaying questionable bratty behavior, Ariana Grande took the stage at SNL, and would hopefully prove that her talent justified some demands. The results are mixed.
Ariana has been widely hailed as the new Mariah, but last night's performance was anything but on that level. It wasn't terrible - certainly Taylor Swift or Katy Perry would consider this one of their stronger nights - but Ariana wasn't nailing it by any means. It was rocky, at least Break Free was. Her ballad rendition of Break Free was overrun with, well runs, and the uptempo version was breathy and lacked projection. And that F5 started out fine, but it went uncomfortably flat at the end when she tried to put vibrato on it. Again, it wasn't awful, it just wasn't something you would expect from the vocal powerhouse, especially given how impressive her studio vocals were. And of course, the awkward pairing of cat ears and boots that went past her knees reappeared.
But Love Me Harder was an improvement. Though she scared her band a bit by coming in a little bit awkwardly, she didn't have any problems with intonation, she looked professional and less age conflicted. But while this was solid, it wasn't great. She avoided some of the higher harmonies in the last chorus - fine - but The Weeknd and Ariana just seemed to shrug of the performance, it didn't feel like there was a lot of effort involved. There's a happy medium between enjoying a performance and not putting anything into it.
Overall, it was just an okay outing. It was adequate. I think everyone is and should expect more from the pint sized star.
For Break Free click here.