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Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine Tour” Kicks Off with Bravura Performance in Oakland

Ariana Grande’s "Eternal Sunshine Tour" opened with a stunning show at the Oakland Arena on Saturday night. Her multi-faceted talent left the audience captivated and wanting more.

Variety Music·Jun 7, 2026·via Variety Music

Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine Tour” Kicks Off with Bravura Performance in Oakland

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Jun 7, 2026 11:51am PT

Ariana Grande Makes Her Audience Wish ‘Sunshine’ Really Was Eternal in Bravura Oakland Tour Opener: Concert Review

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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One hates to prioritize one artform over another… really, one does. But after seeing Ariana Grande ‘s opening show on her “ Eternal Sunshine Tour ” at the Oakland Arena Saturday night, it is tempting to want to send the multi-hyphenate talent a message, if you had the means to get one through, and it would go something like this: Dear Ariana… The world needs this, more than it needs “Focker In-Law 2.”

Not that it will necessarily come down to a choice, after all is said and sung and gone. But Grande did send a panic into her fandom late last year when she said, “I do know that I’m very excited to do this small tour, but I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long, long time. I’m going to give it my all and it’s going to be beautiful. I think that’s why I’m doing it because I’m like, ‘One last hurrah!’” She also reiterated that she’s not done with music at all, but when you say the word “long” five times in a row, it does foster anticipatory withdrawal hysteria. We might feel better if she assured us that she was going to take a break from touring — as if the six and a half years she just spent away from it was not long (x5) enough — so that she could go make a half-dozen musicals. The fact is, the galaxy would feel like an emptier place deprived of any of those octaves, let alone all four of them.