Last night, Ariana Grande took the stage of the Barclays Center for the final New York performance in her Eternal Sunshine tour. There are special moments and Easter eggs throughout the two-hour, era-spanning show (which heads to Boston next), including a major treat for beauty lovers: Grande’s glam team, Michael Anthony and Alyx Liu, join her onstage during the night.
“This show, and everything that I do, would be incomplete without them,” Grande tells Vogue in an exclusive interview. “Makeup and hair are such an enormous piece of storytelling, for both music and acting. [I wanted them to be a part of the show] because my art is nothing without theirs.”
Anthony and Liu pop up right before she sings “7 Rings”—giving her gloss a touch-up (R.e.m. Beauty’s Essential Drip Glossy Balm in Cosmo, to be exact) and her iconic waist-length ponytail a brush—as well as in a get-ready-with-me-style video offstage before “Into You.”
“I’ve been working very closely with Ari for a few years, and going on tour with her is something I’d always dreamt of doing,” Anthony says. The two first met on the set of the “Rain On Me” music video and were actually set up by Lady Gaga and her makeup artist, Sarah Tanno. Now, not only is Anthony on the road with Grande, but in the show as well. “The makeup look [for the concert] is truly a reflection of the energy between us, so it is no surprise to me that she looks absolutely radiant and angelic every show.”
After three years as a blonde for Wicked, Grande went back to a shade of honey brunette late last year. Another important update? She returned to her signature high pony, which Liu alternately styles into a scrunchied ballerina bun and long and loose throughout the show.
While her sold-out residency in New York may be over, the tour goes on—and of course, Anthony and Liu will be there. “Our collaboration, friendship, respect, love, as well as the time we share together, mean so much to me,” Grande says.
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