Even though it’s already exactly a week ago, I still want to dedicate a blog to Ariana Grande’s One Love Manchester concert. Organized to raise money for the families of the victims of the attack at her concert, Ariana took to the stage with many prominent Manchester bands and all of her friends. I had missed the first half of the show, so only saw performances by Miley Cyrus and Robbie Williams, and more, in passing of recaps, but I saw the second half of the show and cried my eyes out on several occasions.
I was already wondering how artists would go about this show. Would they only perform ballads and bring the performances down to a minimum or would they make it a more lively event? As every artist decided that on their own, the show became a mix of everything, but with a very heavy undertone that you could feel throughout.
The “I stand with Manchester” videos in between performances were a great way for other artists to be there and share their support, and the support was felt. With attacks in the UK happening on the day of the concert, the message was clear that we all wanted to unite across the world and make sure that world would get a much stronger positive feeling of love. Someone on Twitter already suggested that maybe we should let little girls run the world and I think that sums up the feeling I got from this benefit concert. I think Ariana showed that music can unite people, heal and make the world feel better.
Ariana was struggling with her emotions throughout the show, I’m sure the whole event was therapy to her to work through it herself. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” has risen to the top of the streaming charts since its release after the show.
In the meantime, Ariana has announced her return to her European tour and I hope we all keep going to shows, too, despite the threats of terror. Just this weekend, a concert by a Dutch performer got amped up security during the show after a suspicious person was caught taking photos of the event’s entrances. Everybody is on alert and that is step one in preventing this from happening again until we actually reach that one love across the world.
