Ariana Grande’s vocal prowess is the real star of her new Netflix film ‘Excuse Me, I Love You’
Music is the star of the new Netflix Ariana Grande documentary — and rightfully so.
“Excuse Me, I Love You” is light on new information about the singer. Only sparingly are we treated to behind-the-scenes footage. Instead, the bulk of this special features Grande performing on stage, predominantly in London.
The documentary, announced earlier this month, dropped today, just after Grande revealed she was engaged to real estate agent Dalton Gomez. On Sunday, she posted a picture of her engagement ring on Instagram, writing, “forever n then some.”
“Excuse Me, I Love You” follows Grande during her 2019 “Sweetener” tour. The tour came roughly two years after a bomb blast at a Grande concert in Manchester, England killed more than 20 people.
More:From Nickelodeon star to breaking Billboard records, we look at Ariana Grande’s career so far
At the film’s first stop in Albany, New York we see Grande’s nervous entourage backstage.
“The crowd here is crazy sold out,” choreographer Brian Nicholson says. “I’m proud of Ariana and the dancers.”
Grande points to a collection of life-sized dolls, saying with a laugh, “That’s what they use to do the key lights so we don’t look ugly when we get on stage.”
Over the course of nearly two hours, we’re treated to just about every Grande hit you can think of, including “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” “No Tears Left To Cry,” “R.E.M.,” “Sweetener” and “Side To Side.”
At a stop in Los Angeles, we see Grande’s mom Joan pass by a young girl crying. “Tell me why you’re crying because I hate when I see people cry,” she says.
The girl’s mom explains they’ve got nosebleed seats and the girl is afraid of heights. Joan quickly fixes that, securing them a spot on the floor. The girl is just one of several fans who got their seats upgraded that day.
Later, at a rehearsal, Grande finds out President Donald Trump has been impeached. Everyone bursts into applause as she announces, “Oh my God, you guys. Trump was impeached.”
Some cheeky text at the bottom of the screen reads, “Too bad he wasn’t convicted — thank God Biden won anyway!”
Grande freaks when she finds out Mariah Carey wants her to contribute to her Apple TV+ Christmas special, “All I Want For Christmas is You.” Grande says she learned to sing by lip-synching hits from Carey, Beyoncé and Whitney Houston.
“(Carey) actually likes you a lot,” manager Scooter Braun tells her.
“The fact that she thought of me is very soul shaking,” Grande says.
At her final show of the tour, Grande gets emotional, telling her crew, “I really love you and I’m very grateful. I know this it was a lot and I know that it’s been hard physically and mentally but this show, for sure, for sure, for sure saved my life this year.”
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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You’ on Netflix, A Concert Film That Captures The Joy Aura Surrounding The Platinum Pop Star
Ariana Grande exists in a bubble of palpable energy, like Glinda The Good Witch gone glitch. In her Netflix concert film Excuse Me, I Love You, the biggest songs from Sweetener and Thank U, Next are delivered at full-energy levels alongside some behind-the-scenes chatter.
ARIANA GRANDE: EXCUSE ME, I LOVE YOU: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: Excuse Me, I Love You consists largely of concert footage from the London stops on Ariana Grande’s 101-date Sweetener World Tour, which wound its way through North America and Europe for most of 2019. Interspersed with the performances are documentary-style segments that capture Grande backstage, before the show, hanging with her dancers, or having her high pony wrangled. This isn’t a group to be seen poppin’ bottles pre-show. These are professionals here to do work, and appropriately the opening set of the show itself is choreo-heavy. Emerging from the darkness on a lift at center stage, Grande and her 12 dancers appear draped across a long table in a Da Vinci’s Last Supper motif, with the star at center axis singing Sweetener‘s Platinum-selling single “God Is a Woman.” They begin to writhe, shift positions, and the set quickly leaps into “Bad Idea” and “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored.” This tour is about hits and bangers, one after the other, and cutaways reveal a crowd in ecstatic revelry. In excelsis Deo, glory to Grande in the Highest.
The material from Sweetener and 2019’s Thank U, Next is for the most part blippy, stuttering dance-pop with lots of space in the arrangements for Grande’s trademark trills and vocal runs. She hits all of those notes live, to the point that her vocal is the hottest thing in the live mix, though an onstage band of drums, guitar, keys and electronics does produce a good bit of volume. This is Grande’s show, though, and that of her dancers, who are a whirlwind of synchronized, herky-jerky, high-stepping movement. The frequent guest shots from hip-hop major leaguers like Nicki Minaj and Big Sean are piped in over the monitors, but even if they weren’t, those parts appear, shouted to the rafters by the audience. “Gun pop and I make my gum pop; I’m the queen of rap, Ariana run pop.”
With numerous costume changes revolving around a theme of thigh-high stiletto-heeled Versace boots, there’s visual pizzaz to match the music’s buoyancy, and in the doc sections of Excuse Me, I Love You, Grande proves to be a bundle of youthful verve, clip-on lashes and determined professionalism, forever thinking about her next moment on stage, giving it all to the fans.
Performance Worth Watching: During “You’ll Never Know,” Ariana descends from the main stage for a touch-the-fans moment with the Arianators inside the audience pit, and the camera catches one kid who embodies the vibe of this lucky group. He’s singing along with each lyrical trill, eyes shuttling between hysterically squinched shut and straight popping out of his skull because his fingers are touching his queen as she sings. His iPhone is clutched in his other hand, filming as he holds in front of half his face, and its glittery case matches the charms glued to Grande’s cheeks. One of the fluttering play money C-notes from the set’s earlier run through “7 Rings” sticks out from his fist. This kid’s nickname should be “High Pony.”
Memorable Dialogue: Scott and Brian Nicholson are a twin brother pair who feature heavily in the Ariana Grande universe as her BFFs as well as principal choreographers and creative directors. During one between-song segment, the camera follows Scott as he is led by security to the upper reaches of the arena. He’s searching for a fan to give main floor tickets to, and we learn this is a tour tradition. “We have a criteria,” Nicholson says. “We like a single parent with their kid. Definitely someone dressed crazy. Somebody already practicing the choreography in their seats; a superfan.” “Drag queens,” Another dancer adds. “Drag queens are really good.” Cut to Nicholson and Grande’s mother Joan gifting a grateful woman a set of the primo tickets as her youngest daughter melts down with joyous emotion.
Sex and Skin: Grande and her dancers are an immaculately lithe bunch.
Our Take: Excuse Me, I Love You is admirably performance-heavy. While the snippets of crosstalk and behind-the-scenes chatter are fun, and will certainly be revealing for fans (the choreography rehearsals are particularly interesting), it’s a thrill to see and hear all of the singer’s most giant singles come to life onstage, complete with that elaborate choreo to go with each one. Grande works hard, singing as she hits each mark alongside her dancers, draping herself along the lip of the stage for the audience pit to drool over, and periodically moving to the B-stage or runway to be spotlit in all of her pop star glory. Her recent material is a mixture of empowering personhood and the celebration of a certain brand of bling-forward lifestyle, and that’s the vibe in the room for the entirety of the show. This is music and star power met well within a dynamic live setting, no smoke and mirrors necessary.
While its direction is as straightforward as the material deserves, there are some nifty editing touches. A dancer on the catwalk uses a handheld camera to capture Grande in jittery verite; slow motion edits drop in here and there to capture the high pony in a sweeping turn, or someone firing fake dolla dolla bills out of a money gun into strobe-lit smoke. And as we are introduced to the various performers and support staff in Grande’s tour circle, the assortment of onscreen captions are charmingly first-person, as if Grande herself scrawled them with a sparkly pen in the margins of a yearbook. Allison Kaye isn’t just the president of SB Projects; she’s a “bad bitch.” When the singer herself is seen disembarking from the tour jet, perhaps having been overserved, the caption reads “Still drunk; who am I waving to?” These little touches are endearing, and help demystify the pop star whose public persona is one of perpetually posing in elaborate makeup and boots that touch the sky.
Our Call: STREAM IT, ‘cause this one’s for the Arianators. Excuse Me, I Love You sprinkles in some behind-the-scenes intimacy, but the bulk of this film is performative. At its heart, it’s a tour document for the heads who couldn’t be there.
Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges
Watch Excuse Me, I Love You on Netflix
Netflix’s ‘Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You’ concert film is a love letter to the Time Before
Though it may seem like a distant memory, there was a time in our lives when we’d stand shoulder to shoulder with thousands of strangers, screaming the lyrics to our favourite songs at the top of our lungs without a care in the world.
Here to remind you, Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You, filmed for Netflix during Grande’s 2019 Sweetener World Tour, is a love letter to the Time Before. A time when singers pointed their mics to packed arenas, giggling as ecstatic crowds chanted back their lyrics word for word. A time when we’d throw our arms in the air and yell “encore” before pouring our weary bodies onto the last train home. There’d inevitably be more singing on the platform, and — let’s be honest — inside the carriage too. We thought those days would last forever.
In the words of Beyoncé: I was here. But really though, I was there at Grande’s show at the O2 Arena in London in Oct. 2019 the very night the concert was filmed for Netflix. In fact, I loved this tour so much I went twice (full disclosure: I spent a decent chunk of time searching for my face in the crowd in the film — to no avail, though).
Ariana Grande performs “Tattooed Heart” in London, and yes, it’s in the film. Image: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AG
Watching the same concert a year later hits different. The world we live in looks markedly different now following the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and live concerts are (for the time being, at least) a thing of the past in most countries. It is impossible to watch this film without a deep feeling of nostalgia for another time. What I’d like to tell you, though, is that once you’ve got past the flashes of reminiscence, you’re in for one hour and 37 minutes of complete and utter joy.
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The film is largely made up of concert footage from the London leg of the Sweetener tour, with performances from both the Sweetener and thank u, next albums, along with bangers from Dangerous Woman including “Into You,” “Side to Side,” and “Be Alright.” These mainstage music moments are interspersed with short backstage snippets to give you a feel for tour life.
Ari’s mum, Joan Grande, who is frankly a living legend, is present throughout the film, making sure everyone is OK (including fans who are scared of heights!). There are wholesome backstage moments of friendship between Grande, her dancers, and members of her crew. On stage, meanwhile, the Grammy-winning performer graces us with flawless vocals that will have your jaw firmly resting on your chest for the run time. If you were in any doubt about Ms. Grande’s talent as a performer, let this film disabuse you of your misguided opinions.
Grande performing “7 rings” from the album ’thank u, next’. Image: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for AG
One thing to note, however, is that Scooter Braun, Grande’s manager and executive producer of the film, makes two appearances in this film — and they are unwelcome cameos that really could have been edited out. Braun has recently made headlines for acquiring and subsequently selling Taylor Swift’s master recordings of her first six albums to an investment fund, while being accused of “incessant, manipulative bullying” by the artist. Braun’s appearances do not add anything to the film, so exist as slight stings for viewers in the know. The first sighting, which happens around six minutes in, shows Braun in a strained ‘oh, didn’t see you there’ moment, saying, “I was just itching my neck beard.” Something tells me Swift fans won’t be terribly amused (and I write that as a longtime fan of both Swift and Grande).
Bitter music industry feuds aside, there are some moments that really made me laugh out loud. Like the beautiful reminder that the Sweetener stage kind of looks like a toilet seat (sorry!). Then there’s the footage of Grande and her best friends, choreographers, and dancers Brian and Scott Nicholson watching Midsommar with Bloody Marys on the private jet (as you do). Those familiar with the movie will know precisely which gruesome parts are being witnessed with pure horror.
‘Excuse Me, I Love You’ is a gift to any pop stans right now. You’ve earned it this year. Image: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for AG
My immediate thoughts after watching? I’d have loved to have seen more rehearsal footage for the Sweetener tour — it’s something in Homecoming and the Reputation Stadium Tour film that gave you more of an understanding of the amount of sheer work that goes into Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s onstage performances — and more of Grande talking on camera (with perhaps fewer dog poop anecdotes, lol). Perhaps, like we enjoyed in Swift’s Miss Americana or Lady Gaga’s Five Foot Two, the film could have included some footage of songwriting — maybe I’m getting greedy with that last one, and this is a concert film at its core, not a full documentary. The film has a lot of high gloss, and maybe not enough grit (even with the dog poop convo) for some fans. But there’s always next time, and something tells me this won’t be a one-off.
‘Excuse Me, I Love You’ is a gift to any pop stans right now. You’ve earned it this year.
That said, at a time when live music is but a distant memory, this film served as a reminder of simpler times. When Grande sings her Sweetener track “breathin” and the crowd screams “just keep breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’” along with her, it’s difficult to suppress a pang of emotion. Perhaps it’s because the words to that particular song feel more poignant than ever before. Perhaps it’s because our lives look very different now.
Either way, Excuse Me, I Love You is a gift to any pop stans right now. You’ve earned it this year.
Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You is now streaming on Netflix.
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