When my dad told me he had won two tickets to the March 16th Ariana Grande concert at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, I was beyond excited. This would be my first major concert, and to make it even better, his company has a suite on the second floor.

On the night of the concert, my mom and I had arrived about 45 minutes early. We waited at a gate with excited fans of all ages, some of whom were dressed in Ariana shirts and cat ears. The suite was easy to access, despite hundreds of people rushing to get into the show. Inside, there were free food and drinks, including chicken, tacos, chips, and desserts. From the high-top table I was sitting at, we had a great side view of the stage. The seats above and below were soon filled with eager fans.

The first opening singer was Victoria Monet, a young dancer and singer who wrote and performed her own songs. She was entertaining, but seemed unprofessional, with dance moves such as twirling around in circles. Her music was entertaining, but her performance seemed to last forever. From above the stage, I could see everything, including the lack of props or lighting during her performance. The stage was bare with only two white spotlights shining on her.

“They could have at least brought out a fern to put on stage with her,” joked another person in the suite. While it was funny at the time, that might have actually been a good idea.

The second opening act was the British group called Little Mix that consisted of four girls and four backup dancers. The lighting was much better and they sang hit songs such as “Salute” and Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair”. They really got the crowd excited for Ariana Grande.

When she finally arrived on stage, the crowd erupted. She came out of the bottom of the stage through a hole along with her many backup dancers. Ariana Grande seemed to start off with a weak voice, but quickly got comfortable and sang her songs better than they sound on the radio. She had a few costume changes, with her best being the long layered black dress she wore for her final song, “Dangerous Woman”. She engaged with the crowd often by walking out on the stage that reached into the crowd and holding hands with her fans. All of her songs from her Dangerous Woman album were performed, along with, “Bang Bang”.