Ariana Grande’s halftime performance during the NBA All-Star game on February 15 was in no-way comparable to Katy Perry’s supercharged halftime show during Super Bowl 2015 on February 1.
But Ariana obviously held her own when it comes to singing as she shined vocally with her mix of whispery coos and strong high notes, observes Yahoo! News.
The 21-year-old really showed how remarkable her singing prowess is and she can only get better with time.
But in terms of overall stage performance or being an all-around performer on stage, there is still a lot of improvement to Ariana. Her dancing during her 11-minute performance was a bit short in the sense that she seems to be feeling very uneasy about it.
Compared to a basketball shot, Yahoo! News actually described her performance as an alley-oop and not a throw-down dunk which will be talked about for days on end.
A singer first and foremost
Ariana is obviously a singer first and foremost but she has yet to develop to the level of performer which would just be a matter of time.
She came in to the stage dressed like a cheerleader wearing a black mini skirt with white trims, crop top, heels and her signature pony tail.
She sang the four Top 10 hits from her latest album, her current single, and 2013’s “The Way,” the music that chronicled her transformation from being a TV actress to a pop singer.
Ariana also performed the upbeat and saxophone-laced “Problem” where her dancing skills came off as a bit half-baked that it seems like she was very uncomfortable with it. When she did “Bang Bang,” her saving grace was the momentary appearance of Nicky Minaj but her dancing was pretty uneven. Nicky appeared on the stage wearing a crop top and skirt.
Nicky Minaj was Nicky Minaj with her “Bang Bang” dancing but Ariana looked very uneasy when she was doing a sexy and simple movement including holding Nicky’s booty. She was doing it as if there was really something wrong. Either she was very conscious of a possible wardrobe malfunction or that she was really a bad dancer.
But when she started slowing down with her ballad “Love Me Harder” and started walking across the stage singing “The Way,” Ariana was just superb as she was on cue on all the notes like a precision clock.
Her NBA All-Star game halftime performance only showed how good Ariana Grande is as a singer but leaves a bit of a question mark on her skills as a dancer.
Other performers
In addition to Ariana Grande during the NBA All-Star game, Christina Aguilera was also around to kick off the show as she performed a medley of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” Stevie Wonder’s “Living In the City,” and Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind.”
The Rockettes backstopped the performance of Aguilera as they also danced to Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” song. Aguilera was also joined subsequently in the stage by rapper Nas who performed his own “N.Y. State of Mind.”
Queen Latifah sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” while Tamia, Grant Hill’s wife and Grammy-nominated R&B vocalist, sang the Canadian national anthem.