At 10:39 p.m., Ariana Grande’s vocals belted out “Raindrops (An Angel Cried)” from offstage. Consider it her version of, “If you can hear me, clap twice.” She had the crowd’s full attention from the first note.
Once she stepped onstage for her highly-anticipated headlining set on the third and final day of Coachella (April 14), she moved immediately into a girl-powered version of The Last Supper for “God Is A Woman” (not too dissimilar from her MTV Video Music Awards version last year) off Sweetener before seamlessly moving into Thank U, Next track “Bad Idea.” The swift transition illustrated just how intertwined, and fluid, the two releases are -- and her star-powered delivery made it clear that her set was, if nothing more, a triumphant celebration of her continuous professional winning streak as of late.