Talk about a full-circle moment: Ariana Grande just headlined the first of three sold-out shows at the same venue where she first sang publicly as a little girl.
The venue is Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. As the Miami Herald reports, in 2002 it was known as the Office Depot Center when an 8-year-old Ariana sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of a Florida Panthers game. Ariana brought her Eternal Sunshine tour there on Tuesday night.
The Panthers and the venue teamed up on Instagram to share photos and video of that original performance. Despite her youth, little Ariana Grande-Butera, as she was known then, shows off some impressive pipes during the anthem. “Back where it all began,” they captioned the post.
For her part, Ariana wrote on her Instagram Story, “florida, i love you with all my heart forever. thank you for a most beautiful night one.” Ari was born in Boca Raton, Florida, which is about 25 miles away from Sunrise.
She’s also scheduled to play Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday and Friday.
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