Entertainment

Ariana Grande follows in Adele’s footsteps with BBC Music special

Davina McCall will host the one-off special.
Davina McCall will host the one-off special. Davina McCall will host the one-off special.

Ariana Grande will follow in the footsteps of Adele, Sam Smith and U2 by starring in her own BBC special, it has been announced.

The US pop singer will perform tracks from her new album Sweetener along with some of her biggest hits, accompanied by an all-female orchestra, while also talking about her life and career to date.

Called Ariana Grande At The BBC, the show will be recorded in front of a live studio audience on September 7, nearly 18 months after the singer’s concert at the Manchester Arena was targeted by a suicide bomber.

Davina McCall
Davina McCall Davina McCall will host Ariana Grande At The BBC (Ian West/PA)

Davina McCall will host the one-off show and speak to the Grammy-nominated star about her music and her rise to fame.

McCall said: “Since I’ve been asked to do this show… I have been worried that someone is going to call up and tell me they’ve made a mistake and chosen the wrong presenter, because this seems just too good to be true.

“Ariana Grande is such an incredible talent. She’s very funny and incredibly kind and has achieved so much already in her career! I’m really excited about talking to her and, of course, hearing some of her amazing music.”

Grande, 25, last week topped the charts with Sweetener, her fourth album.

The star last appeared on BBC One when she headlined the One Love Manchester concert in June last year, which was held to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the terror attack just weeks earlier.

Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande (Handout)

Adele was the subject of her own Bafta-nominated BBC musical special in 2015, hosted by Graham Norton.

Singer-songwriter Smith and rockers U2 had their own programmes in 2017.

Harry Styles and Michael Buble have also had their own BBC specials.

Jan Younghusband, BBC Music head of TV commissioning said: “We are so delighted to have Ariana back on the BBC, she is an outstanding new talent so loved by audiences in the UK.”

The broadcast date for Ariana Grande At The BBC will be announced in due course, the BBC said.