Ariana Grande Breaks Down, Dedicates ‘My Everything’ To Late Grandfather

Ariana Grande took the stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City Friday night as part of her first major arena tour known as “The Honeymoon Tour.” And during an emotional moment in the show, the pop starlet was too overwhelmed to continue.

According to MTV , Ariana dedicated the song “My Everything” to her late Grandfather who passed away in July of 2014. The touching rendition caused Ariana to break down into tears, unable to finish the song.

Aw Ariana! She sang for her grandpa and broke into tears so @ArianaGrande fans sang for her. pic.twitter.com/LH94Imnhkg

— MTV Pop (@mtvpop) March 21, 2015

As reported by Inquistr , her grandfather’s passing was an emotional roller coaster for Ari at the time.

if only y’all knew how amazing he was.. my hurts so much. It’s beyond broken :'( but I got to hold his hand and watch him find his peace — Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) July 23, 2014

this is the hardest thing imaginable but I’m so grateful that I got to spend this time with him & my family. taking care of him & loving him

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) July 23, 2014

And unfortunately for Grande, the emotion rushing back to her onstage was the just about the only genuine moment critics seemed to latch onto from her concert. As reported by Inquistr , Ariana has been criticized to this point that her “Honeymoon Tour” is suffering from too many production gimmicks and not enough of Ariana connecting with the audience. That point continued to be stressed after her MSG show.

“At one juncture, the 21-year-old burst into tears at one point,” The NY Post declared in its review , “before repeatedly declaring her love for the young girls (known as “Arianators”) that follow her every move, but hurriedly moved on to the next song. It was a brief glimpse into Grande’s soul, but the nakedness was soon covered up by the regimented spectacle around her.”

The New York Daily News agreed , saying that Ariana’s powerful vocals were simply outshined by the spectacle around her.

Ariana is opening her New York City concert with a Bang Bang! @ArianaGrande pic.twitter.com/FaCfQThnWC

— MTV Pop (@mtvpop) March 21, 2015

“Grande owns by far the biggest, and most dexterous, voice in her age range (she’s 21). Yet much of her first major arena tour seemed hell-bent on distracting us from that. The show sounded as many bells and whistles as possible, from the flashpods that exploded during the opening number — “Bang Bang” — to the papier-mache cloud that propelled the star across the stage like a fairy princess during “Best Mistake,” to the chandelier she rode in ‘Right There.’”