Ariana Grande opened the 2018 Billboard Music Awards with an emotional performance two days before the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Grande, 24, took to the stage to perform No Tears Left To Cry, her first single since a terrorist detonated an explosive device as fans were leaving her concert on May 22 last year, killing 22 innocent people and injuring more than 500.
The music video for the song references the events in Manchester. A bee, the symbol of the city, appears in the video.
…ʎɹɔ oʇ ʇɟǝl sɹɐǝʇ ou ɥʇᴉʍ ʇɥƃᴉu ǝɥʇ ɟɟo ƃuᴉʞɔᴉʞ
We are lovin', livin', and turnin' it 🆙 for this @ArianaGrande performance! 💧🌈 #ARIANA_BBMAs #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/l9KNihzmmu
— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 21, 2018
On Sunday, Grande, sporting a large blonde ponytail, performed on stage surrounded by backing dancers holding umbrellas.
Last week Grande spoke candidly about the impact the atrocity has had on her life and music.
In an interview with Time magazine, Grande described the attack as the “absolute worst of humanity”.
She said: “The last thing I would ever want is for my fans to see something like that happen and think it won.
“Music is supposed to be the safest thing in the world. I think that’s why it’s still so heavy on my heart every single day.
“I wish there was more that I could fix. You think with time it’ll become easier to talk about. Or you’ll make peace with it. But every day I wait for that peace to come and it’s still very painful.”