Ariana Grande has charted with the song she played during the encore of the concert which was targeted by a suicide bomber on Monday night.
In the wake of the devastating terror attack at Manchester Arena, which left 22 people dead and 59 hospitalised, Ariana Grande fans are determined to get One More Time to number one to honour the victims and show support for the 23-year-old pop star.
The song has sadly taken on new poignancy, after footage was released showing crowds of fans, many of whom are just children, at the Manchester leg of Grande’s Dangerous Woman tour singing along with the lyrics, moments before the blast.
The song, which originally featured on My Everything (2014), is now at number 17 on the iTunes charts, amid a campaign from Arianators – her self-titled army of fans – to get One Last Time to number one as a mark of respect.
The attack has claimed the lives of many, including 18-year-old superfan, Georgina Callander, as well as eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos, the youngest terror attack victim in British history.
Victims also include Olivia Campbell, aged 15, John Atkinson, 26, 29-year-old Martyn Hett, Angelika and Marcin Klis, 40 and 42 respectively, Alison Howe, 44, Lisa Lees, 43, and brave Kelly Brewster, 32, who used her body to protect her young niece from the bomb.
Ariana has expressed a deep sorrow over the tragic loss of life, tweeting her fans with the following message: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”
You can listen to the song in the video below:
Meanwhile, Ariana Grande – who has consistently championed equality and LGBT rights – has reportedly reached out to the bereaved and offered to pay for the funerals of all the victims. She also suspended her world tour.
Our thoughts are with all those affected by this atrocity.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.