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Writer's pictureRobbyXO

Ariana Grande's "Sweetener World Tour" Documentary Being Fought Over in Massive Bidding War

Updated: Nov 2, 2020

Arianators around the World have been waiting for the follow up to Ari's "Dangerous Woman Diaries" series since 2018.

It’s safe to say that 2020 has been and will continue to be another busy year for Ms. Ariana Grande. This year has been quite different for the pop star who has been splitting her year equally between both musical collaborations and activism duties.

However, it’s the music that is taking center stage this month as the MTV Video Music Awards nominations were announced, Ariana leads this year’s nominations alongside Lady Gaga both with nine each.

In addition to VMAs news, multiple news outlets reporting that the distribution rights to her upcoming “Sweetener World Tour” concert documentary are allegedly being fought over with millions of dollars in a huge bidding war.

In November 2018, the Grammy Award Winning artist released a docuseries titled “The Dangerous Woman Diaries” on YouTube. The docuseries looks back at the “Dangerous Woman World Tour” which took place in 2017 in support of Grande’s third studio album titled “Dangerous Women”. The docuseries is a mix of concert, behind the scenes, and interview footage to give viewers a glimpse into the life and mind of the singer.

The docuseries is described by Ariana as a “thank you” to the fans, as they were a support system for her during the 7-month tour. In May 2017 Grande’s concert in Manchester, UK made Worldwide headlines as it became a target of a terrorist bomb attack that resulted in 22 deaths. The results of the horrific event took a toll on Ariana’s mental health, which she sought help for.

In the process of therapy, part of her healing was writing and producing the album “Sweetener”, which was released in August 2018. The lead single titled, “No Tears Left To Cry”, was her way of moving forward from the events of Manchester.


Shortly after the release of “Sweetener”, Ariana’s relationship with her then fiancé was on rocky terms and to make matters worse her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, whom she dated for two years, unexpectedly passed away from a drug overdose in September 2018.

As Ariana dealt with her many emotions, the events lead her to writing, producing, and releasing a new single titled, “Thank U, Next” in November 2018 and completing her fifth studio album of the same name to be released in early 2019.

The “Thank U, Next” era spawned Ariana’s first two (2) number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as well as the album reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. Originally Ariana had no plans to tour in support of the albums but plans quickly changed after meeting with her therapist and team.


Sweetener World Tour Dates via Ariana Grande's Twitter

The “Sweetener World Tour” was announced in October 2018 and embarked on the 101 show world tour just five (5) months later in March 2019, eventually wrapping up nine (9) months later in December 2019.

The success of the “Dangerous Woman Diaries” led Ariana and her close friend Alfredo Flores, who directed the docuseries, to develop a follow up docuseries/film that was announced by Ariana via Twitter ahead of the “Sweetener World Tour” on February 2019.

The upcoming documentary will showcase all aspects of Ariana’s life both on and off the stage. The film allegedly documents everything about the “Sweetener World Tour” from the development of the tour to its final show.

Multiple news outlets are reporting that a few big companies like Netflix and YouTube are currently in the bidding war, the starting bid is alleged to have started at $5 million.

YouTube history with Scooter Braun

It is unknown when negotiations, which are being led by Ari’s manager Scooter Braun, will come to an end so a release date can be set. It would be very surprising if the film doesn’t end up at either Netflix or YouTube due to the worldwide reach both streaming platforms have.

As previously mentioned, Ariana’s first series was released through YouTube back in 2018. Her manager also seems to have a great relationship with YouTube, as singers Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato (also managed by Braun) have docuseries deals with the platform.

However, Netflix has had its fair share of documentaries starring massive International acts such as Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, & Beyonce. No matter where the film ends up, the millions spent on the distribution rights will be worth it as the film and its distribution platform will be promoted to Ariana’s 197M Instagram followers.


(Source: Teen Vogue.com/@ArianaWorldHQ on Twitter)

While Arianators all over the world wait anxiously to hear more news regarding the film, fans can catch the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 30th to see if Ariana wins any of the nine(9) awards that she is nominated for. Finally, fans can also look forward to the release of Ariana’s sixth fragrance called “R.E.M”. She confirmed in an Instagram story posted on August, 5th, the new fragrance will be available at the end of the month at Ulta Beauty.

Looks like August is gearing up to be a very SWEET(ener) month for the pop star and the Arianators!


RobbyXO w| Ariana Grande at the "Sweetener World Tour" in Washington, DC. (Source: instagram.com/theRobbyXO)

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