Ariana Grande’s recent Netflix documentary, “Excuse Me, I Love You,” had me feeling like I had a front row seat and a backstage pass to an Ariana Grande concert. The music made me sing along, while the behind the scenes look at backstage illustrated what life on tour is like.

A wonderful sentiment of Grande’s stage life, the movie pulled me in from the start. I was apprehensive at first, but when Grande walked onstage and began to sing, the audience roared loudly, absorbing me into the booming and deafening concert hall. When her fans started singing along, it made me feel like I was a part of the crowd.

This documentary mainly revolves around a concert from Ariana Grande’s Sweetener tour in London, England. It features songs from Grande’s “Sweetener” album including “No Tears Left to Cry,” “Breathin,” “NASA” and “Sweetener.” It also gives the viewers a glimpse at her performance on stage along with the backstage talk and excitement.

If you have been to a concert, you know the feeling. A performer taking the stage while the crowd sings along with excitement and adrenaline, everyone feeding off each other’s energy under the bright lights. Although it was on a screen, the emotion of Grande and the audience came through continually throughout the documentary.

The documentary isn’t an exact replica of a concert, since there are backstage elements. However, this only enhances the movie and the onstage scenes. Backup dancers are shown rehearsing before the show and interviewed about on what it’s like to be a backup dancer for Grande. Grande was also shown talking with some friends, laughing and telling stories and getting ready for her concert by doing hair and makeup which allowed for the viewer to sympathize with her.

Most movies about music artists either revolve around a documentary format or just contain artists’ albums; however, this movie provided a compelling balance between the two.

While there was a lot of information about Grande, it did not feel too information-heavy or uninteresting. There weren’t too many backstage scenes in a row, and songs were spaced out throughout the movie, with only one or two at a time which gave the documentary a natural flow.

The movie’s release date marks a year after the conclusion of Grande’s “Sweetener” world tour, back in December 2019. So much has changed since then as now we can’t go to concerts because of COVID-19. This movie brings the viewer back to the past to see Grande perform, even though it can’t be live and in person.

Overall, this was an enjoyable movie that created the illusion of a real music event, which people haven’t been able to experience for almost a year. It was exciting to see Grande perform and to see things behind the scenes.