Ariana Grande treated Wicked fans to an unexpected reunion during the latest stop of her Eternal Sunshine Tour.
During her Aug. 16 show at London’s O2 Arena, Grande brought Cynthia Erivo onto the stage, with the pair joining forces for a live rendition of “For Good” from Wicked: For Good.
Erivo made her surprise appearance on the second night of Grande’s extended O2 Arena run. The longtime collaborators also performed “Happy Days” together, giving fans another glimpse of the onstage chemistry that helped turn their Wicked partnership into a major pop culture moment.
Grande and Erivo took on the roles of Glinda and Elphaba in director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked films, with both actresses receiving Academy Award nominations for their performances after the first installment premiered.
Their performance of “For Good” was especially fitting considering how important the song is to the bond between their characters. The heartfelt duet remains one of the musical’s most recognizable songs and was included in the sequel, Wicked: For Good.
The surprise reunion comes as Grande approaches the final stretch of her Eternal Sunshine Tour. After bringing the tour to cities around the world, she is wrapping things up with 10 shows at London’s O2 Arena, with the final date set for Sept. 1.
Named after Grande’s seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, the tour has arrived during an especially packed period for the singer and actress. She followed the album with her eighth studio project, Petal, which was released on July 31. Once the tour comes to an end, Grande plans to step away from the spotlight for a while.
“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” her representative previously told People.
The planned hiatus was announced around the same time it was confirmed that Grande would no longer be involved in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George. She was originally expected to appear in the production alongside her fellow Wicked star Jonathan Bailey.
Grande recently addressed the decision during one of her shows, explaining that the break is something she had been planning for quite some time and was not prompted by “negativity.”
“Sometimes when a story comes out that’s not directly from me, things can get a little blown out of proportion. So I just wanted to speak to my fans directly tonight because I love you so much. The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing,” she told the audience. “It is something that I had decided to plan that I had quietly made a long time ago and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place.”
