Ariana Grande was destined to be a Fortnite queen.

In her 2014 “Break Free” music video, she was already wielding a laser gun, shooting aliens and saving some parts of the universe with her fabulousness.

She fit perfectly in Fortnite’s current season called Invasion and her arrival in the game as the Rift Goddess feels natural. Supernatural, really.

She was the star in the “Rift Tour,” Fortnite’s August live event—and the first ever in-game concert that I have ever attended.

The experience was novel to me, considering that I’ve only had a few moments of Ariana Grande in my life.

Back when I was religious with my aerial dance classes, I would warm up to “One Last Time.” I also remember dancing to “Into You” with my fabulous friends on the rare instances that I got to visit the now defunct Today x Future in Cubao.

On regular days, I would hear “Break Free” in the background while I went about my daily routine. Ari, to me, was ever present. I wasn’t obsessed but I enjoyed her music and the way she brings me and my gay friends together.

Intensely personal

The Fortnite “Rift Tour” was different—it felt intensely personal.

It was a Saturday morning when I logged in the game an hour before the concert. I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect and I was too worried that the servers would be overloaded and I wouldn’t be let in.

I put on my headphones, picked my concert outfit, and I made sure that I enabled emotes appropriate for the experience: a pirouette and a breakdance sequence.

I made my way to an alien abductor where I waited with a bunch of other players. When the timer went off, a portal in the middle of the giant alien saucer materialized and sucked us all in.

The concert was opened by a track by Sia, Diplo, Labyrinth and LSD. It had us surfing on rainbow clouds. That was fun. Shooting the Storm King with Wolfmother’s “Victorious” in the background was also fun.

The worthwhile spectacle began when a star fell from the sky and Ari’s voice filled my ears with magic with “Raindrops.” I felt like I was being serenaded by her.

Ari took me from a dim, starry space into a sunset where I met other players. Everyone was now dancing to “7 Rings.” Ari was in the center, clad in her sparkly outfit. From there, we ascended into the sky and followed her as we flew through colorful bubbles with “Be Alright.” Ari blew us a kiss and that felt like the sweetest thing ever.

The dreamy sequence continued with “R.E.M.”; this time, we were riding Lil’ Floaticorns through the clouds and leaving a trail of rainbows in our wake. A gigantic Ariana could be seen riding a swing from a distance. Following her around felt entertaining and I always found the need to literally approach her whenever I could. Who needs front row seats when I could walk up to her in game?

Ari the goddess

I found myself in Fortnite’s rendition of Mount Olympus next; in this space, only Ariana was the goddess. Many other players and I were dancing to “The Way” as stairs and columns and portals moved around and allowed us to appreciate the Rift Goddess in her full glory and in all angles.

Positions marked the final parts of the concert and I took me some time to process how I felt about it. I didn’t want it to end. I was jumping around in low gravity and admiring Ari and her sparkly hammer against polar lights in the sky. She was going to smash something . . . I just knew it!

And when she did, lights burst from all over and opened the same portal that brought me into the rift to take me back to the alien ship. I took home a Fortnite Cuddly Cloudcruiser commemorative umbrella as a concert souvenir.Ari’s repertoire was short but sweet. There were no high energy pop dance sequences but the dreamy journey is definitely worth lingering on. —CONTRIBUTED INQ