Ariana Grande stays strong, makes a pitch-perfect return to Manchester

"We're stronger than we've been before," Ariana Grande belted from the One Love Manchester benefit concert. And she looked it.

Eleven days after a suicide bomber killed 22 people outside her May 22 Manchester Arena show, Grande sounded like her pitch-perfect self at the outdoor show. She performed her empowering hits Be Alright and Break Free, slightly tweaking the lyrics (from "I" to "we") and referencing "Manchester."

Though the monitor showed images of people crying during Grande's first song, the singer was dry-eyed as she crooned and vogued with her dancers. Grande — who would later tear up but carry on — was a beaming force, and the crowd loved it.

Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, announced her arrival to deafening cheers. She wore stiletto boots, jeans, a ponytail and a loose sweatshirt with the words "One Love Manchester" emblazoned on it.

"Manchester, I love you so, so much," Grande told the crowd, looking as though she might cry, but refraining. The audience cheered through her racy hits (fan Olivia Campbell, 15, who died in the bombing, “would’ve wanted to hear" them, she said) and Grande's smooch with boyfriend Mac Miller after the two dueted on The Way.

“The kind of unity you’re displaying is what the world really needs right now," Grande said.