Ariana Grande gets lost in the dark in Houston

Fans at the Toyota Center for the Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman Tour in Downtown Houston TX, Saturday April 8, 2017 Fans at the Toyota Center for the Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman Tour in Downtown Houston TX, Saturday April 8, 2017 Photo: Jamaal Ellis, For The Chronicle Photo: Jamaal Ellis, For The Chronicle Image 1 of / 78 Caption Close Ariana Grande gets lost in the dark in Houston 1 / 78 Back to Gallery

Ariana Grande has built a career on light and fluffy pop anthems. But she spent much of Saturday night in the dark.

Grande avoided spotlights Saturday night inside Toyota Center like a new hairstyle. At times it was almost impossible to see her onstage. Lasers and smoke made for an even hazier visual.

If she's going for mood lighting on her Dangerous Woman Tour, that mood would have to be sleepy.

Opening number "Be Alright" was very clearly derived from Madonna, from the voguing to the plain black costumes to the black and white imagery. But it was an oddly muted and dark interpretation that set the tone for the entire show.

Grande is small in stature and presence. So it's also puzzling why she performed several songs wrapped inside a bulky jacket that made her seem even smaller.

There were risers and dancers and another white jacket, hanging half off her frame, later in the set. It all distracted from her biggest asset: her voice.

As they were presented, the numbers lacked punch and power and personality. And because of that, many songs simply ran together into one midtempo lull.

It didn't help that she barely engaged the audience with variations on "Houston let me hear you!" After awhile, fans mostly just seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

"One Last Time," a song that should have come with dancers and big energy, was just Grande walking back and forth at the end of a runway.

"Touch It" unfurled in almost complete darkness, as did "Thinkin Bout You." Many songs were almost completely drowned out by bass.

The darkness also made a number like "Leave Me Lonely," which relied on dramatic lighting, much less impactful.

Recent hit "Side to Side" was one of the few glimmers of life, performed atop stationary bikes in a gym setting.

She went back into the dark for "Bang Bang." Yellow lights and halfhearted confetti blasts during "Greedy." And impressive runs during "Moonlight."

"Problem," one of Grande's biggest hits, barely seemed to register with fans in a messily remixed version. The pulsing "Into You" finally seemed to wake up the audience (mostly because it's just a great pop song) but came just before the finale.

The darkened room worked best with closer "Dangerous Woman," which found Grande singing amid flames and hues of red in a (p)leather gown. But by the end it was just nice that the house lights were finally coming up.

Little Mix, a British girl group formed on "The X Factor" opened with a set of six pop anthems that proved them deserving of much more Stateside success. The group earned a warm reception here but has yet to truly crack the U.S. market.

The quartet raced through "Salute," "Hair" and "Wings," the bouncy "Touch" and "Black Magic" and kiss-off tune "Shout Out to My Ex." There was personality and power in what they did. (And, again, way too much bass). Any one of these songs should be earning heavy radio rotation.

Earlier in the day, Little Mix took part in a private "tea" at the new Radio Now 92.1 FM with music director and on-air personality Rich "Riddler" Pangilinan.

The group posed for photos and answered questions from giddy fans about a variety of topics, including some of their favorite Houston landmarks (NASA, Beyoncé, Whataburger).