Ariana Grande returned to the VMAs for the first time in seven years, and not only did she bring two stunning looks, she also brought the most amazing energy.✨
Here are 24 times Ariana Grande was everybody’s biggest fan at the VMAs 2025:
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First, she brought the one and only Law Roach on the red carpet with her to celebrate their reunion as stylist and client.
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I’m not sure who’s more excited here, Ari or KATSEYE!
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She seemed so excited to meet Rosé!
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And she had a sweet moment with Ice Spice!
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And she brought her entire family to the show, including both her parents, her brother Frankie, and her brother-in-law Hale!
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She cheered on her “Rain On Me” collaborator Lady Gaga.
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And they shared a sweet hug after Gaga won her well-deserved award for Artist of the Year.
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Then she teared up watching Gaga’s speech.
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Ari and Gaga both got really into Doja Cat’s performance of “Jealous Type.”
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Like, Doja Stans #1 and #2 over here.
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While presenting the legendary Mariah Carey with her Video Vanguard Award, she made sure everybody knew what a big deal the moment was.
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And after presenting the award, Ari treated Mariah like the queen she is.
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She ran to help Mariah with the heavy award, then stepped back and let her have her moment when she realized Mariah was alright.
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And here they are sharing a sweet moment backstage.
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Here she is reacting to Lola Young’s performance of “Messy.”
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And she led a standing ovation for Sabrina Carpenter when she won an award.
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And, like a good witch, she granted TikToker-turned-singer Alex Warren’s wish to meet her!
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When she won Best Pop, Ariana excitedly hugged presenter Ciara.
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She proved that she’s a huge fan of her fans, too. She said, “Thank you so much. This is so kind. Oh my God, thank you so much. I was so nervous, I wrote it down. I have to start by saying thank you so much to my fans. I’m gonna cry… I have to say thank you, first and foremost, to my fans. I love you with every fiber of my being.”
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And then she made sure to thank every single person behind “Brighter Days Ahead,” starting with one person who was close to her heart. She said, “Thank you to my dad, who acted in this video for the first time in his life, and he’s the best scene partner and dad in the world.”
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Then, she continued, “I have to thank the best music video director and collaborator in the world, Christian Breslauer. Thank you so much for bringing these songs and this vision to life and articulating them visually in a way that was fanciful and yet specific and vulnerable and yet protective all at once… You are the best in the world. I just wanna say, these videos that mean so much and define us as artists forever take a village, so I would really like to thank the village. Bear with me. It’s gonna be a long time, sorry. Okay, producers — thank you so much to Andrew, Luke, and Mike, Nick, Alex, London Alley, and Lucky Bastards. To our DP, Jeff Cronenweth, our production designer Alex Delgado, our first AD Jonas, and all of our ADs, we love you so much. We appreciate you. Our editor Lewis, our VFX team Mathmatic, lighting team led by Harold Skinner, our key grip Jimmy Sweet, and all of our grips.”
“Art department and art director Zach Friedman, props and our prop master Robbie, our colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld… Special effects, our special effects makeup team Justin Rally and Ozzy and Liz, I loved becoming a beautiful old lady with you every day. My glam team, Alex and Michael, I love you. Thank you for making me feel so beautiful. Our background and supporting actors and crafty, thank you for keeping everyone fed and energized on the long shoot days. Thank you Republic Records, my manager Brandon Creed, my team, Justin, Ray, Grace, Kat, Michelle, Joe… I can’t be missing.. Max and Elia, I loved making this album with you more than anything in the entire world. It was life-changing. Thank you for championing me as a songwriter and producer as well. I love you so much,” she said.
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And she ended with this iconic line: “And thank you to my therapists and gay people. I love you.”
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And finally, when she won Video of the Year, she let her director, Christian Breslauer, give the acceptance speech in her place.
Are there any more Ariana moments we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Check out all of our VMAs coverage here.
