Ariana Grande Shines with Rising Star Award at Palm Springs Film Festival

Ariana Grande, the global music sensation and actress, continues to capture hearts with her remarkable achievements. Ariana Grande may already be a superstar in the music world, but she accepted the “Rising Star” Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards on Friday for her breakout performance in Wicked.

Taking the stage at the Palm Springs Convention Center, Grande acknowledged the slight irony of the award, joking, “I’ve been performing since I was a child, so I never thought at the age of 31 I’d be hearing the words ‘Rising Star’ again, so I want to start by thanking my good friends Botox and Juvederm. I thought I’d be hearing ‘Slightly Withering Star’ or ‘Drooping Star’ by now, so thank you.”

“Sister witch” Cynthia Erivo and director Jon M. Chu were also praised by the pop star, who plays Glinda in the hit musical. She also joked that she “started out in stand-up comedy” when she would perform in her living room for $5 for her jokes when she was four years old.

Grande went on to say that going back to that comedy in Wicked “really does feel like the start of a new chapter.” “Comedy is just another way of telling the truth, even though Glinda the Good is full of silly jokes and clever punchlines.” She naturally brings light into dark places, even when there is pain. I’m so thankful to have lived through that and learnt so much from her over the last three years.

Ariana Grande is honored by Jennifer Coolidge at the #PSFilmAwards2025 and jokes about receiving the “Rising Star” Award at 31 pic.twitter.com/7Z1PEHL3yM

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 4, 2025

Ariana Grande showed Coolidge the same love by telling her, “Thank you Jennifer for coming all this way to do this for me.” It means something very important to me, but I can’t explain it. I’ve been inspired by your comedic brilliance my whole life. I love you so much.

There are always a lot of famous people at the Film Awards gala, which starts the Palm Springs International Film Festival every year. The Brutalist star Adrien Brody received the Desert Palm Achievement Award for Actor, Timothee Chalamet received the Chairman’s Award, Kieran Culkin of A Real Pain received the Breakthrough Performance Award for Actor, Colman Domingo of Sing Sing received the Spotlight Award for Actor, Angelina Jolie of Maria received the Desert Palm Achievement Award for Actress, Nicole Kidman of Babygirl received the International Star Award, Mikey Madison of Anora received the Breakthrough Performance Award for Actress, Denis Villeneuve directed Dune, the Conclave cast received the Ensemble Performance Award, and Emilia Perez’s team received the Vanguard Award.

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