Ariane Grande notched a huge win at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, earning the Moon Person trophy in the coveted video of the year category.
The 32-year-old musician took home the award for "Brighter Days Ahead," the accompanying sci-fi visual short for her 2024 album "Eternal Sunshine" and the album's 2025 reissue, "Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead."
Grande shared the stage on Sunday with Christian Breslauer, her "Brighter Days Ahead" director, and explained the importance of the song about lifelong healing, thanking her fans and friends.
"I want to start off, again, with my fans: Thank you so, so, so much. I love you with all my heart," she began. "I have since I was a teenager, since we first crossed paths, and I will for my whole life."
"Art has been a safe space for me since I was a kid," she continued. "I'm so grateful that I get to do this with my life and to have such fiercely loving and supportive fans. Thank you for growing with me and being so supportive of me as a human being, navigating in real time which creative itch needs to be scratched next, whether it’s acting, music, musical theater or a little bit of tour."
She added, "This project is about the hard work that is healing all different kinds of trauma and coming home to our young selves and creating safety in our own lives, which is a lifelong process and a daily exercise. If you're on that journey, please continue onward, because I promise there are brighter days ahead."
In his own acceptance speech, Breslauer took a moment to thank those who had worked alongside him on the video, including Grande, saying, "I'm so supported by the best team in the business. I can only do this with them, so I'm sharing this award with them."
He added, "I just want ... to give a special shoutout to my wife. We just had our first baby, and so the real queen is her."
The 2025 VMAs were hosted by LL Cool J and took place on Sunday, Sept. 7, at the UBS Arena in New York. The event aired coast to coast on CBS and MTV, streaming on Paramount+.
