Ariana Grande stepped out with a striking new look at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards, debuting her darkest hair color in years.
After spending much of the past three years as a platinum blonde, the actress and singer, 32, attended the ceremony on Sunday with a deep brunette updo with bangs, marking a dramatic shift from the Glinda-inspired blonde she kept while filming and promoting Wicked.
However, Grande leaned once again into method dressing tied to her Wicked role. Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch, she wore a baby pink Alberta Ferretti gown featuring an embellished overlay and flowing cape sleeves, paired with Swarovski jewelry. The look was styled by Law Roach.
She previously told Entertainment Tonight that the lighter hair during the first press tour of Wicked: Part Two was meant to extend Glinda’s presence beyond the screen, while darker tones now allow her to separate herself from the character.
“Now I can show up as the actress who played her and play into the darker tones of the movie,” she explained of her return to darker hair in October. “It’s fun to play with hair and makeup and fashion.”
Later, Grande admitted the transition wasn’t entirely smooth. In an interview with French journalist Sally, she joked that her hair seemed resistant to abandoning blonde altogether, as the colour repeatedly lightened after washes despite toner treatments.