Ariana Grande 'Grateful' at First Red Carpet Since Manchester (Exclusive)
Nearly a year after the deadly bombing following her concert in Manchester, England, Ariana Grande made her first red carpet appearance at the 2018 Met Gala and told ET she feels “grateful to be back.”
The 24-year-old songstress has kept a low profile in the wake of the tragedy, which killed 22 and injured more than 500 on May 22, 2017.
As Grande prepares to release a new album, she is slowly returning to the limelight, performing at Coachella and recently co-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, on which she performed her Manchester-inspired track, “No Tears Left to Cry.”
“Oh my god, it's a gift and it's a joy and I'm so grateful to be back,” Grande told ET’s Keltie Knight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday night, where the theme of the evening was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination."
The singer stunned in a white gown emulating the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, designed by Vera Wang, who accompanied her on the red carpet.
“I'm feeling great -- this is my first Met,” Grande said. “I'm very excited and I'm so happy to be with Vera! And to be wearing the Sistine Chapel back wall by Michelangelo and it's the Last Judgment and I’m excited because it’s beautiful and Vera's the best.”
Wang then explained how the spectacular design came about.
“Ariana wanted a reference to religion, but she didn't want to be literal -- hence the beautiful headpiece she's wearing,” she said. “It's a total riff off religion, but in the most stylish, fashion-forward way. And, she's young and beautiful and can wear anything!”
See more on Grande and the 2018 Met Gala below.
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