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Ariana Grande Says Goodbye to Glinda Blonde, Shows Off New Hair Color in Instagram Photos

The superstar treated fans to 20 new behind-the-scenes photos from her latest music video/short film/masterpiece ‘brighter days.’

Allie Hayes

Gregg DeGuire/Penske Media via Getty Images

To paraphrase Sir Elton John, Ariana Grande is saying “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”—well, at least when it comes to her hair.

In a massive new Instagram photo drop, the superstar gave fans a closer look at her brand new ‘do, and it’s definitely a change of pace from the Good Witch of the North’s iconic golden blonde locks, which she’s been rocking for a couple of years now thanks to her Oscar-nominated role as Glinda in Wicked.

In the new post—which is a huge collection consisting of 20 behind-the-scenes images and clips from her latest music video/short film/masterpiece “brighter days”—Grande reveals she’s darkening things up, opting for a pale auburn teetering on a natural red (when seen in just the right light, of course).

Captioned with a simple white heart and infinity symbol emoji, the post includes several stunning portraits of Grande on the set of the ambitious 26 minute-long project, as well as clips from the breathtaking sets and action sequences. (Also, unrelated, but...she’s seriously pulling off those face tattoos. Like, Harley Quinn who?!)

On several of the photos—one of which features Grande posing during golden hour to expertly highlight the subtle shades of brunette and red in her new locks—Grande tagged photographer Katia Temkin, who was also responsible for the gorgeous cover art on her latest album, eternal sunshine.

But the singer/actor is certainly no stranger to drastic hair changes, as she was once known for her deep red hair while starring on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, then for that iconic dark brunette high ponytail absolutely all of us tried to emulate at one point or another (seriously, how’d she get it so perfectly slicked back every time?!), but she’s been sporting the blonde since 2023 when filming for Wicked began, and throughout the entirety of the 2024-2025 award season as a result.

On her choice to dye her own hair for Wicked rather than solely relying on wigs, Grande told Vogue, “My pop persona is such a characterized version on its own. Beauty really helped me deconstruct that person and find Glinda [...] Even though I was wearing wigs, I needed to be blonde, too.” With this in mind, it’s easy to see this change—no matter how subtle—as Grande’s first step in moving away from Glinda and toward the next chapter of her already incredible career.

You can see more of Grande and her stunning new hair color in her “brighter days” music video here, and she’ll return to our big screens later this year when the highly-anticipated sequel to Wicked hits theaters Nov. 21.

In the meantime—even though she’s moving on from Glinda—I still hope her new hair is just as effortlessly fun to do her now iconic “toss, toss” move with!

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Allie Hayes
ALLIE HAYES

Allie Hayes is an experienced pop culture staff writer and editor specializing in movies, TV and celebrity news. Before joining the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit team as a Breaking/Trending News Editor, she worked at several outlets including BuzzFeed, The Daily Dot, and Newsweek. When she’s not writing for work (or writing for fun), you’ll find her curled up on the couch reading yet another romance novel, obsessively watching pro wrestling with her friends, or taking blurry photos of her two adorable cats.

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