Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez Honored at Virtuosos Award Ceremony at Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Santa Barbara, Calif. — Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, and Mikey Madison were among the stars honored at the Virtuosos Award ceremony Sunday night at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Grande, who stars as Glinda in the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked, is nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 97th Academy Awards. Fans gathered outside the Arlington Theatre, holding posters, books, and albums in hopes of securing autographs from their favorite stars.

During a Q&A session, Grande teased a small hint about Wicked: Part Two, saying, “If movie one is about choices…” before stopping short of revealing more details.

The Virtuosos Award honors actors who have delivered outstanding performances over the past year. This year's recipients include Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice, Clarence Maclin for Sing Sing, Fernanda Torres for I'm Still Here, and Selena Gomez for Emilia Pérez.

“The director really trusted me, and I was so grateful,” Gomez said about her role in Emilia Pérez. “I’ve gotten to show people that I am capable of doing more, and I hope that this is just the beginning for me.”

Emilia Pérez leads the upcoming Academy Awards with 13 nominations, including Best Picture and a historic Best Actress nomination for Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly transgender performer to be nominated in an acting category.

Gascón has faced controversy over past offensive social media posts, leading to her exclusion from the film's awards campaign. Despite this, Gomez expressed pride in the film, stating, “Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done, and I’m just grateful.”

The event concluded at the Arlington Theatre, where each honoree was presented with their award in front of an enthusiastic audience.