Ariana Grande hosted Saturday Night Live last night, showcasing her impressions of Britney Spears, Celine Dion, and Miley Cyrus. Grande was the third host of the historic show’s 50th season, which aired on 12th October, with Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks serving as the musical guest. To kick off the show, Grande delivered a monologue referencing her upcoming role as Glinda in the ‘Wicked’ movie.
“It’s awesome, because I’m such a theatre kid. And it’s every theatre kid’s dream to be Glinda or Elphaba,” she told the audience. “Well, it’s every theater kid’s dream to lose their vi**inity. But their second dream is of course to be in Wicked.”
Reflecting on her previous time as a host on the iconic show, Grande said: “The last time I hosted was in 2016, right on the verge of electing our first female president so I guess second time’s the charm.”
Image Courtesy: Yahoo News UK
Grande went on to clarify that she was “just hosting” this time. “I’m not going to make this about me. I’m just going to have fun, take it easy, and keep it low-key,” she said while being handed a microphone from off-stage.
“I’m not going to sing my favourite notes…I’m not going to do my impressions…” she sang before launching into a performance that featured impressions of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Gwen Stefani, along with a rendition of Stefani’s vocals on No Doubt’s 1995 hit, ‘Don’t Speak.’
Check it out below.
Later in the show, she impersonated Celine Dion in a sketch that parodied the singer’s surprising NFL promo from the previous week. As Dion, Grande sang about the violence of UFC fighting in a spoof of ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.’
Grande had previously appeared as a musical guest on the show in March, where she performed ‘Imperfect For You’ and ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’ from her latest album, Eternal Sunshine, live for the first time.
In another segment, the cast performed a sketch as Oasis, humourously referencing the band’s tumultuous history. Liam Gallagher responded to the skit on Twitter/X, asking, “Are they meant to be comedians?”
In other Ariana news, she has mentioned that she is working on scheduling dates for a “mini” tour to support Eternal Sunshine, the album she released in March. ‘Wicked’ will feature Cynthia Erivo, Grande, and Jeff Goldblum, telling the untold story of the witches of Oz. A trailer for the film was released in May.
Following the global success of ‘Barbenheimer’ in 2023, movie fans are eagerly anticipating ‘Glicked’ in the final months of 2024, with both ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ set to be released on 22nd November.
–Silviya.Y