Ariana Grande appeared at Studio 8H for hosting duties Saturday night and did some spot-on imitations of Britney Spears, Celion Dion and more.
The singer, who stars as Glinda in November’s hotly anticipated “Wicked,” expressing excitement in her opening monologue about returning to the famed studio for the show’s 50th season.
“Thank you so much,” said Grande. “I’m so happy to be back hosting. This year has been truly amazing. I got to play Glinda in the ‘Wicked’ movie. It’s awesome, because I’m such a theater kid. And it’s every theater kid’s dream to be Glinda or Elphaba. Well, it’s every theater kids dream to lose their virginity. But their second dream is of course to be in ‘Wicked.’”
Recalling her last time hosting, the pop star 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.”
Grande, known for her phenomenal vocal range, poked fun at her singing gravitas, saying, “I just want to make one thing clear; I am just hosting. I’m not going to make this about me. I’m just going to have fun, take it easy, and keep it low key.
From offstage, Grande was handed a microphone. “Oh, what’s this?” Then she launched into song, saying, “I’m not going to sing my favorite notes…I’m not going to do my impressions…” Then the two-time Grammy winner flexed her vocal range doing impressions of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani, with a spot-on take of Stefani’s singing No Doubt’s 1995 hit, “Don’t Speak. “I promised I won’t do a lift,” said Grande, as she was hoisted into the air and joined by a glamorous chorus line clad in suits.
Bowen Yang joined Grande onstage wearing the classic “Wizard of Oz” costume of Glinda. “Bowen, didn’t anybody tell you? We cut the ‘Wicked’ sketch.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” said Yang. “I didn’t really want to do it anyway.” Grande sang back, “Great, and this isn’t a wand, it’s a flask,” she said, yanking the top of Yang’s pink Glinda wand.
“I’m not gonna do a duet tonight,” she sang, “So please don’t bring out Stevie Nicks! And the last thing I’m gonna do is bring out some hot dancers to do some insanely high kicks!” Grand was joined then by a glamorous chorus line clad in sparkly suits.
In another short sketch, she played Celine Dion and spoofed the singer’s surprising promo for the NFL last week. This time, however, Grande’s Dion sang about the violent, bone-crunching UFC fighting in a spoof of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”