On Saturday, October 12, Ariana Grande returned to the set of Saturday Night Live for the second time this year, this time to host after serving as the musical guest in March. In her opening monologue, Grande talked about her great year, specifically her role in the upcoming Wicked. There was also plenty of singing right from the jump, though the official musical guest for the evening was super star Stevie Nicks.
As the night continued, Grande got to show off her singing skills, her acting abilities, and a razor sharp sense of comedic timing. In this sketch, Grande plays a bridesmaid who is determined to do something a bit more “fun” for her speech, including a satirical take on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.” Unfortunately, the changed lyrics did reveal a little more than they intended about the bride.
In a pre-recorded short, Grande sings about visiting her best friend’s home, waxing nostalgically about old smells and her childhood, which inevitably leads to a severed head.
In a sketch with her friend Bowen Yang, Grande plays a hyper competitive mom who goes dark during a game of charades. The two get a chance to tease one another as Grande fully commits to her mean mom persona.
Grande is known for her many musical impression, which include a pretty spot-on Celine Dion. She breaks it out for this spoof.
In another sketch, Grande plays a little castrated boy named Antonio who is forced to sing for royalty, set in the Italian Renaissance. The short also included Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg in small cameo roles that really pleased the audience.
In a black and white sketch, Grande’s challenged with some rapid fire noir-style dialogue.
Grande can do a great impression even when she’s not singing. In this sketch, she takes a crack at doing comedian Jennifer Coolidge, as does Chloe Fineman and surprise guest Dana Carvey.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.