Ariana Grande's Top 6 'SNL' Moments Ahead of Her Return as Host This Week

Jake Farrington

Thu, October 10, 2024 at 4:27 PM UTC

5 min read

Generate Key Takeaways

Ariana Grande is set to host Saturday Night Live this weekend (with musical guest Stevie Nicks), and the pop star/actress is no stranger to the Studio 8H stage. Saturday will mark the “We Can’t Be Friends” singer’s fourth time lighting up the SNL audience with her talents, having served as both a host and musical guest in the past.

Grande made her debut on the show a full decade ago during the Season 40 premiere, so it’s only appropriate that she return to celebrate the iconic sketch show’s next milestone: the big five-oh. Even when serving solely as a musical guest, Grande has always taken the opportunity to appear in laugh-out-loud sketches, effortlessly creating water cooler moments and showcasing her incredible vocal talents.

While we wait to see what the Wicked star will do this Saturday to leave us doubled over in laughter (she’s requested no Wizard of Oz references), let’s look back at some of Grande’s most memorable moments from SNL seasons past.

Ariana Grande's best Saturday Night Live moments

Kids’ Choice Awards

During her time as host in 2016, Grande wasn’t afraid to poke fun at her Nickelodeon past. During her opening monologue, she and longtime Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson shared a joke about their complicated feelings toward growing up as child stars. She kept that energy going in a hilarious sketch set on the orange carpet of the Kids’ Choice Awards where the former Victorious star played an entertainment correspondent (alongside Vanessa Bayer and Taran Killam) desperate to fill airtime for an increasingly delayed awards show. “I just saw Dog from Dog with a Blog take a selfie with i-Carly herself, who is receiving tonight’s Lifetime Achievement award!”

This Is Not a Feminist Song

Saturday Night Live shines when it brings us musical comedy, and “This Is Not a Feminist Song” is no exception. In this digital short, Grande and the ladies of SNL (Vanessa Bayer, Aidy Bryant, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong and Sasheer Zamata) detail the struggles of coming up with the perfect feminist anthem. It’s tough enough to write a regular song, let alone one powerful enough to “right the wrongs of all of time,” so they decide to call it a day. “We didn’t write that anthem, we went home.” Throughout the sketch we see the cast satirizing the imagery associated with the empowering pieces they were trying to evoke, as Ariana sings “Instead of writing lyrics, here’s us running in the sand. And here’s a bunch of lens flares. And an old woman’s hands.”

“Imperfect For You”

Even though the “Yes, And?” singer has an impressive collection of past sketches, it’s impossible not to highlight at least one of her musical performances. During an appearance on the show earlier this year, Ariana debuted songs from her newest album, “Eternal Sunshine.” After being introduced by her mother, Joan Grande, Ariana crooned amid a sea of swaying grass set against the backdrop of a sunset sky. While known for her incredible vocal range and out-of-this-world whistle-tone, during her performance of “Imperfect For You” Grande showcased her powerful lower register, proving she’s still one of the best in the biz.

Celebrity Family Feud

Grande has gained quite a reputation for her incredible ability to impersonate other celebrities. From mimicking the vocals of Britney Spears and Celine Dion to her viral impression of former Victorious co-star Liz Gillies, Grande can seemingly slip right into anybody’s likeness. And her turn as Jennifer Lawrence in the Celebrity Family Feud sketch was one that had people talking. “She sounds more Jennifer Lawrence than Jennifer Lawrence,” noted one top YouTube commenter (whose comment garnered over 17,000 likes). Throughout the sketch she pokes fun at J-Law’s “normal girl” vibe, saying things like “I’m just, like, a snack-aholic… Like, every day is my cheat day, you know what I mean?” Let’s hope we see a few more impressions this coming weekend!

Moulin Rouge

Out of all of Ari’s appearances, her role as Satine in the Moulin Rouge! parody is perhaps the funniest and most memorable to date. During a “behind-the-scenes” look at the filming of the hit movie musical, we see Ariana and her Wicked bestie, Bowen Yang, take on the film’s most iconic scene: the “Elephant Love Medley.” However, in this version, a few more songs are added into the mix, all of which are either quite clever or hilariously out of place, like the continued use of the “Happy Birthday” song due to rights issues. Throughout the sketch Grande and Yang break character multiple times trying to act through the ridiculousness of the premise, which we as an audience love to watch. They even managed to sneak in a “Defying Gravity” reference as a little Wicked easter egg. We certainly wouldn’t mind seeing them bring these characters back for round two!

Tidal

Perhaps Ariana Grande's most renowned SNL skit, however, is from 2016 when she pretended to be an intern for the music streaming platform Tidal. Showcasing Ariana's ability to mimic other voices, in the skit she must step in to perform the songs of other pop stars when the Tidal server goes down. The sketch went incredibly viral, and set up Ariana to become a favorite host/musical guest for seasons to come.

About Our Ads

Solve the daily Crossword

The Daily Crossword was played 11,212 times last week. Can you solve it faster than others?The Daily Crossword was played 11,212 times last week. Can you solve it faster than others?

Crossword

Entertainment News