Ariana Grande imitates Britney Spears, transforms into Jennifer Coolidge during ‘SNL’ return
Ariana Grande has taste.
The 31-year-old pop star channeled several iconic women in Hollywood while hosting “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.
During her opening monologue, Grande joked that she was only there to host and wanted to be “low key” during the episode.
“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,” she said.
Grande also promised she wouldn’t sing or “do my impressions” — but once she was handed a microphone, she did impressions of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani.
She showed off her vocal pipes while perfecting notes from Spears’ “Baby One More Time” and No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.”
Grande was then joined by her “Wicked” co-star Bowen Yang, who was wearing a costume of Glinda.
“Bowen, didn’t anybody tell you? We cut the ‘Wicked’ sketch,” said Grande, who is playing Glinda in the film adaptation of the Broadway play that comes out in theaters next month.
Grande concluded her opening monologue with a chorus line of “hot dancers” dressed in sparkly suits.
During the “Maybelline” sketch, Grande and Chloe Fineman both transformed into Jennifer Coolidge. Fineman, 36, got ready for a date as Grande talked to her from a mirror.
Both stars wore over-the-top pink outfits with big blonde hair and bright pink lipgloss
Dana Carvey later appeared as a third Coolidge and the trio all applied the lipgloss on each other.
In a “Celine Dion Sports Promo” sketch, Grande played Celine Dion and spoofed the Canadian singer’s recent NFL promo.
Grande sang about brutal UCF fights in her own version of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”
The episode also featured a sketch where Grande and cast members Heidi Gardner, Edo Nwodim and Sarah Sherman spoof Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” while singing about the bachelorette trip for Fineman’s wedding.
Grande purposely sang off-key during the hilarious performance.
Grande previously hosted “SNL” back in March 2016, when she was also the musical guest.
This go-around, Grande only hosted while Stevie Nicks was the musical guest.
During her opening monologue, Grande noted that her past hosting stint was not long before the presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
“It’s so amazing to be here. The last time I hosted was in 2016, and we were right on the verge of electing our first female president,” she said.
“So I guess second time’s the charm,” she added, referring to the upcoming Nov. 5 vote between Trump, 78, and Kamala Harris.
Grande, like many Hollywood stars, is supporting Harris, 59, in the race.