According to IMDB, Ariana Grande’s Saturday Night Live appearance on Oct. 12 earned SNL its largest audience, and for good reason. Grande’s recent hosting of SNL curated the largest audience and highest ratings on Peacock since Elon Musk hosted back in May of 2021. The record-breaking views got Grande trending across social media platforms and news outlets, praising her for her talented performance on the show.
With the release of the new Wicked adaptation, Grande dazzled SNL, wearing the most perfectly pink Glinda-inspired dress. She made it clear that she won’t give any spoilers for her newest film, where she stars alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, creating the perfect pair of witches for the job. With the movie releasing in theaters on Nov. 22, Grande’s appearance as the newest host of SNL made light of her recent role, and her SNL performance proves she is the perfect pick.
The last time Grande was a host on SNL was back in 2016. In her opening monologue, she poked fun at this occurrence, acknowledging the coincidental political connection, and stated, “We were right on the verge of electing our first female president, so I guess… second time’s the charm.” Grande’s opening monologue also included a comedic musical number about keeping her Saturday night “low-key” alongside some impressive musical impressions of Brittney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Gwen Stefani.
Grade also took this as an opportunity to showcase her acting chops. She took part in numerous live skits, with titles such as “Bridesmaid Speech,” “Charades with Mom,” “Castrati,” “The Hotel Detective,” and “Maybelline.” Several of her SNL skits now have over 2 million views each on YouTube.
In the skit “Bridesmaid Speech,” Grande and other SNL cast members did a parody song of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit single “Espresso,” turning it into catchy lyrics and an absurd scene. The “Castrati” skit was a take on the Italian Renaissance, with Andy Sandberg and Maya Rudolph making a surprise appearance as Grande’s Parents. She portrayed a little Italian boy named Antonio, rocking a bowl cut and tights. Grande’s 16th-century bowl-cut wig was trending across platforms like X and TikTok, with many agreeing that seeing Grande with a bowl cut was not on their 2024 bingo card.
Along with Grande’s many impressions from her opening monologue song, she also applied her skills to portray the famous actress Jennifer Coolidge in the skit titled “Maybelline.” The scene includes cast member Chloe Fineman as Coolidge talking to her mirrored reflection, played by Grande, for a liquid lip gloss product for the makeup brand Maybelline. The skit includes accurate impressions and laughable breaks from Grande and Fineman.
The episode included Stevie Nicks as the musical guest for the evening, singing “Edge of Seventeen.” The performance felt nostalgic, and hearing the song 43 years after its release, it feels just as iconic as ever. Nicks also sang her newest song, “The Lighthouse,” in which she carried a heavy and powerful performance. Nicks even serenaded Grande and SNL cast member Bowen Yang after the duo begged the singer-songwriter for a quick performance in a promotion clip.
Grande’s alluring personality and bubbly excitement on Saturday gave this episode of SNL a spark that fans seemed to resonate with. With Grande’s episode being the most viewed in three years, we hope to see more exciting and fun appearances, and hopefully, we will see a reappearance by Grande later.