For the second time, Ariana Grande will be presenting “Saturday Night Live.”
It was Ariana Grande’s opening monologue that opened the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, which she hosted for the second time on the NBC comedy sketch show.
The Wicked actress turned her three-and-a-half-minute monologue into a Broadway production, highlighting the fact that every young theatergoer aspires to portray Elphaba or Glinda in the musical inspired by Oz.
The Grammy-winning pop queen remembered her first hosting stint in 2016—during when another woman was running for president—in a lighthearted manner.
With a playful aside that made it clear that she wasn’t doing double duty as host and musical guest, she said, “I guess the second time’s the charm.”
Stevie Nicks was the musical guest on this show, with 31-year-old Grande concentrating only on her hosting duties.
“I’m just hosting. No, I’m not going to make this about me; I’m just gonna have fun, take it easy, and keep it low-key,” she remarked.
But the 7 Rings were compelled to show off her abilities. Although she had pledged to keep it low-key, she immediately broke into an unplanned ballad that turned into a cabaret-style number.
She moved fluidly from her trademark Britney Spears impression to a tribute to Gwen Stefani’s voice, set to the song Don’t Speak by No Doubt, throughout this performance.
She made a funny pact not to talk about Wicked, but to her surprise, she came across a misplaced Bowen Yang who was dressed in full Glinda drag.
Here is Grande’s entire monologue: