Current:Home > MarketsAriana Grande hosts ‘SNL’ for the first time since the last female presidential nominee -Infinite Edge Capital
Ariana Grande hosts ‘SNL’ for the first time since the last female presidential nominee
View
Date:2025-04-13 01:05:22
Ariana Grande took the New York 30 Rock stage at “Saturday Night Live” for the third time as host and found herself in familiar circumstances.
“The last time I hosted was in 2016, and we were right on the verge of electing our first female president,” the 31-year-old singer and actor said in her monologue. “So, I guess, second time’s the charm?”
Grande, who first hosted in 2014, was doing it for the first time without also serving as musical guest — a role that fell to Stevie Nicks — and promised not to sing, before breaking into a song.
The theme continued as she vowed during the tune not to do her signature impressions of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani, before throwing out a bit of each. She would do a much longer version of Celine Dion in a sketch later in the show.
Grande hosted in promotion of her movie musical “Wicked,” the “Wizard of Oz” prequel set to be released next month.
She said playing the good witch Glinda as she does in the film is the dream of every theater kid like her, after “losing their virginity.”
Grande’s episode comes amid a ratings spike for the sketch institution, likely brought on by its 50th season, and election season. Last month’s season premiere brought in the most viewers since 2020.
Just as in the first two episodes of the new season, Maya Rudolph played Vice President Kamala Harris in the night’s cold open, leading a group of former cast members returning as guest stars, including Andy Samberg as Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff and Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden.
They teamed up for an election edition of “The Family Feud,” taking on team Trump.
Kenan Thompson, the longest-tenured cast member in the show’s history who began in 2003, reprised his long-running role as “Feud” host Steve Harvey and asked Rudolph-as-Harris about her recent media blitz.
“It’s been a hell of a week,” she said. “I went on Howard Stern to reach the horny cab drivers, I went on ‘The View’ for the horny moms, and I also went on the podcast ‘Call Her Daddy’ because I have a message for young women: You need to go to the ballot box if you want the government out of your ballot box.”
Current cast member James Austin Johnson returned as Donald Trump, saying his opponent is “going to be horrible at this game. She’s a very low IQ person. The whole world is laughing at her because they don’t respect her.”
The 76-year-old Nicks was the “SNL” musical guest for the first time in more than 40 years. She opened with her brand new single, “The Lighthouse,” but the look of the performance was classic Stevie, with an abundance of rings and scarves and the singer draped in black. For her second song, she reached back with “Edge of Seventeen” from 1981.
Michael Keaton is set to host next week with musical guest Billie Eilish. John Mulaney and Chappell Roan are set for the following Saturday.
The onset of season 50 already has brought reflection and nostalgia in many forms, including “Saturday Night,” a movie comedy dramatizing the minutes before the first episode of the Lorne Michaels-helmed sketch institution on Oct. 11, 1975.
A three-hour primetime special on Feb. 16 is set to serve as the official 50th season celebration.
veryGood! (25)
Related
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Indiana Fever move WNBA preseason home game to accommodate Pacers' playoff schedule
- Katie Ledecky, Jim Thorpe among 2024 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients by Joe Biden
- Biden to award Medal of Freedom to Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, Katie Ledecky and more
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Investing guru Warren Buffett draws thousands, but Charlie Munger’s zingers will be missed
- What's a whistleblower? Key questions about employee protections after Boeing supplier dies
- China launches lunar probe, looking to be 1st nation to get samples from far side of moon
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Traffic snarled as workers begin removing bridge over I-95 following truck fire in Connecticut
Ranking
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Nordstrom Rack is Heating Up With Swimsuit Deals Starting At $14
- Settlement could cost NCAA nearly $3 billion; plan to pay athletes would need federal protection
- You Know You Love All of Blake Lively's Iconic Met Gala Looks
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Raven-Symoné Slams Death Threats Aimed at Wife Miranda Pearman-Maday
- China launches lunar probe, looking to be 1st nation to get samples from far side of moon
- Emily in Paris Season 4 Release Date Revealed
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
China launches lunar probe, looking to be 1st nation to get samples from far side of moon
T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach Look Back at Their Exits From ABC Amid Rob Marciano’s Departure
Jalen Brunson is a true superstar who can take Knicks where they haven't been in decades
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Connecticut lawmakers take first steps to pass bill calling for cameras at absentee ballot boxes
Lawyers for teen suing NBA star Ja Morant over a fight during a pickup game withdraw from the case
Live updates: NYPD says officer fired gun on Columbia campus; NYU, New School protests cleared