By ANDREW DALTON
Ariana Grande took the New York 30 Rock stage at “Saturday Night Live” for the third time as host and located herself in acquainted 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 mentioned in her monologue. “So, I guess, second time’s the charm?”
Grande, who first hosted in 2014, was doing it for the primary time with out additionally serving as musical visitor — a job that fell to Stevie Nicks — and promised to not sing, earlier than breaking right into a music.
The theme continued as she vowed throughout the tune to not do her signature impressions of Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani, earlier than throwing out a bit of every. She would do a for much longer model of Celine Dion in a sketch later within the present.
Grande hosted in promotion of her film musical “Wicked,” the “Wizard of Oz” prequel set to be launched subsequent month.
She mentioned enjoying the nice witch Glinda as she does within the movie is the dream of each theater child like her, after “losing their virginity.”
Grande’s episode comes amid a rankings spike for the sketch establishment, probably introduced on by its fiftieth season, and election season. Final month’s season premiere introduced in probably the most viewers since 2020.
Simply as within the first two episodes of the brand new season, Maya Rudolph performed Vice President Kamala Harris within the evening’s chilly open, main a bunch of former solid members returning as visitor stars, together with Andy Samberg as Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff and Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden.
They teamed up for an election version of “The Family Feud,” taking over crew Trump.
Kenan Thompson, the longest-tenured solid member within the present’s historical past who started in 2003, reprised his long-running position as “Feud” host Steve Harvey and requested Rudolph-as-Harris about her current media blitz.
“It’s been a hell of a week,” she mentioned. “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.”
Present solid 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 visitor for the primary time in additional than 40 years. She opened together with her model new single, “The Lighthouse,” however the look of the efficiency was traditional Stevie, with an abundance of rings and scarves and the singer draped in black. For her second music, she reached again with “Edge of Seventeen” from 1981.
Michael Keaton is about to host subsequent week with musical visitor Billie Eilish. John Mulaney and Chappell Roan are set for the next Saturday.
The onset of season 50 already has introduced reflection and nostalgia in lots of varieties, together with “Saturday Night,” a film comedy dramatizing the minutes earlier than the primary episode of the Lorne Michaels-helmed sketch establishment on Oct. 11, 1975.
A 3-hour primetime particular on Feb. 16 is about to function the official fiftieth season celebration.
Initially Printed:
