While this will be the third time the pint-sized vocalist has performed musically on the show, this marks her first hosting gig. She won’t, however, be the first musician to headline the entire hour-and-a-half of the live sketch comedy show: a long list of others have taken both the musical and comedic reigns before, including Justin Timberlake (three times), Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, and Jennifer Lopez (twice), among others. Fun trivia fact: the first to do so was I Love Lucy’s Desi Arnaz back in 1976.
Clearly, she’ll have some big shoes to fill. Timberlake, for example, has proven himself a worthy candidate as a regular on the SNL stage with great comedic timing and acting skills. And previous host/musical guests like Cyrus and Lopez are also actresses. But don’t forget: so was Grande.
As a teenager, Grande starred on the Nickelodeon TV series Victorious, as well as its spinoff Sam & Cat. And she got her start performing on Broadway in the musical 13. So, the 22-year-old has some acting chops from which to draw. Sketch comedy, however, is a whole other animal. Luckily, she has a stellar cast that includes names like Kate McKinnon and Taran Killam behind her.
Musically, Grande will be debuting songs from her new album. Her episode will follow Jonah Hill’s, who’s set to host on March 5 when the show returns. He could be a tough act to follow.
Good luck, Grande. But seriously, please do a donut shop scene. Combine that with a Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears impression (both of which she’s proven she can nail) and it could be comedy gold.
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