Last night, December 20, Ariana Grande returned to Studio 8H to host Saturday Night Live for the second time in as many years. During her monologue, Grande parodied Mariah Carey’s recently record-breaking “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and was joined by Bowen Yang, who is leaving the SNL cast midway through his eighth season. She also appeared in sketches throughout the evening as an Elf on the Shelf, a dance instructor, and Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister from Home Alone.
In the “Random Duet Christmas Spectacular” sketch, inspired by David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s 1977 televised performance of “Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy,” Grande played Katy Perry and Celine Dion. The show’s cast members also impersonated Bob Dylan, Kate Bush, Yoko Ono, Björk, and Geese frontman Cameron Winter.
Making her first appearance as Saturday Night Live’s musical guest since 2011, Cher performed two songs from her 2023 Christmas album titled, simply, Christmas. She was flanked by backup dancers for “DJ Play a Christmas Song” and covered Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run.”
Saturday Night Live’s 51st season has featured performances from Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter, Brandi Carlile, Olivia Dean, Dijon, and Lily Allen, among others. Bad Bunny hosted the season premiere. Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard will host SNL’s first episode of the new year alongside musical guest A$AP Rocky on January 17, coinciding with the latest planned release date for Rocky’s new album, Don’t Be Dumb.
This year, Grande shared the deluxe version of her 2024 album, Eternal Sunshine, and joined the cast of Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro’s new Meet the Parents movie. She performed alongside her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo at the 2025 Oscars, where she was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Glinda. Grande will kick off her first tour in over six years in June 2026.
