‘Saturday Night Live’ Fans Declare Ariana Grande the Winner of the Jennifer Coolidge Impression Battle

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Ariana Grande was the living embodiment of the Kristin Wiig’s “Don’t Make Me Sing” sketch during her latest Saturday Night Live hosting gig—and we couldn’t be more grateful.

“Before I start, I just want to make one thing clear tonight. I am just hosting,” Grande says during her opening monologue. “No, I’m not gonna make this about me. I’m just gonna have fun, take it easy, and yep, it’s gonna keep it low-key.” Of course, that’s when the singing starts. “I’m gonna keep it low-key tonight,” she croons. “Promise, I’m not gonna sing, I’m not gonna sing my favorite notes. Not C, D, B, A, or G.”

She continues, “I’m not gonna do my impressions. No Britney Spears today.” Yeah, right. From there, she not only breaks out a bit of “Baby One More Time,” but she also showcases her Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani impressions in the next few breaths. “I can’t sing because it hurts!”

You can watch the monologue, in full here.

And that’s not where the impressions ended. For one, Saturday Night Live dedicated an entire sketch to Grande’s famous Celine Dion impression by having the Wicked star spoof the Canadian icon’s recent NFL commercial with a UFC ad spot. “When I hit you like this/And when you choke me like that/When you elbow me in the tit/All coming back to me,” she sings, before adding, “It’s all coming back to me. But maybe not to them because of the concussions.”

Her pièce de résistance, however, was a Maybelline commercial sketch that featured not one, but three Jennifer Coolidge impressions. Current SNL cast member Chloe Fineman kicked off the skit as Coolidge, promoting the brand’s Super Stay Longwear Liquid Lip Color to camera before turning to the mirror to check that she “didn’t miss any spots.”

“Wow, you look great, Jennifer Coolidge,” Grande says as Coolidge’s reflection, dressed in her own pink father robe and voluminous blonde wig. Coolidge goes on to have a conversation with herself about an upcoming date while both actors attempt not to break character until former SNL cast member Dana Carvey joined the fray… My personal favorite exchange:

Coolidge (Grande): “If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?”
Coolidge (Fineman): “Living!”

It wasn’t a competition, but viewers quickly declared Grande the winner anyway. “Great job by Ariana. Hard to top Chloe’s impressions, but she did,” one fan commented on Saturday Night Live’s YouTube video, while an X.com user asked, “is it me or is Ariana Grande’s Jennifer Coolidge impersonation actually better than Chloe Fineman’s??”

Others agreed, while one less-than-kind comment called it “embarrassing” that Grande’s impression of The White Lotus actor was more accurate than “the one who does impressions for a living.” But it’s important to remember that Ariana Grande is not only a renowned vocal impressionist, and has a long history of channeling Jennifer Coolidge.

In fact, Coolidge reached out to Grande because of her viral impression on The Tonight Show in 2018. The two went on to become great friends, with Coolidge starring in Grande’s “Thank U, Next” music video, which the Legally Blonde actor credits for kickstarting her career renaissance.

“You were sort of the instigator,” she told Grande during her Entertainers of the Year cover story for Entertainment Weekly in 2022. “I really believe that. I think if you hadn’t put me in ‘Thank U, Next,’ and done that imitation, I don’t think I would be here where I am.”

Hopefully, next time Grande or Coolidge host Saturday Night Live, we’ll see four Coolidges on our screen instead of three.