SNL Video: Ariana Grande Parodies Moulin Rouge With an Unhinged Musical Mashup — Watch
If coughing blood into a napkin is “movie for dying,” Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang pairing up for a musical mashup is “Saturday Night Live for funny.” And funny it was!
In this weekend’s spoof of Moulin Rouge, the 2001 film starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, musical guest Grande joined Yang in a never-before-seen, uncut version of the film’s iconic love medley. The extended mashup started off the same as the actual film’s, but quickly segued into a particularly giggly Yang and Grande duetting a bizarre collection of mostly unrelated, unromantic songs including “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” “Wonderwall,” “Wheels on the Bus” and, oddly enough, “Happy Birthday.”
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PBS’ Ken Brunt (played by Mikey Day) opened the sketch, explaining that “Happy Birthday” was apparently the only song movie creators were sure they’d earn the rights to. Just to be safe, Grande’s Kidman and Yang’s McGregor took every opportunity to include the birthday ballad in hopes of preventing copyright issues in post-production.
The medley ended on a particularly high note — literally — when the pair closed the sketch with Wicked‘s iconic “Defying Gravity” vocal riff, complete with swinging arms and all. (Grande and Yang star in the upcoming movie adaptation.)
Watch the full sketch above, then grade the SNL hosted by Josh Brolin and featuring musical guest Ariana Grande.
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