Ariana Grande Takes Over ‘Saturday Night Live’: ‘I Can’t Even’

Ariana Grande is taking over Saturday Night Live in a big way. The “Focus” singer isn’t just hosting the March 12 edition of SNL. She’ll be performing as well. Taking on two roles in a single episode of the long-running variety show may be taxing on Grande, but she’s already proving she’s up for the challenge in rehearsals.

News of Ariana’s Saturday Night Live overtime comes just as the singer prepares to promote her latest album, Dangerous Woman. Ms. Grande recently opened up about the feminist roots of the album and her own experiences with gender inequality.

Saturday Night Live gets Ariana in a Grande way

Ariana is taking on a big responsibility when she appears on the March 12 episode of SNL, but it’s not like the singer has never graced that particular stage before. Ms. Grande previously performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, but she didn’t host that episode. Instead, Chris Pratt served as the master of ceremonies.

“I’m having a minor heart attack, and by minor I mean a major one,” Ms. Grande said of her double duty appearance on Saturday Night Live. “I can’t even.”

Ariana has been working hard in rehearsals for the appearance, according to sources, and she’s taking all of her SNL duties seriously. Although this will be her first hosting experience for Saturday Night Live, Ariana has previously acted in a number of television shows and films, including Zoolander 2 and Scream Queens.

For her musical spots on SNL, Grande revealed she’ll be performing two new songs, both of which will be found on her Dangerous Woman album. Ariana will be singing the album’s title track, followed by “Be Alright, ” a song she’s already teased on her Snapchat account.

Ariana Grande reveals the feminist roots of Dangerous Woman

Aside from Saturday Night Live, Ms. Grande is still putting the finishing touches on her Dangerous Woman album, which some fans may have noticed has gone through a name change. Originally titled Moonlight, Ariana changed the name of her latest offering to reflect the overall theme of the album.

In an Instagram post, Grande revealed the source of her inspiration for the album, Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi, sharing a quote from Saadawi as well.

“They said, ‘You are a savage and dangerous woman.’ I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous.”

The quote is derived from Nawal’s 1975 novel, Woman at Point Zero, which is considered a historically significant work of literature for its depiction of women in Islamic society. It tells the story of a woman who is subjected to arranged marriage, genital mutilation, and forced into prostitution, before she ultimately rebels and murders her tormentor.

Ariana says she can relate to the feelings of persecution at the very least. Along with her brother, Ms. Grande was raised in the Catholic Church, but she says she left the religion when she realized how intolerant it is towards the gay community. She said this affected her personally, because her brother is gay.

“When my brother was told that God didn’t love him, I was like, ‘Okay, that’s not cool,'” Ms. Grande said. “They were building a Kabbalah centre in Florida so we both checked it out and really had a connection with it.”

Kabbalah seems to be working for Ariana, because she recently proved she has no hard feelings against ex-boyfriend Nathan Sykes. The two performed an updated duet version of “Over and Over Again,” a 2015 hit. Sykes said that working with Ariana was comfortable and not at all awkward, stressing that the two had remained friends.

[Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images ]