In 2015, Ariana Grande appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and proceeded to deliver some incredible vocal impressions that had both the audience and Jimmy simultaneously in awe and in stitches. Playing a game called “The Wheel of Musical Impressions,” Ariana was presented with a random song as well as the vocalist who she had to impersonate while singing. Needless to say, she nailed every single impression, bringing in an eye-watering 172 million views while doing it too.
First, Ariana had to sing ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ in the style of Britney Spears – something that would be almost impossible to do for any ordinary vocalist. But by now we all know that Ariana is a little more than ordinary, and she captured Britney’s gravelly tones perfectly without ever missing a note. Another highlight was her version of ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ sung in the style of Christina Aguilera, which saw the singer somehow transform the nursery rhyme into a powerful, emotive ballad!
Jimmy also had to take part in the game, and he delivered some pretty impressive impersonations of his own. Perhaps his best moment was when he sang The Weeknd’s ‘I Can’t Feel My Face’ in the style of Sting, sending the audience into fits of laughter with how accurately he nailed Sting’s rich tones and over-accentuation of certain words. Ariana then had the job of tackling the same song in the style of Celine Dion, and in a hilarious twist ended up duetting with “Sting” as the game’s finale.
As many Music Man readers might have guessed, meanwhile, this wasn’t Ariana’s first time doing impressions of other singers. In 2016 she took part in another hilarious skit that showed her impersonating an even wider range of vocalists, including Rihanna and Whitney Houston. The highlight this time, however, was her take on Shakira’s iconic, highly textured voice, which had the live audience laughing their heads off. It’s little wonder that the video has reached over 13 million people worldwide!
Ariana Grande quite clearly has a jaw-dropping voice – that much we know. But what we also get a glimpse of in these two videos is her astounding talent for both impersonations and making her audience laugh, which is certainly not something that any old pop singer can do.
If you would like to hear more from this talented artist you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.