Ariana Grande, who is no stranger to improv musical challenges, flexed her singing chops once again on Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The late night host introduced the Grammy winner to the stage and declared, “Your test tonight, if you choose to accept it, is to sing a song you’ve never seen the lyrics or heard any of the music before.” Grande simply replied, “It’s too late. I can’t turn back.”
Watch her performance below.
Accompanied by just a piano, Kimmel proceeded to show her a series of cue cards with lyrics written by his late night team. Among the stand out lines were multiple quips about her petite size, such as “10 of me stacked up equals one of Shaq.” There were also a few nods to Wicked, the Oscar-nominated musical film in which she stars alongside Cynthia Erivo, including, “You’ll never see me frown ’cause I’m defying gravity and you can’t pull me down.” As Grande does, the singer and actress was victorious in the end and presented a bouquet of flowers by the affable Guillermo Rodriguez himself.
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Wicked received 10 nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, including for Best Picture and Best Original Score, Best Sound, and Best Production Design. Along with Erivo’s Best Actress nod, Grande is up for Best Supporting Actress.
Grande was recently interviewed by Billie Eilish after a screening of the film at the Directors Guild of America’s theater in Los Angeles. During the Q&A, the pair shared their mutual admiration for each other’s work and hopes of collaborating on a track someday.
