We knew Ariana Grande was good at singing and licking donuts, but apparently she’s also pretty good at mimicking the pop singers who came before her. Last night, she popped up on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to play “Wheel of Musical Impressions.” Incredibly, she got Britney Spears during her first round. You can check out the glorious segment, below.
If you’ve somehow missed out on the fun that is “Wheel of Musical Impressions,” during the segment, Fallon and his guest will take turns doing impressions that have been randomly generated. During Grande’s first try, she got B. Spears and the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” The singer already has a pretty impressive set of pipes, but getting down that sultry voice Spears has employed for most of her career is still a tough act. The singer follows that up with a Christina Aguilera impression that is a little more cartoon-ish, although possibly that’s a byproduct of the larger-than-life vocals Aguilera likes to throw out. Fallon really digs it, though.
Although I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that a singer would be good at musical impressions, I am a little impressed that she was so spot-on.
Fallon has a knack for musical impressions, as well; he even busted a few out during his SNL audition many, many years ago and has continued to show his willingness to pretend to be Neil Young and other singers during his tenure on late night. This time around, he did an Aaron Neville impression, as well as a version of Sting singing “Can’t Feel My Face” that went over pretty well. It's no Britney Spears, though.
This isn’t the first time that Fallon has played “Wheel of Musical Impressions.” A while ago, Christina Aguilera was actually involved in the game, and also did a most excellent Britney Spears impression. In addition, other Voice mentor Adam Levine has also shown excellence at mimicking other famous singers in the sketch.
Fallon might regurgitate some of the same sketches over and over again, but “Wheel of Musical Impressions” isn’t one he gets to bust out quite as often—I’m guessing because it’s tough to find celebrities with a knack for the game. While we wait for another “Wheel” sketch, you can check out more of Fallon and his shenanigans on weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET, only on NBC.
