Ariana Grande Makes A Cameo In Jimmy Fallon’s ‘I Wish It Was Christmas Today’ Reunion With ‘SNL’ Legends
Ariana Grande rocked a Christmas sweater—and some pouty moves— during her most recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The pop superstar fit right in during a remake of Fallon’s classic performance of “I Wish it Was Christmas Today” from Saturday Night Live.
Grande joined SNL veteran Jimmy Fallon as he reunited with former co-stars Tracy Morgan, Chris Kattan, and Horatio Sanz for a remake of the festive tune. The quartet originally performed the song in 2000 as part of a skit on the NBC late-night show, according to Deadline.
In the re-creation, Sanz was back on lead vocals and Fallon on keyboards and backup noise. Kattan was in charge of holding the keyboard for Fallon, while Morgan and Grande danced to the Christmas jam while wearing matching red snowflake sweaters.
The song has become a Christmas standard for Jimmy Fallon. In the original and subsequent versions, Sanz starts the Christmas countdown as Fallon queues up his MIDI track on the keyboard while Kattan and Morgan—and now Grande— remain stone-faced as they show off their moves.
Sanz’ lyrics include, “I don’t care what your momma says, Christmas time is near / I don’t care what your daddy says, Christmas time is dear / All I know is that Santa’s sleigh is making its way to the U.S.A. / I don’t care about the CIA / I don’t care what the calendar say / I wish it was Christmas today.”
.@ArianaGrande joined some of the former #SNL greats for a performance of "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" for tonight's @FallonTonight! https://t.co/tCSDgvUx5j
— JustJared.com (@JustJared) December 19, 2018
After the song’s 2000 debut, an updated version of “I Wish It Was Christmas Today” was performed on Saturday Night Live by Sanz, Fallon, Kattan, and Morgan the following year, according to Slate. In 2002, the song was back, this time with the SNL castmates dressed as Christmas toys, including Morgan’s iconic impersonation of a Talking Elmo. By 2004, Sanz performed the Christmas classic with Muppets as Fallon, Kattan, and Morgan had all left Saturday Night Live.
But in 2009, Fallon resurrected the song with Sanz, his late-night band The Roots, and The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas. In 2011, Fallon teamed up with Sanz, Kattan, and Morgan to perform the song yet again when he guest-hosted Saturday Night Live.
Of course, Ariana Grande fit right in for the latest rendition of the song as she helped Kattan with keyboard support. The singing superstar has been vocal about her love for Saturday Night Live, which she has guest-hosted and appeared on as a musical guest twice.
You can see the original version of “I Wish it Was Christmas Today” and the most recent remake of the song with Ariana Grande below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-81pyMUx0U
