Who does the best Ariana Grande? Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at Ariana Grande’s impersonations of her famous contemporaries and comparing them to the real deal.
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00:00 "Shall we go for it?"
00:01 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at Ariana Grande's impersonations of her famous
00:07 contemporaries and comparing them to the real deal.
00:10 "God, you look like the 4th of July."
00:14 Number 10. Rihanna
00:18 We first saw Grande's RiRi impression when she played Chloe,
00:21 the intern in this now widely famous SNL sketch. Following a technical glitch,
00:26 Chloe is tasked with recreating some of the platform's lost music, including Rihanna.
00:31 Grande puts her own spin on the singer's rich, with a touch of huskiness sound,
00:42 but we'd say she mostly sounds like Ariana Grande singing a Rihanna song. We guess the main point
00:47 they were trying to get across here is that many listeners didn't quite catch the lyrics to "work"
00:52 the first several times they heard it.
00:53 "Work, work, work, work, work, work, work. It sent me off to work, work, work, work, work, work.
00:58 You see me doing my da, da, da, da, da, da."
01:01 Still, she kinda got Rihanna's performance style down. It's an enjoyable impression,
01:05 but hardly Grande's best.
01:07 "Was that okay? I truly don't know what she's saying."
01:09 "Hey, hey, nobody does."
01:11 Number 9. Whitney Houston
01:14 Look, there's a reason Houston is known as "The Voice."
01:17 "I will always love you, my."
01:23 Capturing her unique, flawless sound, whether in powerful projection or soft warbling,
01:28 is often challenging to even the most trained and naturally talented vocalists.
01:33 Yet if anyone were going to come close, we wouldn't bet against Grande. Technically,
01:38 she's pretty close to nailing Houston's incredible vibrato and instantly recognizable timbre.
01:43 "And I wish for you joy and happiness."
01:47 We all know she has the vocal power to pull off a song as notoriously hard as "I Will Always Love You."
01:55 Nevertheless, if we closed our eyes, we'd still hear Grande singing a bit of Whitney.
02:06 At least she nailed that iconic look to camera.
02:08 "Hell no!"
02:14 Number 8. Judy Garland
02:16 Given Grande's soaring music career, it's easy to forget she actually started out as a theater kid.
02:22 Yet in this sketch, she embodies the iconic Judy Garland,
02:25 nailing the performer's unique gestures and speech patterns,
02:28 while adding her own flair of humor and heart to it.
02:31 "Well, who wakes up a girl and tells her she's under alien attack?
02:34 You's your noggin. Say, where's everybody's little drink, huh?"
02:36 "I'll pass 'em out. Here you go. Here you go. Here you go."
02:40 She could have just stuck with Garland's most famous character, Dorothy Gale from The Wizard
02:45 of Oz. And sure, we do catch some hints of Dorothy in there. However, she also reminds
02:51 audiences that Garland's legacy extends beyond Over the Rainbow.
02:54 "Shout hallelujah, come on, get happy. You better chase all your cares away."
02:59 They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And if that's so, Grande must be a super
03:05 fan. "Shout hallelujah, come on, get ready. Get ready, out of space, hooray."
03:11 Number 7. Amy Lee
03:13 In this musical genre challenge, Grande's tasked with putting a goth rock spin on
03:19 Kendrick Lamar's Humble. She decides to channel the rock group Evanescence, and let's just say,
03:24 if anyone was looking to start a tribute band, they'd have found their Amy Lee.
03:27 "Rise, drop, with the baby in a spiral. Soprano, sere, like to keep it on high note."
03:34 Grande goes through an entire vocal transformation to adopt Lee's otherworldly, theatrical,
03:39 and eerily magnetic sound. She injects the power and the softness in all the right moments,
03:45 effortlessly echoing the singer's grandiose voice.
03:47 "Breathe into me, make me real."
03:55 The elasticity of her voice is phenomenal. So Ari, when's the new goth rock album coming out?
04:00 Or at the very least, an Evanescence collaboration? We'll be waiting.
04:04 Number 6. Christina Aguilera
04:12 Xtina is world-renowned for her outstanding vocal acrobatics,
04:16 from her jaw-dropping range to that defining vocal grit.
04:19 Few could come close to her league, unless, of course, they happen to have a four octave range
04:30 that they can effortlessly switch between, almost as effortlessly as we breathe.
04:34 Grande easily steps into Aguilera's voice as she sings "The Wheels on the Bus,"
04:45 incorporating the singer's famous vocal embellishments like it's the most natural
04:49 thing in the world. Back in 2016, during the Voice finale, we got to hear them sing together.
04:55 "You make me feel like a dangerous woman."
05:03 Ari could have sung the whole number solo, and we'd probably still believe this was a duet.
05:07 Number 5. Shakira
05:19 When Shakira sings, it's almost like she has two voices in one.
05:23 "Whenever, wherever, we're meant to be together, I'll be there and you'll be near."
05:29 The way she transitions from her robust and rugged chest voice to a light and almost
05:34 ethereal falsetto is absolutely extraordinary. Off the top of our heads, we can't think of
05:39 any vocalist who can manage that feat, or even come close. Well, maybe one. From the iconic
05:49 Chloe, the intern switches on Shakira at the drop of a hat, and it's super impressive. She
05:55 seamlessly moves between voices like it's no big deal. Whenever, wherever she wants to cover one
06:00 of Shakira's classics, we'll be here for it, because we lo-lo-lo-lo-loved this.
06:05 Number 4. Britney Spears
06:15 Most of us associate Britney Spears' singing voice with the one we heard when she released
06:19 "Baby One More Time." "Show me how you want it to be, tell me baby."
06:27 It's a mix of sweet and sultry, and it's utterly distinctive. If you've been a long-time Arianator,
06:32 you may have heard Grande sing some of Britney's best-known tunes,
06:35 impeccably mirroring the pop princess' vocal style.
06:38 "Oh baby, baby, I shouldn't have let you go. And now you're out of my view."
06:48 However, most of us first heard her impression on The Tonight Show
06:52 when she was challenged with singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as the pop star.
07:05 We thought it was brilliant. However, not everyone seemed to agree. Britney complimented
07:10 the singer on her talent, but said she'd heard other impressions that are "stronger."
07:14 Number 3. Jennifer Lawrence
07:18 The actress' relatable, down-to-earth persona has become synonymous with her image,
07:23 while her deep and raspy voice is easily recognizable.
07:26 "During Silver Linings year, like award season, it was one of those, you know, parties.
07:31 And so I'm just like in a corner drinking champagne, like, ehh."
07:34 When you combine these qualities, they make her a great choice for a loving SNL send-up.
07:40 If you listen to Grande during interviews,
07:42 you'll notice she naturally talks in a higher register than J-Law.
07:45 "They told me not to do a game show, but I was like, screw it, I can have fun, I'm a regular person."
07:49 But we soon discovered that the singer has an impressive vocal range even when she's just
07:53 speaking. If we weren't actually seeing her, we'd totally think J-Law was in the room.
07:58 "We get there and I'm like, where's the pizza? And then Jess is like,
08:02 oh my god, you want me to order it? And I just like looked at her and I was like, oh."
08:04 Don't just take our word for it. Even Lawrence said it was quote,
08:11 "spot, word we can't say here, on," even if she'd never describe herself as a quote, "regular person."
08:18 "I'm just like a snackaholic. I mean, I love Pringles. If no one's looking,
08:21 I'll eat like a whole can. Like every day is my cheat day, you know what I mean?"
08:24 "Oh, how annoyingly relatable."
08:28 Number two, Jennifer Coolidge. Let's say you're familiar with Jennifer Coolidge's work,
08:33 but perhaps you struggle to remember names or attach them to faces. Well,
08:37 the moment you hear Grande imitate the actress, you'll know exactly who we're talking about.
08:41 "You look like the 4th of July."
08:43 "I didn't even get to the punchline."
08:51 "I know you didn't get the punchline, but just do it anyway."
08:53 "Taking the dog, dumbass."
08:54 Grande did a spot-on impression of Coolidge's deep, husky voice on The Tonight Show,
08:59 capturing both its seductive and funny sides. She nails the actress' dry humor and
09:05 perfect comedic timing. Then, for Halloween 2022, Grande revisited the impression while acting out
09:11 scenes from the movie Best in Show with Elizabeth Gillies.
09:14 "It looked really good. I did a wonderful, like, Sophia Loren, Persian eye, and, um,
09:23 it looked very dramatic and, uh, very show-like."
09:27 Coolidge was just one of the many celebs to light up the comments section, like the 4th of July.
09:32 "Al!"
09:32 "Oh my God, you look like the 4th of July. That makes me want a hot dog real bad."
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10:00 Number 1. Céline Dion
10:02 Grande has imitated this icon so many times that we can practically document
10:06 the evolution of her Céline Dion impression.
10:09 "Let my body, frozen, bed and cat, listen to it right outside the window."
10:17 "Shall we go for it?"
10:18 Viewers of The Tonight Show, The Late Late Show with James Corden,
10:21 SNL, and more have all been treated to this incredible imitation. Whether she's belting
10:26 out a classic or throwing a Dion twist on a modern hit, Grande masters it every time.
10:31 "I got a feeling my baby's coming to, yeah, but I let it, come on!"
10:38 Her voice is a powerhouse, channeling Céline's signature vibrato and emotional depth with
10:43 uncanny accuracy. But it's not just the vocals. Grande captures Céline's entire essence,
10:49 from the subtle mannerisms to how she commands the stage.
10:52 "It was all long ago, but it's all coming back to me."
10:58 You gotta hear it to believe it.
10:59 "Oh, she put it like that. It was all long ago, but it's all coming back to me."
11:06 "Oh my God, it's like she's in the car!"
11:10 Which Grande impression do you think is the most uncanny? Let us know in the comments.
11:15 "Well, how did I do, boys?"
11:16 "Fantastic! Wonderful!"
11:18 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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11:28 [music]