“Elephant Love Medley,” initially sung by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman’s characters in the Baz Luhrmann film, featured bits and pieces of hits from David Bowie, Whitney Houston, and Wings — whereas Grande and Yang’s latest rendition featured silly interpolations of a couple extra curveballs, such as “Happy Birthday.”

Mikey Day opened the sketch as PBS’ “Ken Burnt,” as he looked back at the movie musical’s 10-song medley.

“But what you don’t know is that the original medley is much, much longer,” he said. “Since they didn’t know what songs they could get the rights to, just to be safe, they tried many more than have never been seen.”

In the parody, Yang played character Christian while Grande took on Satine, as they ran through not just the songs already included in the original medley, but also threw in some strange selections. After opening with “Silly Love Songs” and other classics, the two then included TLC’s “Creep” and Julie Andrews’ “Do-Re-Mi,” before falling back on “Happy Birthday” as they tried not to giggle.

“They knew they could get the rights to happy birthday, so they fell back on that a lot,” Day’s PBS personality said in the middle of the sketch. “Let’s see some more.”

The continuation of the medley featured the inclusion of Jennifer Lopez’s “Waiting for Tonight,” before Grande’s character had a terrible accident. “Oh no, you just coughed blood in a napkin,” Yang’s Christian said to her. “That’s movie for dying!”

The scare then led to a performance of Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel,” and eventually, “Wheels on the Bus.” Then came “Son-of-a Preacher Man,” and Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” And, of course, that segment was also closed with “Happy Birthday,” as Yang and Grande got in each other’s personal space and attempted to conceal their onstage giggles.

“Baz Luhrmann also tried to tie the song ‘Lady Marmalade’ into the dialogue, take a look,” Day’s character said, before viewers got a glimpse of host Josh Brolin quoting Lil Kim.

“Satine, we need you on stage, it’s show time,” he said. “As we say in the Moulin Rouge, ‘Hey sister, soul sister, better get that dough sister.’ “

Yang and Grande then acted out the rest of the scene where Grande’s Satine faints into his arms, before Yang’s Christian asks her to “sing a little bit more.” They closed the sketch on Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” Elton John’s “Your Song,” and for a grand finale, “Happy Birthday.”

They also helped reel in the sketch with the final riff of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, as an early taste of what’s to come in their upcoming on-screen musical adaptation.

Also during SNL, Grande performed two tracks off her latest LP Eternal Sunshine: “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” and “Imperfect for You.” It marked her third time as a musical guest, as she was introduced by both Brolin and her mother, Joan Grande.

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Source:https://ca.news.yahoo.com