Bowen Yang And Ariana Grande Paid A Copyright-Safe Homage To ‘Moulin Rouge’ In A Musical Sketch On ‘SNL’

You’ll have to wait until November to see Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang on-screen in Wicked. But you can still see their chemistry in action. Last night (March 9), the two showed off their musical talents in a theatrical sketch on Saturday Night Live. The sketch is modeled after a PBS special honoring Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film, Moulin Rouge.

However the producers of the special weren’t sure which songs they could get the rights to, so Yang, who plays Ewan McGregor’s Moulin Rouge character, and Grande, who plays Nicole Kidman’s character, make their own mash-ups using portions of popular songs.

Some of the songs featured are TLC’s “Creep,” Elton John’s “Our Song,” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me.” But at the end of each mash-up is “Happy Birthday,” which is always a safe, royalty-free bet.

Toward the end of the sketch, Grande delivered the final note of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, giving fans an early taste of what to expect from the movie-musical adaptation.

Grande was the musical guest of the night, and during her slots, she delivered cinematic performances of “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” and “Imperfect For You” from her new album, Eternal Sunshine.

You can see the Moulin Rouge-themed sketch above.