For her first performance, Grande brought out her new kitty ears, dressed in all-black, as she opened with her smash single, "Break Free." Instead of immediately immersing herself in the pulsing bass and beat of the Zedd-produced smash, Grande decided to create a more intimate environment. To begin the performance, Grande was only accompanied by a piano, performing a more acoustic, intimate rendition of the track, before the pulsing beat joined in and Grande produced an energetic, driving performance. Before she was joined by the choreography and uptempo number, Grande successfully delivered a performance which highlighted her well-known strong vocals.
For her second appearance, Grande was joined by The Weeknd, for her performance of "Love Me Harder," off of her recent release,
My Everything. The inclusion of The Weeknd was a minor surprise, as according to
Rolling Stone, Grande had announced that The Weeknd would be joining her, in order to more than likely debunk the rumors circulating that Jessie J and Nicki Minaj would be joining her for a live rendition of their track, "Bang Bang."
According to
Rolling Stone, "Love Me Harder" is anticipated to be Grande's third single off of My Everything, and will drop later this month.
The "Break Free" singer also
made use of her acting chops, which were seen through her roles on Nickelodeon, early in the show, when she was joining host Chris Pratt in a sketch as she helped make a mess as She-Ra to his He-Man.
Next week, Maroon 5 will make their fifth appearance on
Saturday Night Live, as the musical guests.
