The musical artist surprised fans, tried her hand at a number of musical genres and performed her new single "No Tears Left to Cry" in the song's broadcast debut.
After several memorable appearances and one notable Christina Aguilera musical impression,
The Tonight Show devoted an entire episode to show favorite
Ariana Grande on Friday.
Grande performed her new single "No Tears Left to Cry," her first release since the May 2017 bombing at her Manchester Arena concert, in the song's broadcast debut. Since the attacks, Grande orchestrated the One Love Manchester benefit concert, which raised funds for the victims and families of the May 22 attack, and has become an honorary citizen of Manchester.
In a pre-taped segment, Grande surprised fans singing her song "One Last Time" for what they believed was a fan video. One dropped to his knees, and Grande complimented another's use of different melodies than her own song.
Next, Fallon introduced a sketch in which he played a host of a show called NBD and Grande played a guest called Cassandra, both using exaggerated Valley Girl accents and vocal fry. They name-dropped Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Timothee Chalamet, who Grande said she had seen at Au Bon Pain. The conversation then turned to France: "I actually go to Paris every other weekend, I actually pet-sit for Katie Perry. It's called Katie Paris, get it," Grande said.
When discussing the royal wedding, Fallon mentioned that he just got his 23andMe results and learned he was "280th in line for the throne" and also found out he was prone to anemia. Their final talking point was Kentucky Derby hats:
Jimmy Fallon said his was made from llama hair, by llamas, and that all the proceeds went back to the llamas; Grande said hers was designed by Elon Musk and was a drone that hovered over her head.
Later on, Grande and Fallon played a round of "Musical Genre Challenge" in which they sang popular songs in different musical stylings, including Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" as a goth rock tune and Usher's "Yeah" in the vein of country.
During her sit-down interview with Fallon, Grande promised that her new album, Sweetener, will be hitting stores this summer. "Its about bringing light to someone's life or someone bringing light to your life," Grande said of the album's title.
Grande closed the show with a performance of "No Tears Left to Cry."
The singer first debuted the single live in a surprise appearance at Coachella.