Charli XCX delivered some Wicked impressions during her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live.
On Saturday (Nov. 16), the 32-year-old British pop star pulled double duty as both host and musical guest. She showcased her comedic chops in a standout sketch about auditions for the upcoming live-action adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.
The sketch begins with a voiceover for the movie: “Audiences can’t wait to see the star-studded cast of Wicked,” as clips from the Jon M. Chu-directed film, featuring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, play on screen. “But before production starts, actors across Hollywood audition to step foot in Oz. Here are their never-before-seen screen tests.”
The sketch features a series of hilarious fake auditions from various celebrities, including JoJo Siwa (Chloe Fineman), Bernie Sanders (Sarah Sherman), Sydney Sweeney (Fineman), Al Pacino (Dana Carvey), Martha Stewart (Fineman), and Bad Bunny (Marcello Hernandez).
Charli kicks things off with a spot-on impression of Adele. Dressed in an elegant black dress and sporting long, wavy hair reminiscent of the British singer’s look during her Weekends With Adele residency in Las Vegas, Charli’s Adele exclaims, “Oh, hello, can I take me shoes off? OK, wicked!” as she flings off her heels and struts down a yellow brick road. “Oh my God! I said the name of the bloody movie! That’s f—ing funny!” she adds, laughing with exaggerated flair.
Later in the sketch, SNL‘s Bowen Yang, who famously impersonated Charli during the show’s Season 50 premiere, returns to play Charli once again — this time while standing next to Charli herself, who appears as her Sweat tour mate Troye Sivan.
“Can I call you Elphie?” Bowen’s Charli asks, prompting Troye (played by Charli) to respond, “No.” Bowen continues, “I only bullied you because I’m a b—- and you’re a witch. And you’re a witch, I’m confused.” Charli’s Sivan clarifies, “I’m not a witch. I’m a top.”
Yang also plays Pfannee in Wicked, which hits theaters on Nov. 22.
Elsewhere in the episode, Charli electrified the crowd with performances of “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife,” both tracks from her sixth album, Brat. Released in June, the set debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and earned widespread acclaim, including a 2025 Grammy nomination for album of the year.
Saturday’s appearance marked Charli’s third time on SNL, following previous musical guest spots in 2014 and 2022.
Watch SNL‘s “Wicked Auditions” sketch below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
