Maya Rudolph was giving the commencement speech at Tulane, but Pamela Bell also showed up. Rudolph brought her Saturday Night Live character to life behind the podium in New Orleans Saturday, doing a wild take on the national anthem.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2009 Rudolph explained that the Pamela Bell character was inspired by American Idol: “I was making fun of this new style of singing that people seem to do, where not only do they lay it on thick, they have, like, 20 different voices in the same song, which I find so incredibly strange.”
Some of Rudolph’s excellent Beyoncé impression also snuck into the rendition, as Rudolph veered from the national anthem to snippets of “Single Ladies” and “Drunk in Love.”
[h/t Vulture]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Donald Trump Won
- The Best Inventions of 2024
- Why Sleep Is the Key to Living Longer
- How to Break 8 Toxic Communication Habits
- Nicola Coughlan Bet on Herself—And Won
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- 22 Essential Works of Indigenous Cinema
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
Contact us at letters@time.com