Not even Ariana Grande could pull of this awkward joke about The Weeknd. And bless her heart, she tried.

Before The Weeknd took the stage to perform a medley of his songs "I Can't Feel My Face" and "In The Night," Grande came out to introduce him with a pun that even she knew going into it was a hard sell.

How did The Weeknd land his seven nominations this year? "Well, ladies and gentleman," Grande said, "get ready for the pun of the century, he earned it." Get it? It's the name of his song from Fifty Shades of Grey.

Yeah, it's not a great joke, something Grande seemed to know, waiting for the laugh before launching into her own sort of awkward nasally impression of The Weeknd.

"Yeah he earned it, yeah he's worth it," she sang, laughing at herself when it was all said and done.