NYS Music 202​1

Tag: saturday night live

  • Lil Nas X closes out Season 46 of Saturday Night Live, works through Wardrobe Malfunction

    Closing out Season 46 of Saturday Night Light, musical guest Lil Nas X worked through a wardrobe malfunction as The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy hosted flawlessly on an emotional finale.

    The episode began with a full cast cold open looking back on the ups and downs of the past year, including an appearance by the host of the first episode of the season, Chris Rock. This also marked the first time all season that SNL had full (and vaccinated) in-studio audience.

    Just over a week before the start of Pride month, Nas appeared in a pre-recorded take on Madonna’s “Holiday” with Kate McKinnon, Bowen Yang and Punkie Johnson all looking forward to all things Pride – parades, brunch, clubs, drama – that were missed due to COVID-19 in 2020.

    For his first song, Lil Nas X performed “Montero (Call me by your Name),” the music video for which he received criticism from the religious right for twerking with Satan. On the stage in Studio 8H, Lil Nas X used a stripper pole while flanked by dancers, and with 30 seconds left in the song, split his pants. Seamlessly, Lil Nas X continued to perform with his hand covering his crotch, ending with a striking image of himself with giant wings projected behind him. He didn’t let on about the malfunction until a Tweet a few minutes later.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbqLa4uOzo0&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hLztNRXrYkXPGjteSBmXsv5&index=3

    The second performance of the night featured the just released track “Sun Goes Down.” The more vulnerable turn finds Lil Nas X wearing a white suit and reflecting on the suicidal thoughts he had while growing up gay and in the closet. With lyrics “Since ten, I’ve been feelin’ lonely / Had friends but they was pickin’ on me / these gay thoughts would always haunt me / I prayed God would take it from me,” “Sun Goes Down” elaborates on why he was so bold about trolling conservatives with more vulnerability than we’ve seen yet.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXJDDoW0U3Y&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hLztNRXrYkXPGjteSBmXsv5&index=13

    That’s all for Season 46 of Saturday Night Live. Stay tuned for Season 47 starting in September/October 2021. What was your favorite musical guest of the season? Share in the comments below.

  • Olivia Rodrigo Stuns on Saturday Night Live

    Heading into the homestretch of the season, Saturday Night Live welcomed Keegan Michael Key with musical guest Olivia Rodrigo. Led by a cold open with Dr. Fauci (Kate McKinnon) reviewing scenarios related CDC mask regulations being lifted, the evening also featured The Muppets return to SNL.

    Olivia Rodrigo

    Rodrigo got her start on the Disney Channel, and is the lead in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+. She released her first song (unrelated to the show), “Driver’s License,” in January where it debuted at #1 and stayed there for eight weeks. The inescapable breakup ballad about co-star Joshua Bassett has a mix of Lorde, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish.

    Beginning the song sitting atop a grand piano, she moved about the Studio 8H stage, slowly revealing the full band spread around the perimeter of the state. With a light up floor, Olivia Rodrigo poured her heart into her breakout hit.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBik0MjXeMs

    The second performance featured “Good 4 U,” a breakup song with an old-school Paramore vibe, released this past Friday, May 14.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiaCdUACJp8

    Saturday Night Live‘s 46th season will come to a close on Saturday, May 22 with host Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) and musical guest Lil Nas X.

  • Miley Cyrus Performs Three Times as Elon Musk Hosts SNL

    SNL returned for the final three episodes of the season, with host Elon Musk and musical guest Miley Cyrus, who saved the episode with three musical appearances, beginning with a cold open featuring cast members and their moms.

    Cyrus sang godmother Dolly Parton’s 1977 hit “Light of a Clear Blue Morning.” Miley was then joined on stage by her mom Tish, the cast and moms, to collectively open the show.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlEXNWjm1f8

    This marked Cyrus’ seventh time on Saturday Night Live, and sixth as musical guest. Cyrus also appeared later in SNL show in “The Astronaut,” one of three pre-recorded sketches in the otherwise lackluster episode.

    For her second musical appearance of the night Miley was joined by The Kid LAROI for “Without You,” marking the broadcast premiere of the single the pair released last month.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nbXBeYY1Po

    “Plastic Hearts” was the third and final performance of the night from Cyrus, singing the title track of her recently released album. The highest energy number of the night featured a backing horn section and Cyrus in a flowing, feathery pink dress.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLLKzis7NfQ

    Joining the show for a cameo appearance during a Wario courtroom sketch, musician Grimes played Princess Peach, with husband Elon Musk on the stand as Wario, on trial for killing Mario.

    The penultimate episode of Season 46 of Saturday Night Live airs on Saturday, May 14 at 1130pm ET/PT. Keegan-Michael Key will host with musical guest Olivia Rodrigo.

  • Gilda’s Club in NYC Announces Benefit Concert

    Gilda’s Club in New York City announced a benefit concert to help support victims of cancer. The live virtual benefit concert called “It’s Always Something” will take place on May 19 at 8PM EST and will feature big names like Jon Batiste, Rosanne Cash, Sting, and many more. 

    Gilda’s Club

    Gilda’s Club was created in the memory of Gilda Radner, an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, where she won an Emmy Award for her work in 1978. Radner died from ovarian cancer in 1989. The club was founded by Gilda’s husband, actor and comedian Gene Wilder, Joanna Bull and many of Gilda’s friends in her memory and opened its signature red door in June of 1995.

    Gilda’s Club

    The venues hope is that in the next 25 years to make their free cancer support program more accessible to more people, in more places, in more ways than currently possible. Since the launch of their virtual support program in March 2020 they have had more than 13,000 virtual visits and we’ve seen an increase in participation and attendance which is up 45% across all activities. 

    The benefit concert will feature performances by Jon Batiste, Rosanne Cash, Sting, Kenny Loggins, David Sanborn, Kandace Springs, Bernie Williams, and Gil Parris. The benefit will also include appearances from Robin Roberts, Susie Essman, Jon Hamm, Brooke Shields, and JB Smoove. 

    Gilda’s Club

    The “it’s always something” benefit is being put on by executive producers Susan Brecker and Mark Krantz with help from original SNL writer, Alan Zweibel who is a consulting producer. Ray Conley will be directing the event while Will Lee will serve as the musical director and Dan Melnick will be acting as the coordinating producer. 

    The concert will be streamed at Gilda’s Club NYC’s YouTube page. For more information or to make a donation visit the Gilda’s Club’s website.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApqV-vci1tQ

  • Kid Cudi pays tribute to Farley and Cobain on Saturday Night Live

    Promising Young Woman actress Carey Mulligan hosted this week’s Saturday Night Live, with rapper Kid Cudi joining her as musical guest. Cudi released his most recent album, Man on the Moon III: The Chosen in December of 2020, concluding the trilogy he began in 2009.

    Kid cudi

    Mulligan’s husband Marcus Mumford appeared during her opening monologue, offering to be the night’s musical guest. After Mulligan informed Mumford that Kid Cudi was performing already, he pulled an acoustic guitar out of thin air and accompanied her closing remarks. Of course, Mumford is the front-man of folk rock band Mumford & Sons, who previously played SNL in 2012, 2015 and 2018.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BfpGLs0Cs

    Before his performances, Kid Cudi first appeared in a sketch with Pete Davidson and Chris Redd, “Weird Little Flute.” It parodied flute rap, a burgeoning subgenre including songs like Future’s “Mask Off.” Previous SNL host Timothee Chalamet made an unexpected cameo, endorsing the weird little flute as a musical asset.

    Kid Cudi chose “Tequila Shots” as his first song of the night, with lyrics about alcohol-induced anxiety and depression: “It seems I’ll never learn / I won’t stop ‘til I crash and burn / Tell my mom I’m sorry.” He wore a t-shirt depicting late SNL cast member Chris Farley, who famously struggled with addiction.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr6Vyc_qYMg

    Cudi closed out the episode with “Sad People,” a toast to contemplative night owls. Following in the footsteps of Kurt Cobain, he wore a floral dress. Cobain died by suicide this week in 1994, and Cudi has been open about his own experiences with suicidal ideation.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsagiYnmN_4

    As for Kid Cudi’s 2021 plans, an album is likely on the horizon for his supergroup, The Scotts. Made up of Cudi (whose first name is Scott) and Travis Scott, The Scotts formed in 2020 and debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with single “The Scotts.”

    The episode ended with an in memoriam tribute to rapper DMX, who played SNL in 2000.

    DMX Kid cudi
    SNL honors DMX.

  • St. Vincent Transforms SNL Into Studio 54

    St. Vincent took to the Studio 8H stage this week as Saturday Night Live‘s musical guest, with Judas and the Black Messiah star Daniel Kaluuya serving as SNL host. St. Vincent, (real name Annie Clark) will release her seventh studio album Daddy’s Home on May 14.

    The episode opened with Chloe Fineman’s take on Britney Spears, who tackled Lil Nas X’s Satan shoes, Pepé Le Pew’s removal from Space Jam 2 and Rep. Matt Gaetz’ sex scandals. While Britney was sympathetic to Lil Nas X, she deemed Le Pew and Gaetz “not that innocent.”

    St Vincent SNL

    St. Vincent’s first song of the night was her lead single, “Pay Your Way in Pain.” The funk track is a love letter to the 1970s, channeling Prince, David Bowie and the sounds of Studio 54. At the end of the performance Clark revealed the word “Daddy” on the back of her jacket, in reference to her upcoming album.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeHnPfIEyss

    “Pay Your Way in Pain” was co-written by Jack Antonoff, who previously worked with Clark on her last album Masseduction. The two also shared writing credits on Taylor Swift’s 2019 song “Cruel Summer.”

    This isn’t the first time St. Vincent has played SNL; back in 2014, she played the gig to extremely mixed reception. It’s not surprising: like Fiona Apple or Björk, Clark’s sound is an acquired taste that cares little for accessibility. All are undeniably talented, but easily jarring to unfamiliar listeners.

    St. Vincent closed out the night with her new single, “The Melting of the Sun,” whose lyrics reference Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Nina Simone. Clark’s backup singers nearly stole the show:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baklAZ2Rrt4

    SNL returns next week, April 10, hosted by Promising Young Woman star Carey Mulligan with Kid Cudi as the musical guest.

  • Watch Jack Harlow Perform on Saturday Night Live

    The first Saturday Night Live of Spring featured the return of longtime cast member Maya Rudolph as host. She was joined by Kentucky rapper and songwriter Jack Harlow, who earned a GRAMMY nomination for “WHATS POPPIN’ in 2020 and recently released That’s What They All Say.

    jack harlow

    Harlow first appeared in the Digital Short “NFTs,” a take on Eminem’s “Without Me,” complete with Pete Davidson in a Robin costume similar to that of Eminem in the original video.

    Midway through the show, cast member Bowen Yang stopped by the Weekend Update desk to talk about the recent spike in violence towards Asian-Americans and how you can help.

    Harlow’s first performance featured a medley of “Tyler Herro” and “WHATS POPPIN.” Herro, a friend of Harlow’s and Miami Heat guard is mentioned in the first verse of the song: “My homeboy Tyler he play in South Beach / He told me this summer he gon’ fix my jumper.”

    Giving a nod to the early influence of Saturday Night Live, Harlow said on Twitter, “I grew up watching SNL with my family every weekend. I vividly remember seeing Kanye perform Love Lockdown and Heartless in 2008. Thank you for making this happen. Another dream come true.”

    https://youtu.be/tkSvFzC7GGo

    For his second performance, Jack Harlow welcomed surprise guest, Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine, to duet on “Same Guy.” Levine is featured on the studio version of the track, an album that also features appearances by Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, and Static Major.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doi4H-BNkxQ

    Harlow also recently donated $500,000 to two HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) – Kentucky State University in Frankfort and Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville – after winning Bleacher Report’s Open Run 2-on-2 basketball competition earlier this month.

    SNL returns next week with host Daniel Kaluuya and musical guest St. Vincent.

  • Watch Nick Jonas Host And Perform on Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live welcomed Nick Jonas for 15th episode of Season46.
    Tonight’s cold open featured cast members feigning medical conditions in order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Kate McKinnon continued her portrayal of Dr. Anthony Fauci, with Aidy Bryant as Senator Ted Cruz and Pete Davidson as Governor Andrew Cuomo. Despite criticisms of SNL having a liberal bias, both politicians were teased equally, with more than a nursing home joke thrown in Cuomo’s direction.

    Gearing up for his first solo album since the success of the Jonas Brothers’ 2019 comeback, Nick Jonas had double duty as host and musical guest. In addition to new songs “Spaceman” and “This Is Heaven” he appeared in several skits throughout the night, playing Prince Charming and a Mirror fitness coach.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihYNJjykVIA

    Besides promoting his new music, Nick is also set to return for his sophomore season as a coach on The Voice. In a Dionne Warwick Talk Show skit opposite Ego Nwodim, she told him, “I’ve heard you’re the most boring coach, even though one of the other coaches is John Legend.”

    In his opening monologue, Nick paid homage to Broadway theatre, still shuttered nearly a year later, by singing “Drink With Me” from Les Misérables. Back in 2010, Nick played Marius in the London production of Les Mis at the O2 Arena. He also gave a shout-out to older brother and bandmate Kevin, who was in the audience, as well as his home state of New Jersey.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCy5Gb9NYN0

    Nick’s first song was his new single, “Spaceman.” With themes of isolation and disillusionment, the song references mask-wearing and the rising pandemic death toll, tying them up with an outer space metaphor. “And the numbers are high but we keep going down / ‘Cause we ain’t supposed to live with nobody around,” the chorus says.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12akdhW8OEs

    He closed out the night by debuting “This Is Heaven,” which sounds suspiciously like his 2014 hit “Jealous.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p9TzfI6WGM

    SNL returns on March 27, with former cast member Maya Rudolph hosting and Jack Harlow as the musical guest.

    nick jonas

  • Watch Bad Bunny Perform on Saturday Night Live

    Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny took to the stage at Studio 8H for this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live. This marked Bad Bunny’s first time as SNL’s musical guest, although he did appear in a sketch last season when the show was shooting remotely. Hosting this evening was Regé-Jean Page, from Netflix’s Bridgerton.

    bad bunny

    Bad Bunny is nominated for multiple Grammy Awards this year, including Best Latin Pop Album for YHLQMDLG, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Un Dia (One Day)” with J Balvin, Dua Lipa, and Tainy. At the 2020 Latin Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny took home the award for Best Reggaeton performance and in 2019 won for Best Urban Music Album.

    For the first performance of the night, Bad Bunny sang “La Noche de Anoche,” joined by nuevo flamenco singer Rosalía. The music video for the song off 2020’s El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo dropped last week, an album which made history for Bad Bunny as the first all-Spanish-language album to hit #1 on Billboard’s Top 200.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yb4HX5gwqI

    Bad Bunny also made an appearance in the musical sketch “Loco,” serving as a hallucination for stir crazy cast member Ego Nwodim as she revisits how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her life.

    Bad Bunny’s second song of the night was “Te Deseo lo Mejor,” also off 2020’s El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo. Translated as “I Wish You the Best,” Bad Bunny performed the track on The Late Show with James Cordon this past December.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPEwYnAQQOg

    Saturday Night Live returns on February 27 with host and musical guest, Nick Jonas.

  • Watch Nathaniel Rateliff Perform “Redemption” on Saturday Night Live

    This week’s Saturday Night Live featured Oscar winning Actress Regina King, now nominated for Best Director for One Night in Miami, and musical guest Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.

    Saturday Night Live nathaniel rateliff redemption

    Nathaniel Rateliff performed “Redemption” for his first song of the night, which was recorded for the upcoming Justin Timberlake movie Palmer. Timberlake, along with director Fisher Stevens, asked Rateliff to record the song for the film. Rateliff started the song solo, then was joined by a trio of backup singers and a full band who joined in.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkPr-P2132M&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hJDlt-mCuLRVbb13areCCOk&index=5

    For the second song of the night, Rateliff sang the solo track “A Little Honey” from his band’s 2018 album Tearing at the Seams. With the line “I need you, baby / More than you’ll ever, ever know,”  Rateliff gave a nod to Valentine’s Day.

    Rateliff earned an Album of the Year nomination at the 2020 Americana Honors & Awards for And It’s Still Alright.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKRWAjQyKgw&list=PLS_gQd8UB-hJDlt-mCuLRVbb13areCCOk&index=6

    Saturday Night Live returns on February 20 with host Regé-Jean Page and musical guest Bad Bunny.