NYS Music 202​2

Tag: saturday night live

  • Post Malone is joined by Fleet Foxes and Roddy Ricch for SNL Debut

    The penultimate episode in Season 47 of Saturday Night Live featured two SNL first timers – Selena Gomez as host, and Syracuse native Post Malone as musical guest.

    Gomez did serve as musical guest on January 23, 2016, and used her monologue to discuss her TV show past, including her time on Barney & Friends, and discussed her current show, Only Murders in the Building, featuring SNL-vetaran Steve Martin and SNL-alum Martin Short.

    post malone SNL

    Steve Martin would appear in a pre-taped “Unventor Documentary” sketch as Archie Gizmo, the inventor of the whoopie cushion. He tells the origin story of the gag gift, with Dina Beans (Aidy Bryant) as the muse he fell in love with.

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

    For Post Malone’s first song, the dark stage was backlit by white spotlights, the singer on stage alone dressed head to toe in leather to perform “Cooped Up.” Partway through he was joined by Roddy Ricch, who featured on the remix of “Wow” in 2019. The new song dropped this past week, with lyrics that note how Malone gave Ricch a big opportunity: “And Posty took me on my first damn tour date/ He had me rockin’ every night, sold out arenas/ I’m project n—a, I never thought I would see s–t/ I tried to tell you, you prolly wouldn’t believe us.” “Cooped Up” appears on Twelve Carat Toothache, set to be released on June 3.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSdHZale2cA

    Post Malone would show up twice in sketches – first as the conscience/shoulder-angel of Chris Redd in showed up in the sketch “Intuition,” and later in the final sketch of the night “Baby Monitor” as a baby in a crib.

    Post Malone’s second song, “A Love Hate Letter To Alcohol,” also appears on the upcoming album. Fleet Foxes along with LA-based singer-songwriter Adam Melchor served as backup to Malone, all clad in black. Malone was revealed on one knee and wearing a calf-length dress along with white button down and black suspenders.

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

    Saturday Night Live returns for the Season 47 finale on Saturday, May 21 with host Natasha Lyonne and musical guest Japanese Breakfast.

  • Arcade Fire Join the Five-Timers Club on SNL

    Arcade Fire returned to Saturday Night Live for the fifth time, and first since 2018, alongside host and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star Benedict Cumberbatch.

    arcade fire SNL

    With their fifth performance, Arcade Fire joins a Five-Timers Club of their own, alongside Miley Cyrus, James Taylor, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. (Arcade Fire had also served as backing band for Mick Jagger’s performance on SNL in 2012)

    Following their memorable 2013 appearance, Arcade Fire aired a 30-minute concert special directed by Roman Coppola, and featuring cameos from Bono, Ben Stiller, James Franco, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, and more. During the special, the band performed new songs “Here Comes the Night Time,” “Normal Person” and “We Exist.” Watch the unique performance below.

    The band released their latest album WE on Friday, May 6, as well as announcing a world tour that finds them back in the Big Apple in November.

    For tonight’s Saturday Night Live, the show stayed in step with the week’s news as the cold open mocked the root centuries-old argument Justice Alito references in his leaked Dobbs v. Jackson draft. This is SNL at its best, mocking the establishment and bringing to light the modern morality of social issues.

    Cumberbatch celebrated mothers in his monologue, including his mom as well as his wife, but no overt Dr. Strange references were found tonight. Although, Cumberbatch was joined later in the show with a surprise appearance by Multiverse of Madness co-star Elizabeth Olson in “The Understudy.“

    Noting two of his favorite words are “Arcade Fire”, Cumberbatch introduced the musical guest, who dove into “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” off WE. With wacky waving inflatable tube men in front of the stage, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne led the band through the enchanting number, ending with Butler saying “I Love you Mom.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ownPVvCY5Us

    On Weekend Update, Kate McKinnon made an appearance as Justice Amy Coney Barrett to discuss the apparent intention to overturn Roe v. Wade (against public opinion) citing laws from the 1600s.

    Arcade Fire’s second songs, “The Lightning I,” and its album counterpart “The Lightning II,” were accommpanied by a purple backdrop projecting shadows of the 9-piece band. The uptempo “The Lightning II” raised the vibe on a dime, building a froth while pouring everything into “A day a week a month a year, every second brings me here,” cresting with repitition, and closing with “Waiting on the lightning, waiting on the light, what will the light bring?”

    In keeping with the Mother’s Day episode theme, Butler had “Call Your Mom” written onto his guitar during these songs, saying at the end ““A woman’s right to choose forever and ever and ever. Amen.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEHTTp20gz0

    To close the show, Cumberbatch and a half dozen cast members wore shirts bearing 1973, a nod to the year of Roe v. Wade. Arcade Fire then took the SNL stage for a third and final song, “End of the Empire I-IV,” as the credits rolled.

    Saturday Night Live returns on May 14 with host Selena Gomez and musical guest Post Malone.

  • Lizzo Makes Her Hosting Debut On Saturday Night Live

    Lizzo hosted her first Saturday Night Live and returned as a musical guest for the second time, the first time in 2019 when she performed her hit songs “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell.” She just released her new single “About Damn Time” and is also prepping to release her next album Special, out July 15.

    Lizzo, photo by Mary Ellen Matthews.

    During the cold open, the Easter Bunny (Bowen Yang) made an appearance and introduced various figures in today’s media talking about Easter and cracking jokes about recent events they are involved in. Dr. Anthony Fauci (Kate McKinnon), Marjorie Taylor-Greene (Cecil Strong), NYC Mayor Eric Adams (Chris Reed), Britney Spears (Chloe Finemen), Jared Leto (Mikey Day), and Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) all made an appearance.

    During her opening monologue, Lizzo joked about how she would break the record for the amount of times “bitch” is said on TV, and made a shoutout to her mother. She talked about how far she has come, from living in her car to hosting SNL.

    Lizzo appeared in the next sketch as “Guess That” contestant Nicole, who was sassy and fiery about not getting the questions right and kept hitting the answer button to be annoying to the host. She also crowned herself the Mayor of “Gametown” in the sketch.

    In another sketch, she is featured as a label executive, listening to The Black Eyed Peas and giving her ideas, with success. She is seen in another sketch as a girl bringing a date over, whose friends and family are all “Six Flags Guys.” She was also seen as an Egyptian princess, and then a flutist in an orchestra.

    On the SNL Youtube page in the Cut For Time sketch, she starred in a music video with cast members Chris Reed and Bowen Yang about eating food while watching Youtube. She had a rap at the end of the song and was starring as the Youtube Algorithm, and sang about how the algorithm knows what videos to recommend to you based on your watching habits.

    “Ladies and gentlemen me!” Lizzo exclaimed as she performed her new song “About Damn Time,” in a yellow neon sequined jumpsuit with neon lights shining in the back as she sings “Turn up the music, turn down the lights/I got a feelin’ I’m gon’ be alright/Okay (Okay), alright/It’s about damn time.” She even brought out her amazing flute playing skills.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agXlTImG6mQ

    SNL included an homage to the late Gilbert Gottfried, with a photo of the comedian/actor when he was a cast member on SNL in Season six. Gottfried died on April 12

    In her second performance, Lizzo’s mom introduced her. She performed her new song “Special” wearing a huge pink coat and sparkly dress. She sang with a lot of emotion as she sang “in case nobody told you today, you’re special/in case nobody made you believe you’re special/ I will always love you the same, you’re special.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR_xR0x35R4

  • Camila Cabello Duets with Willow on Saturday Night Live

    Camila Cabello performed on this week’s Saturday Night Live, and brought along Willow for a duet of her new song “Psychofreak.” The American-Cuban artist performed previously on SNL in 2019, performing “Cry For Me” and “Easy.”

    camila cabello

    The Jake Gyllenhaal-hosted episode opened with President Biden (James Austin Johnson) congratulating new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (Ego Nwodim) on her Senate confirmation this past week. Jackson then met with fellow barrier-breakers Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Kate McKinnon), Thurgood Marshall (Kenan Thompson), Harriet Tubman (Punky Johnson) and Jackie Robinson (Chris Redd), before opening the show together.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_qQwXRjqQ8

    On Friday, April 8, Camila Cabello released her third studio album, Familia, and took her second time on the Studio 8H stage to perform a pair of songs featured on the album.

    Introduced by Gyllenhaal (who wore a Ramona and Gloria shirt to give his nieces a subtle shout out), the GRAMMY-nominated Cabello performed the lead single off the album, “Bam Bam,” a song dealing with heartbreak and promises broken.

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

    For her second song, Cabello was joined by Willow (Smith, daughter of Will and Jada), who performed “Psychofreak” together, one day after release of the music video, which featured both artists in a setting that calls back to Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity.”

    Cabello wore a unique black latex outfit with red latex globes, with Willow wearing a red coat and playing guitar as they sang, “Feelin’ like a psychofreak sometimes, Tryna get connected, no Wi-Fi, Tell me that you love me, are you lying?, Give me lemonade, I give you limes, House in the hills is a house of cards, Blink and the fairytale falls apart, Sorry, didn’t mean to get so dark, Maybe I’m an alien, Earth is hard.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Vn78Fwrv4

    Saturday Night Live returns next week on April 16 with musical guest and host Lizzo.

  • Gunna performs on Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live returned on April 2 to address the Oscars slap and more, with host Jerrod Carmichael and musical guest, Gunna.

    gunna

    Weekend Update focused on ‘the slap’, noting it as a defining moment of television for the current generation, a mark in pop-culture time.

    Pete Davidson returned for the first time in three episodes with the music video “Short Ass Movie,” where he cited the need for movies with a runtime under 1 hour, 40 minutes. Joined by fellow cast member Chris Redd, Dirt Nasty (Simon Rex) and musical guest Gunna, the group explored the myraid of movies considered a quick watch.

    Gunna rapped “I’m not pushin P unless it’s under two hours/ Like Lion King or Bad Moms or all three Austin Powers.” Davidson took on A Beautiful Mind-style observation on the run times of Jurassic Park (2 hours, 7 minutes) and Sex and the City 2 (2 hours, 26 minutes), and even referencing a recent Instagram post from Davidson where friend Scott Diseck fell asleep during boys night.

    Gunna’s first song, “Banking on Me,” was released as a single on Valentine’s Day, originally planned to be on the deluxe edition of his third studio album, DS4Ever, his second consecutive number one album, released in January and featuring guest appearances from 21 Savage, Drake, Kodak Black and more.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW_miq1-SXQ

    For his second performance, Gunna was joined by Future for “pushin P,” a phrase meaning to ‘push positivity.’ On DSM4Ever, the pair are joined by Young Thug for the brief (2:12) yet hypnotic track.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex3LGdbDqe0

    Next week Saturday Night Live welcomes host Jake Gyllenhaal with Musical Guest Camila Cabello.

  • Rosalía performs “Chicken Teriyaki” and “La Fama” on SNL

    Spanish singer Rosalía served as musical guest for this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by The Batman star Zoë Kravitz.

    Following a TikTok influencers-meet-President Biden cold open, Kravitz was joined by various Cat Women and Katt Williams (Chris Redd) in her monologue.

    Rosalía began singing at age eight, graduated from Barcelona’s Catalonia College of Music with a degree in the Flamenco arts (with studio album Los Ángeles serving as her graduate project) she has appeared in Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain & Glory. Shortly after, Rosalía and her sister Pili launched a brand, gained a massive following in Spain and in 2018 was signed to Sony Music.

    The evening’s performance marked Rosalía’s solo debut on SNL, having performed in 2021 alongside Bad Bunny for a duet of their romantic collaboration “La Noche De Anoche.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EEyiB9NtVg

    The 28 year old Flamenco singer first performed the Latin trap song “Chicken Teriyaki” off the upcoming release Motomami, a track that is prime for TikTok at a run time of only 2:02.

    The lyrics reference various parts of New York City: “De azúcar la mami, todo sin recibo/Leo pentagrama’, pero no lo’ escribo./Desde Queens hasta Tribeca/Un ramo de flore’ azule’ no se seca.” Translated to English the lyrics read: “The mami made of sugar with no receipts/I read pentagrams but don’t write them./From Queens to Tribeca/a bouquet of blue flowers that doesn’t die.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAtUnqdTz2g

    Her second song of the night “La Fama,” is a collaboration with The Weeknd (who did not make an appearance on the Studio 8H stage this evening.) Wearing a large comforter, Rosalía resembled Baymax from Big Hero 6, before ditching the puffy outer layer to reveal a white dress and shawl.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnItVv1EsXw

    Both songs performed his evening will be featured on the upcoming Motomami, the follow up to her 2018 album, El Mal Querer. The Latin GRAMMY-winner told Rolling Stone in an interview that the new album would include both experimental and vulnerable material, with a big emphasis on the theme of feminism.

  • Charli XCX dazzles on Saturday Night Live

    Charli XCX made her long awaited return to Saturday Night Live, alongside host Oscar Isaac of the upcoming MCU series Moon Knight.

    Originally, Charli XCX was slated to be the musical guest for the Christmas episode of SNL in December 2021, but due to the omicron wave of COVID-19, the show was filmed with a limited cast and host Paul Rudd, and she was rescheduled for the March 5th episode.

    Tonight marked Charli’s second time playing SNL, having first performed on the show in 2014 when her sophomore album Sucker was released. Now in 2022, she’s promoting her forthcoming album, Crash, due out March 18.

    Charli XCX has been performing and writing music for other artists in her decade long career, including “I Love It” by Icona Pop and “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea, in addition to her hit “Boom Clap.” Toeing the line between mainstream pop and being an indie darling, Charli has built up a core fanbase and dabbles in the burgeoning subgenre of hyperpop. On the upcoming Crash, Charli collaborates with Christine and the Queens, Caroline Polachek and Rina Sawayama.

    Before arriving on the Studio 8H stage, Charli showed up as a singing meatball in a disturbing pre-taped sketch, which doubled as veteran cast member Kenan Thompson’s 1500th sketch, an all time best for SNL.

    Her first song, “Beg For You,” featured Charli dressed in a white gown and lengthy bedazzled nails amid a bright stage with flowing scrims, the song sampling the 2007 song “Cry for You” by September.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZKUEmT3J-k

    Her second song of the night, “Baby,” was just released on Friday, March 4, and featured Charli in a black dress with two dancers flanking her and a full band backing her up.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeO_f-Gbzzo

    SNL returns March 12 with host and The Batman star Zoë Kravitz and musical guest Rosalia.

  • SNL Pays Tribute To Ukraine In Cold Open

    Saturday Night Live is back after an almost month-long hiatus, and instead of their normal comedic cold open, there was an appearance by the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York.

    SNL opened with cast members Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong introducing the choir, who then sang “Prayer for Ukraine” as a tribute to the ongoing crisis from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    SNL Ukraine
    Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York on Saturday Night Live

    “Prayer for Ukraine” was written by Oleksandr Konysky with music composed by Mykola Lysenko and first published in 1885, initially with a children’s choir in mind. The song became the regular closing hymn in services of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and other churches and gained national significance when it was performed by mass choirs during the Ukrainian War of Independence in 1917–1920. The hymn was intended to be an official spiritual anthem of Ukraine.

    “Prayer for Ukraine” was notably performed in Kyiv in 2001 during a parade celebrating the 10th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. The lyrics can be found below.

    Lord, oh the Great and Almighty,

    protect our beloved Ukraine,

    Bless her with freedom and light

    of your holy rays.

    With learning and knowledge enlighten us,

    your children small,

    in love pure and everlasting.

    Let us, oh Lord, grow.

    We pray, oh Lord Almighty,

    protect our beloved Ukraine,

    Grant our people and country

    all your kindness and grace.

    Bless us with freedom, bless us with wisdom,

    guide into kind world,

    bless us, oh Lord, with good fortune

    for ever and evermore.

    Once the song ended, McKinnon and Strong then returned to the stage and said the show’s signature catch phrase, “Live… From New York, it’s Saturday night.” The camera then cut to a table of candles, which spelled out “Kyiv,” the Ukrainian capital city.

    The show as hosted by five-timer John Mulaney with musical guest LCD Soundsystem.

  • Katy Perry Shows She’s Never Really Over On SNL

    Katy Perry has returned to Studio 8H. Joined by host Willem Dafoe, this is her fourth time as a musical guest on SNL and her first since 2017. 

    Katy Perry performing “When I’m Gone” on Saturday Night Live.

    A lot has happened since Perry’s last SNL appearance five years ago: motherhood, a new album, a judging spot on American Idol, and most recently, a residency in Las Vegas. Titled Play, the show began at the tail end of 2021 and will run through the end of summer 2022. While Perry hasn’t seen as much chart success lately, she seems more confident and self-assured in a post-Witness world.

    The episode began with a cold open, featuring James Austin Johnson as President Biden dealing with the Russia-Ukraine situation. Pete Davidson appeared as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who refuses to get vaccinated for COVID. 

    Rodgers wasn’t the only NFL player to appear tonight. Peyton Manning made a surprise appearance during Weekend Update, where he gushed about Emily in Paris whenever Colin Jost asked him about football news.

    Katy Perry’s first song of the night was “When I’m Gone,” her new collaboration with Swedish DJ Alesso. With set pieces ripped straight from Super Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom, it’s clear that she hasn’t lost her signature camp. The song’s lyrics are about a previous romance, but they could easily be about Perry’s relationship with fame and stardom. Around the time of her last SNL appearance, everything from her music to her blonde pixie cut was criticized after a seemingly unstoppable run throughout the 2010s.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCUzL7iHV7E

    Perry closed out the night with an acoustic rendition of “Never Really Over,” her 2019 comeback single. Originally an upbeat dance-pop song, the new version has more in common with her ballads like “Thinking of You.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksMzWT40U24

    SNL takes a break during the Winter Olympics, then returns on February 26 with host John Mulaney and musical guest LCD Soundsystem.

  • Will Forte Returns to Saturday Night Live with Måneskin as Musical Guest

    Saturday Night Live stirred up one of their own mighty veterans as Will Forte, complemented with music guest and recent rockstar Måneskin for the January 22 episode. Forte used the monologue to announce the upcoming second season of MacGruber after its official beginnings on SNL back when he was still a cast member.

    Reminiscing on his olden days, Will Forte opened up about his misfortunes waiting for his special moment to host after watching his colleagues Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Fred Armisten, and Jason Sudeikis already do so. Finally, after 12 years, we get to see Will’s face, of course that was too soon joined by an appearance from Kristen Wiig and upcoming host Willem DeFoe, who Will was mistaken for after Lorne Michael’s phone had autocorrected “Willem.”

    The show started with a cold open Fox News update from Kate McKinnon interviewing Aidy Bryant’s Senator Ted Cruz and Pete Davidson as Novak Djokovic, an unvaccinated tennis player. Senator Ted Cruz urged us to book our Cancún vacations today, escaping this horrid New York winter. 

    MacGruber came back tonight alongside his longtime friend Kristen Wiig. Except this sketch had been modified to our current climate and Will Forte sported a cut open mask to then detonate his iconic bomb. 

    Mark Zazz (Will Forte) hosted Kid Klash, a show where Aidy Bryant had to find the flag at the bottom of the whipped cream pie, cross the slippery monkey bars above nacho cheese sauce to her shrimp parents. 

    On hiatus from their international nomination for Best Song of the Year for the 2022 Brit Awards, Måneskin rocked “Beggin” in a patterned white head-to-toe suit. Full faced, featuring a signature silver smokey eye, Damiano David showed us how he won our hearts winning Eurovision and later at the American Music Awards last year. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8CKvsKbrK0

    ‘Cinema Classics’ was welcomed by Keenan Thompson and gaslit by Will Forte. Kate Mckinnon played his wife who was gaslighted around gaslights.

    Måneskin came back for more with “I Wanna Be Your Slave.” A new flowered covered dazzling suit brought him to his knees whining beneath his guitarist Thomas Raggi just before luring the audience back in. Prancing about the stage with bassist Victoria De Angelis, he had us dancing until the end of the night. His performance on MTV UK sported a similar look this past November. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59MJbfNTUXs

    Earlier in the night Pete Davidson had stole some hearts on weekend update gloating with Weekend Update’s Colin Jost after purchasing a Staten Island Ferry soon to remodel as a nightclub.

    SNL returns with William DeFoe, alongside Katy Perry next Friday, January 29th.

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