saturday night live

Camila Cabello And Willow Performed The Angsty, Frantic ‘Psychofreak’ On ‘SNL’

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Lately, Willow Smith has been a secret weapon for pop star who want to add an influx of punk energy to their sound. Since she started coming up as an adult artist, Willow has evolved far past “Whip My Hair” and has become a full-fledged “Emo Girl” — or so her recent collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly asserts. Since Camila Cabello has never been edgy or punk at all, this is the perfect chance for her to explore what a song with those undertones would be like, and “Psychofreak,” her recent collab with Willow, does not disappoint.

The track is off Camila’s third album, Familia, which she just released this past Friday. Of course, Camila has been on a press blitz promoting the record, and she was lucky enough to get an appearance on Saturday Night Live as part of that. As collaborations become more and more popular, it’s not necessarily surprising that Willow joined her, but kicking off her set with this recent collab is definitely a pivot from the earlier sounds of the record, including “Bam Bam” featuring Ed Sheeran, and one of the record’s earliest singles, “La Buena Vida.” Check out the high-energy performance of “Psychofreak” up top, and look out for Camila’s second performance of the night, “Bam Bam” as well.

Gunna And Pete Davidson Put Their Talents To Good Use In A Rap About ‘Short-Ass Movies’ On ‘SNL’

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Gunna put forth another highlight moment in his stellar 2022 year through a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live. His debut appearance on the show came after he kicked off the year with his third album DS4EVER. It’s highlighted by “Pushin P” with Future and Young Thug as well as other records with the likes of 21 Savage, Drake, Chloe Bailey, Lil Baby, G Herbo, and more. DS4EVER went on to be Gunna’s second No. 1 album following 2020’s Wunna. During his SNL appearance, he celebrated the album with performances of “Pushin P” and “Banking On Me,” but he also made sure to have some fun with some of the show’s cast members.

During last night’s episode of SNL, Gunna teamed up with Pete Davidson, Simon Rex, and Chris Redd for a rap about “short-ass movies.” The group gave quick reactions to short films like The Lion King and Austin Powers while joking about longer ones like Amadeus, Once Upon A Time In America and Heat. Elsewhere in the sketch, Davidson goes to see the new three-hour Batman movie and ends up pissing his pants. The group even slips in a joke about Judd Apatow’s The King Of Staten Island, which stars Davidson and clocks in at 137 minutes

You can watch the sketch about “short-ass movies” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Gunna Showcases His Softer Side With An ‘SNL’ Performance Of ‘Banking On Me’

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Though he’d return later in the night to perform his incredibly popular “Pushin P” single — joined by his Atlanta rap elder, Future — Gunna kicked off his appearance on Saturday Night Live with a rendition of the slow jam, “Banking On Me.” Though the more gentle number didn’t appear on the original version of Gunna’s 2022 album, DS4EVER, it was released later on as one of four additional bonus tracks. Since the rising Atlanta rapper has been romantically linked to Chloe Bailey several times, this kind of emotional song will always raise a couple of eyebrows, but it’s generic enough that there are no specific references to the R&B star.

For the late night set, Gunna showed up in an all cream, double-breasted suit — which he, of course, paired with some signature sneakers — and sat perched on a trunk for the rendition while fog swirled around him and a live band, who got a chance to flex on a musical interlude toward the end of the appearance. Showcasing his softer side on national television side was a smooth move from Gunna, who is fighting against the same stereotypes that plenty of hip-hop artists face. This performance proved that he’s more than just trap bars, although he did bring those in later on. Check out his performance of “Banking On You” up top.

Gunna And Future Effortless Trade Bars In Their ‘Pushin P’ Performance On ‘Saturday Night Live’

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Last night on Saturday Night Live, Gunna brought out Future to show the world exactly what “Pushin P” means. The song is so popular it’s spawned the usage of the specific “Pushing P” emoji, a blue capital P, but Gunna has given his best description of the infamously phrase in an Instagram story following up the song’s release and right before his January 2022 album DS4EVER, was released. “P don’t just mean Playa, P also mean paper too,” he said. “You could be pushing this P with paper too.”

First released right around the top of 2022, the “Pushin P” video has been, ahem, pushing, the Atlanta rapper’s new slang for the last few months, and its raunchy music video certainly helped get eyes on the song in the beginning. For their TV performance of the track, though, Future and Gunna kept it fairly PG, decked out in their usual designer swag, and slowly swaying while they rapped through swirling fog and a tumultuous laser light show.

Perhaps what’s most impressive about the performance, though, is the way Gunna and Future seamlessly trade bars, exhibiting the kind of on stage chemistry that few rappers can manage — especially two who are both such stars in their own right. Check out the performance up top.

Lizzo Will Be Double-Dipping As The Host And Musical Guest On ‘SNL’ Next Month

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You don’t have to stretch your imagination very far to think about what Lizzo might be like acting in a Saturday Night Live sketch. The multi-talented “Truth Hurts” singer is not just a multi-Platinum, Grammy Award-winning artist, but she’s a viral TikTok star who has shown time and time again that she’s both hilarious and not afraid to speak her mind. So, SNL is ready to put all of Lizzo’s talents on display when she does double-duty as both the host and musical guest of NBC’s hit show on April 16th.

The entire April slate of hosts and musical performers was announced today. In addition to the “Lizzo-palooza” on April 16th, Gunna and Camila Cabello were also confirmed as musical guests in April. Gunna, whose DS4Ever topped the Billboard 200 chart earlier this year, will appear on the April 2nd episode, hosted by comedian Jerrod Carmichael. Meanwhile, Camila Cabello, who just announced that her new album Familia will be out on April 8th, will be the musical guest for an episode hosted by Jake Gyllenhaall on April 9th. It’s a perfectly timed appearance for Cabello with her album coming out the day before the episode, and it’s also a boost that it will mark Gylenhaal’s first time hosting the show in 15 years.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

LCD Soundsystem Show Up As ‘Guardian Angels’ In John Mulaney’s ‘Subway Churro’ SNL Sketch

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Last night’s Saturday Night Live episode was one for the books. Not only were New York indie legends LCD Soundsystem back in the house, but after a fairly rough time in the public eye of late — in a few month streak that included a stint in rehab, a divorce, and a baby with new girlfriend Olivia Munn — John Mulaney returned to host the comedy show. As a staple of the show, and in today’s comedy scene in general, Mulaney was entering his fifth time hosting the show, a “five-timers club” distinction that comedians and actors are proud to achieve.

What else should he be proud of achieving? Enlisting LCD Soundsystem as his guardian angels! Well, it was just for a sketch on the show, but the “Subway Churro” episode, which is, of course, also somehow a musical, casts Mulaney as a newsstand worker in a subway station. At one point, he adopts the stylings of Fiddler On The Roof to wax poetic on the joy of going off the grid, and as more characters emerge, LCD shows up as “Guardian Angels” a group who emerged in reaction to the lawless atmosphere in the New York subway during the ’80s. It’s a perfect casting choice for the rockers, and puts them at the center of one of the funniest sketches of the night. Check it out above.

The Ukrainian Chorus Dumka Of New York Opened ‘SNL’ With A Performance Of ‘Prayer For Ukraine’

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Last week, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine reached a fever pitch when the former launched a “full-scale invasion” into the neighboring country. President Vladimir Putin might have believed that invading the nation would be an easy feat, but that has not been the case, as Russian soldiers have been met with strong resistance. Ukraine has made it clear that they won’t go out without a fight and the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is leading the charge on that front, having chosen to fight with his people instead of escaping.

The support for Ukraine has been strong. One example was on full display during last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live. Rather than their usual comedic cold open, the cast and crew of SNL welcomed the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka Of New York to begin the show. Following an introduction by SNL cast members Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong, the choir sang “Prayer for Ukraine.” The chorus also performed in front of a table with candles that spelled out “Kyiv,” Ukraine’s capital.

The somber cold open was reminiscent of the first SNL episode, which also featured little in the way of humor, following the September 11 terrorist attacks back in 2001.

You can watch the performance in the video above.

Doja Cat Has Mixed Feelings About Possibly Hosting ‘SNL’ One Day

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Doja Cat is one of the most entertaining personalities in music, so naturally, fans and friends would love to see more of her outside of singles and albums. She’s a hoot on social media, but some have wondered how she’d fare on the Saturday Night Live stage as a host. It turns out that’s something Doja has given some thought to, and the prospect both excited and intimidates her.

In a new Billboard interview, Doja was asked if she’d want an SNL hosting gig and she replied, “I like the idea of doing that because I love, obviously, to tell jokes. But it’s a little nerve-racking because it’s something friends have suggested to me, [doing] stand-up or comedy. That would kind of be my first gig. Just the thought of that terrifies me a little bit.”

Speaking of SNL, one of the show’s icons is somebody Doja would like to meet, as she said, “I really want to meet Tracee Ellis Ross — and at the same time, I’m terrified because, to me, she’s the boss at the end of the game of life that I’m living. Her and Maya Rudolph.”

She also discussed her relationship with social media, saying, “People are always like, ‘What’s your Finsta,’ and I don’t want one. I don’t like the idea of having to juggle social media, which already sucks as it is. Not to say it hasn’t helped me so f*cking much, but the way I feel about Instagram is: I go on, look at pictures of makeup and fashion and cats, and that’s pretty much it. I’ve unfollowed everyone who is a person that I know.”

Check out the full interview here.