Kicking off with a tribute to the Blues Brothers from the evening’s host Jimmy Fallon, last night’s “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” pulled out all the stops in celebrating the show’s rich musical history, as well as the influence music has had on its comedy. And though Fallon made sure to start the affair at Radio City Music Hall by pointing out that everyone in the room had some form of connection to “Saturday Night Live” and were not there as casual spectators, watching at home, its clear the production worked hard to place fans of the staple variety series right at the the center of the action as well.
The first singer of the evening was Miley Cyrus. After a rendition of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” accompanied by The Roots (they served as the house band for the evening) and Brittany Howard, Cyrus gave a special shout-out to Lorne Michaels before launching into her own recent hit song “Flowers.” The pop anthem brought everyone to their feet and set the energy for an evening that proved to be both raucous and hilarious.
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Bad Bunny was up next with “Baile Inolvidable” and “DTMF,” followed by a special appearance by Bill Murray playing his “SNL” lounge singer Nick Valentine — fitting considering the celebration was held during Valentine’s Day. Murray’s Valentine was backed up by fellow former cast members Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, and Cecily Strong, all of whom sang along to “You’re All I Need to Get By” before introducing rock legend Eddie Vedder.
Vedder performed a tribute to Tom Petty with a rendition of “The Waiting,” as well the song “Corduroy” from his band Pearl Jam. Tracy Morgan then took to the stage to sing the theme song for his “SNL” character Astronaut Jones, a funny ditty, but one that was quickly overshadowed by the B-52s bringing the house down with “Love Shack.” Even current cast members Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang, as well as Fred Armisen on drums, joined the iconic band on stage to help out.
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While the next acts of Backstreet Boys and Devo both brought their singular flare to the evening (even forcing audience member Jerry Seinfeld to sing along), it was Lady Gaga and Andy Samberg who reminded everyone in the crowd the sheer impact of “SNL.” Performing a medley of Lonely Island songs including “D**k in a Box,” “Jack Sparrow,” “I’m on a Boat,” and even “Lazy Sunday,” Samberg was joined by old gang members Chris Parnell, Jorma Taccone, and T-Pain. Vedder also got in on the fun by stepping in for Michael Bolton as Jack Sparrow.
As if this wasn’t enough, Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean also made a rare appearance to perform a medley that included her hit take on “Killing Me Softly with His Song.”
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Another huge highlight of the evening was seeing Will Ferrell and Gasteyer reprise their music educating couple, Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp, for a breakdown of modern hit songs that had the crowd in stitches. Songs sung by the two included Britney Spears’ “Work Bitch,” Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Body,” Doechii’s “Denial is a River,” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” But the real showstopper proved to be Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss-track “Not Like Us.”
Other noteworthy moments saw David Byrne and Robyn collaborate on both “Dancing on my Own” and “This Must Be the Place,” as well as appearances by Jelly Roll, Brandi Carlile, Mumford & Sons, Bonnie Raitt, Snoop Dogg, St. Vincent, Arcade Fire, Post Malone, Nirvana, and a Cher performance that saw both Billy Crystal and Kevin Costner levitate out of their bodies (not really, but it certainly gave that impression). It all closed out with a set from Jack White that brought everyone to their feet and blew the roof off the whole venue. Watch more clips from the show below.
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