As Saturday Night Live celebrates its 50th year on screens in the US, Daily Star reminisces about the show’s most iconic musical performances from Taylor Swift to Nirvana
Saturday Night Live has seen some huge stars grace its stage over the years.
The beloved late-night comedy show first aired all the way back in 1975 and shot the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Kristen Wiig and Adam Sandler into stardom. SNL just celebrated 50 years on TV with a star-studded 50th anniversary special that saw appearances from Sabrina Carpenter, Pedro Pascal, Robert De Niro and many more.
Hollywood legend Tom Hanks and his famous wife Rita Wilson got in on the fun too as they jokingly stormed out of SNL’s anniversary concert on Friday [February 14]. They pretended to be livid when host Jimmy Fallon said there would be no awards being dished out.
Week after week, Saturday Night Live has seen countless musicians and artists perform on its iconic stage. From Lady Gaga to Paul McCartney, Adele, and Taylor Swift, every big name in the industry has graced the space at some point in their careers.
While the show is a huge hit in the US, many UK fans will have watched the countless performances that eventually turned it into viral moments. As the late-night show celebrates 50 years on TV, Daily Star reflects on its most iconic music performances.
Lady Gaga, 2009
Lady Gaga’s iconic performance, introduced by Ryan Reynolds, was in fact a medley of her now chart-topping hits Love Game, Bad Romance, and Poker Face. Gaga performed Bad Romance for the first time ever for SNL, kicking off what would go on to become her most renowned musical era with the album Fame Monster.
She can be seen opening up the performance in a costume made up of a metallic structured sphere and singing her heart out on piano. After a dramatic entrance, Gaga stripped it back to showcase her impressive singing capabilities without dancing and ‘gimmicks,’ just a year after she appeared in the limelight.
Taylor Swift, 2021
With 27 million views on YouTube alone, this performance goes down as one of the most popular in SNL history. Taylor Swift performed the 10-minute version of her song All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) in a heart-wrenching rendition of the song, almost 10 years since its initial release.
Swift locks eyes with the camera in her stripped-back performance as she sings for the entirety of the song, captivating viewers. The 2021 episode was hosted by Pete Davidson, and her short film, which accompanies the song, played on a projector behind her as she sang.
David Bowie, 1979
Waving goodbye to the 60s in style, David Bowie’s December 1969 performance is one for the history books. The star was seen being carried to his microphone by fellow performers in a diva fashion, wearing a dramatically sculpted suit with huge shoulders.
Bowie stunned audiences as he sang Man Who Sold the World in what was considered to be a very innovative performance at the time. Still to this day, the performance is considered one of the most iconic to grace the SNL stage.
Sinead O’Connor, 1992
While performing her own rendition of the Bob Marley song War, Sinead O’Connor made SNL history with her political statement on stage. In 1992, the Irish singer staged a controversial protest against the Catholic Church.
In her performance, O’Connor held up a photograph of the pope to the camera and ripped it up before looking into the lens and saying, “Fight the real enemy.”. This performance is still considered to be incredibly significant and was what named the activist Times most influential woman of 1992.
In an interview that followed her performance weeks later, O’Connor explained that she held the Catholic Church responsible for the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse that she had suffered as a child. Not just this, but she expressed that she felt the church had “destroyed entire races of people” and accused priests of abusing children for years.
The iconic political performance was mocked by Madonna later on in the same season of SNL. when she performed her single Bad Girl. After, she held up a picture of the sex offender Joey Buttafuoco, similar to Sinead, and instead said “fight the real enemy” and tore it up. It was nine years later when Pope John Paul II publicly acknowledged sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church.
Lana Del Rey, 2012
Well known for all the wrong reasons is Lana Del Rey’s SNL performance of Blue Jeans, which followed her first performance of Video Games. The clip has resurfaced online for its pitchy vocals.
Introduced by Daniel Radcliffe, the performance shows a visibly nervous Lana as she mutters her way through the song. Fans have criticised the rendition of the song for its lack of consistency, as the singer’s voice changes a lot throughout the song.
SNL took the noise surrounding the performance and ran with it, creating their own sketch that poked fun at Lana. The singer spoke out about her experience on the show in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “Maybe now, even if I didn’t feel confident, I would do it anyway,” adding that “there was a reason not to feel confident.”
Nirvana, 1992
It was the day that their legendary album Nevermind was at the top of the charts when Nirvana made their SNL debut, according to Louder Sound. The band delighted viewers with a live performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit, their biggest song to date.
When the sign had finished, in true punk rock style, Dave Grohl smashed up his drum kit while the other band members went on to damage the equipment on stage. At the recent SNL50 anniversary show, the surviving members of Nirvana played the stage once again, this time with Post Malone stepping in as their singer.
Fear, 1981
One of the show’s most famous and chaotic performances was that of Californian punk rock band, Fear. The group had the 1981 Halloween performance slot and boy did they horrify SNL viewers.
Crashing onto the stage were fans that the band had invited, and audiences across America watched as they threw themselves into sweaty mosh pits. As all hell broke loose, SNL’s stage manager was allegedly hit in the chest with a pumpkin, and according to the lead singer, “The real audience at Saturday Night Live was scared to death.”
Fear was then banned from returning to SNL.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
