'SNL50' Anniversary Special Lines Up Musical Performances, Including Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus
McCartney, Cyrus, and Paul Simon all performed at the 40th anniversary special as well
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, aired live on Peacock Friday night was a blast. From host Jimmy Fallon’s “Soul Man” opener to Jack White’s closing “Rocking in the Free World” and “Seven Nation Army”, with an operatic Bad Bunny, a Backstreet Boys “I Want It That Way” performance everyone was into, a Lonely Island medley reuniting “3-Way (The Golden Rule)” collaborators Andy Samberg and Lady Gaga that let Chris Parnell unleash a “MUSTAAAAAARD!” yell in the midst of “Lazy Sunday”, a Post Malone-fronted Nirvana reunion, two David Byrne teamups, and a housedowning Cher “If I Could Turn Back Time”. That doesn’t even go into Bill Murray as Nick Valentine, Tracy Morgan getting to belt the “Astronaut Jones” theme song again as I called, and the Culps’ newest medley which features yet another satisfying performance of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” following his Super Bowl halftime show Sunday. And it was attended by over 100 Saturday Night Live alums, from the shortest tenures to the underdiscussed and the left behind. Let alone all the celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Keegan-Michael Key, and…Andrew Dice Clay?!? But with an entire concert of musical performances, it left many wondering if musical performances had been completely spun out of Sunday’s main anniversary special show. Well, hours before the concert, those concerns were put to rest.
The show socials announced seven performers: Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Paul Simon, Lil Wayne, Sabrina Carpenter, and The Roots. Cyrus, Howard, and The Roots were the first performers after the open, performing Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” before Miley went solo for “Flowers”, with appropriate custom “look where I am” lyrics like she did for the Grammys. In fact, Cyrus, McCartney, and Simon are getting anniversary special encores, having been three of the four performers at the 40th anniversary special. Wisely, Kanye West won’t be part of any festivities this time. There, Cyrus did a cover of Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” introduced by Candice Bergen and Win Butler, McCartney did “Maybe I’m Amazed” and was introduced by Keith Richards, and Simon, introduced by Jack White was the night’s last performer, bringing back “Still Crazy After All These Years”. With there only having been three musical performances at the 25th anniversary special, we will likely see a continuance of the grouped performers practice the Homecoming Concert saw, though probably not repeating the formation that we’ve already seen.
On the main show, Cyrus was first host on March 5, 2011 with musical guest The Strokes, did double duty as host and musical guest on October 5, 2013 and October 3, 2015, and served just as musical guest November 4, 2017 with host Larry David, December 15, 2018 with host Matt Damon, and May 8, 2021 with host…Elon Musk. Oy. She also made cameos in the October 26, 2013 Edward Norton/Janelle Monae episode, the April 25, 2020 At Hole episode and December 11, 2021’s Billie Eilish episode. McCartney was a 4-time musical guest, for the May 17, 1980 episode hosted by Steve Martin, February 13, 1993 hosted by Alec Baldwin, December 11, 2010 hosted by Paul Rudd, and December 15, 2012 hosted by Martin Short. His cameos include Jimmy Fallon’s monologue in his December 21, 2013 gig and joining Bruce Springsteen performance of “Santa Claus is Comin to Town” in the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler-hosted December 18, 2015 episode. The Roots, the current house band of Fallon’s Tonight Show, were previously musical guests with Busta Rhymes on the February 13, 1999 Brendan Fraser episode. Questlove, the band’s drummer, directed Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music which premiered in January. Alabama Shakes February 16, 2013, hosted by Christoph Waltz and February 28, 2015, hosted by Dakota Johnson, which was the first show after the 40th anniversary special. Sabrina Carpenter was the musical guest of season 49’s finale this past May 18. Lil Wayne was the complete surprise, unannounced previously in any capacity. He’s been musical guest three times first on the season 34 premiere September 13, 2008 with host Michael Phelps, with Eminem on December 18, 2010 with host Jeff Bridges, and finally November 10, 2018 with host Liev Schreiber.
Simon has hosted four times, three of them double duty, including the second ever episode, October 18, 1975, which like the first had multiple musical guests, with Randy Newman and Phoebe Snow credited but also including his musical partner Art Garfunkel, because of course. It was followed by November 20, 1976, October 29, 1977 hosted by Charles Grodin, the unhosted March 15, 1980 with James Taylor and David Sanborn, May 10, 1986, November 22 the same year with host Robin Williams, December 19, 1987 with musical guests Linda Ronstadt and The Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, the 15th anniversary special on September 24, 1989 (with Prince as the other musical guest, November 17, 1990 with host Dennis Hopper, sharing the May 15, 1993 Kevin Kline episode with Willie Nelson, November 4, 2000 with host Charlize Theron, May 13, 2006 with host Julia Louis-Dreyfus, May 14, 2011 with host Ed Helms, and October 13, 2018 with host Seth Meyers. That’s ten non-double duty musical guest gigs. His cameos include the original Five-Timers Club sketch from December 8, 1990 which inducted Tom Hanks and the March 9, 2013 Justin Timberlake induction. The SNL Archives count his September 29, 2001 (Reese Witherspoon/Alicia Keys) appearance performing “The Boxer” as a cameo. Mumford & Sons included the song in their Homecoming Concert setlist as it was the first episode after the September 11 attacks.
Sunday’s festivities start at 7 PM with a linear red carpet show on NBC and E! (and Peacock) hosted by Willie Geist and Las Culturistas cohost comedian Matt Rogers, and the SNL50: Red Carpet Livestream, hosted by Chicken Shop Date creator and host Amelia Dimoldenberg across the show’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. The anniversary special itself begins at 8 PM.
