After Yeah Yeah Yeahs were forced to back out of their Saturday Night Live musical guest slot due to illness, pop/hip-hop hitmaker Lizzo stepped in to provide a pair of performances (including a Stevie Wonder cover) on the long-running sketch comedy show this past weekend. The last-minute slot marked her third SNL appearance overall and her second of 2022 following an April episode on which she served as both the host and the musical guest.
For her first of two numbers this time around, Lizzo—flanked by a live band on one side and a trio of backing vocalists on the other—treated SNL viewers to a lively performance of “Break Up Twice” from her 2022 LP, Special. The visual element of the performance also grabbed headlines, as it aptly recreated Annie Lee‘s famous “Blue Monday” self-portrait, which depicts the artist’s exhausted body language upon getting out of bed on a Monday morning.
Lizzo – “Break Up Twice” – Saturday Night Live
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For her second tune, Lizzo got in the holiday spirit with a cover of Stevie Wonder’s holiday classic “Someday at Christmas”, the title track from his 1967 Christmas album. Lizzo had officially released her cover of the Stevie Wonder Christmas song last month as an Amazon Music exclusive. As she said of the song choice at the time, “I chose to cover ‘Someday at Christmas’ not just because it’s a classic, but because it’s a reminder to us that almost 60 years later, we are still fighting for peace, compassion, and equality. A friendly reminder to spread love and kindness this holiday season.”
Lizzo – “Someday at Christmas” (Stevie Wonder) – Saturday Night Live
In addition to her two performances, Lizzo appeared in an inside-baseball Please Don’t Destroy sketch as Martin Herlihy’s pleather-loving girlfriend.
Please Don’t Destroy – “Plirts” – Saturday Night Live
Along with Lizzo coming to the rescue, Saturday’s SNL was notable as the last episode for longtime cast member Cecily Strong. Among various emotional moments, episode host Austin Butler, who played Elvis Presley in the recent Baz Luhrmann Elvis biopic, led the show’s cast in an emotional rendition of “Blue Christmas” in her honor.
Austin Butler & SNL Cast – “Blue Christmas” (Elvis Presley) – Saturday Night Live
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