Since its premiere on October 11, 1975, Saturday Night Live has become a mainstay of American network television thanks to its tireless pursuit of sketch comedy. It has launched the careers of countless comedians, many of which are now A-list celebrities. The show has also helped usher in music trends thanks to its constant showcase of artists from all genres. While some of these performances have gone down as classic live shows, others have fared more poorly.
Even the most talented, well-practiced musician has off nights. Unfortunately for the musicians on this list, that off-night happened to come while being watched by millions of people across the country. In this article, we will explore some of the biggest musical act bombs in Saturday Night Live history. Some were likely due to drunkenness, others to lip-syncing, but all of them had a touch of awkwardness even the most entrancing stage set couldn’t hide.
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To compile a list of Saturday Night Live musical acts that bombed big time, 24/7 Tempo consulted a range of entertainment and music publications including NPR.com , Popdust.com, and Reddit.com. Next, we selected SNL musical acts noteworthy for their lack of musicianship or disastrous stage presence. After that, we confirmed aspects of each performance using sites like USAToday.com and IMDB.com.
Chris Gaines (1999)
After a wildly successful country music run through the 1990s, Garth Brooks wanted to switch things up. Presumably tired of his country crooning, he invented an Australian rock alter-ego in the form of Chris Gaines. His plan was well thought out, given a (planned) film featuring the character and an accompanying soundtrack. The execution, however, left fans confused and unsympathetic. This response was solidified after Brooks as Gaines played for the Saturday Night Live audience. Rocking a soul patch and a Beatles-style wig, Gaines failed to realize that no one else was in on the joke. While Gaines managed to score one Top 40 pop single, giving him the clout to take the SNL stage, this alter-ego failed to manifest as planned. It did, however, confuse everyone.
Meat Loaf (1978)
The year is 1978 and Meatloaf is one of the biggest names in rock music. Having just released his seminal album “Bat Out of Hell,” he was poised for superstardom. Like many noteworthy acts, he visited the Saturday Night Live studio to give audiences what they were looking for. Everything seemed on the up and up until Meatloaf opened his mouth. His vocals were shaky, off-tune even, and warbled through the verses without the trademark heart that brought him fame. Worse, he seemed unable to hit either high or low notes, resulting in a tempered, if not neutered, singing performance. His gaggle of backup singers didn’t seem to help much either. They, too, wandered in and out of key and tune, looking like they had somewhere better to be.
Iggy Azalea feat. MØ (2014)
Say what you will about Iggy Azalea’s musical stylings, she knows how to put on a memorable show. Her collaborator MØ for the Saturday Night Live performance, seemed lost, confused, and not ready for any stage. As soon as MØ took the stage, Azalea’s entrancing performance was curbed. To be fair, it was MØ’s first time on American television. However, she didn’t win any favors as her performance looked hilarious by comparison. While Azalea and her backup dancers stepped to the beat with military precision, MØ attempted to join in. The result is a wildly out-of-place dance aping the perfectly choreographed steps behind her. Bereft of stage presence, and lacking any sense of rhythm, MØ’s awkward moves took center stage. Her vocals didn’t do much to sway the audience either, as they warbled in and out of tune, sometimes clipping the mic. Not a good look, especially when singing the song’s soaring hook.
The Replacements (1986)
Over the years, The Replacements have undergone something of an image makeover, resulting in many critics considering them some of the unsung rock heroes of the 1980s. Thanks to their unique, melodic, but edgy songs, they earned a diehard collection of fans and became known as musician’s musicians. During their heyday, however, The Replacements had a reputation for being fall-down drunks. After the Pointer Sisters cancelled on their Saturday Night Live gig, the show’s musical director G.E. Smith gave The Replacements a shot to reach a more mass-market audience. While rehearsals for the show went well, the band spent the hours leading up to their performance getting drunk with guest host Harry Dean Stanton. As such, they made their Saturday Night Live debut incredibly intoxicated. Besides swapping clothes mid-set, the lead singer Paul Westerberg said the F-word live on air. This caused show boss Lorne Michaels to ban The Replacements from Saturday Night Live for good.
DJ Khaled (2019)
DJ Khaled has been called many things over his long, illustrious, and bewildering career. Some say he is an expert musical curator, others say he is a terminal coat-rider, barging his way into songs without contributing anything except some pedantic shouts and ad-libs. Either way, DJ Khaled has brilliantly managed to make himself a world-famous musician without making much music at all. This became particularly apparent when he performed on Saturday Night Live in 2019 to close off the show’s 44th season. After ambling through a couple of mash-up songs honoring the late Nipsey Hussle, Khaled brought out SZA, Lil Wayne, and John Legend. While these musical legends performed, Khaled just sort of meandered around the stage, interjecting the odd quip or shoutout, often in the form of his own name. True to form, DJ Khaled curated a great musical lineup before spoiling it with his unnecessary and awkward hype-man intrusions.
Ed Sheeran (2021)
Say what you will about British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, he knows how to craft an earworm of a pop song. Over the years, he’s developed a knack for making songs too boring to dance to yet too passably catchy to completely ignore. When Ed Sheeran graced the Saturday Night Live stage in 2021, he played two of his better-known hits, “Shivers” and “Overpass Graffiti.” Compared to other entries on this list, nothing went wrong with Sheeran’s set. It was passable, melodic, even quaint, thanks to his lack of movement and equally lacking-of-color beige sweater. Not one for stage presence or showmanship, however, Sheeran’s performance might go down as one of the most boring in Saturday Night Live history. His set illustrates the aggressive agreeableness of his music. It’s not bad, it’s not great, but it hypnotizes you as it ambles through four-chord structures without verve or aura.
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The Rolling Stones (1978)
The year is 1978 and The Rolling Stones are arguably the biggest band in the world. As such, it’s no surprise they were invited to perform on the Saturday Night Live stage. They opened with “Shattered,” which went well, all things considered. Things fell into disarray, however, during their next song “Beast of Burden.” While the band played tight, Mick Jagger floundered spectacularly. His voice sounded strange, raspy, and off-key. It almost seemed like someone doing their most satirical Mick Jagger impression. For his part, Jagger attempted to liven up the performance with his trademark moves and thrusts. This failed to elevate the song, however, as his vocals just seemed to get worse and worse. Like all great bands, sometimes they have off nights. This is the late 70s too, remember, so various members of the Rolling Stones were deep in the throes of addiction. Even still, this performance stands as one of the worst Mick Jagger singing bouts of all time.
The Pogues (1990)
For a long time, Celtic Punk band The Pogues toiled in obscurity, occasionally getting praised for their unique take on the punk rock genre. All that changed when they released the oft-played Christmas song “Fairytale of New York.” It became something of a hit, gracing film soundtracks and more. As such, Saturday Night Live invited the band on to play. The Pogues, however, were in the midst of a chaotic period of their career. Lead singer Shane MacGowan ensured that chaos with his heavy drinking. During their set, The Pogues band played well, expertly even. As for MacGowan, he looked half-dead. Wearing sunglasses and liberally smoking a cigarette, MacGowan nodded along sluggishly behind the mic stand. He seemed drunk too, as his vocals slurred far past the point of comprehension. By the song’s end, MacGowan seems to give up on the enterprise entirely after he abandoned the mic, grabbed a drink, and sat by the drumset. Perhaps this was a bit of foreshadowing, as the Pogues fired MacGowan within a year of the performance.
Red Hot Chili Peppers (1992)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have faced their fair share of problems over their long and illustrious career. The early 1990s were not good for the band, and this was particularly apparent in the band’s 1992 Saturday Night Live performance. After making their way adequately through the hit song “Under the Bridge,” the band played “Stone Cold Bush.” By this time, guitarist John Frusciante was knee-deep in heroin addiction, unaccustomed to fame, and isolating himself from band members and friends alike. During the song, already busy when played properly, Frusciante took it to a new low with his frenetic and out-of-tune playing. As lead singer Anthony Keidis emitted his trademark whiny shouts, Frusciante slipped up and down the fretboard in a distorted mess. Thinking he’s sabotaging the song on purpose, Keidis even kicks him as the tune winds down. Perhaps it was a bit of foreshadowing, as Frusciante would quit the Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time some three months after this disaster of a performance.
Greta Van Fleet (2019)
In 2018 and 2019, Greta Van Fleet burst onto the music scene, gaining fans and detractors in equal measure for their 70s classic rock, homage-like sound. While refreshing in a sense, as no other band sounded like them at the time, they also seemed instantly stale thanks to their unapologetic mimicry of bands like Led Zeppelin and The Who. During their Saturday Night Live set, Greta Van Fleet played two songs, “Black Smoke Rising” and “You’re the One.” The first song went well enough. The second song, however, became legendary for just how strange and uncanny it was. The lead singer went shoeless, wearing strange hippy capri pants as he sang and lightly danced around. While his voice sounded like a pitch-perfect impersonation of Robert Plant, his face looked like that of a street urchin from a Charles Dickens novel. In truth, everyone in the band looked to be on some kind of drug. Their catatonic and dazed facial expressions made for a unique performance. It also made perfect ammunition for parodies, the likes of which popped up on social media as soon as the set was over.
Brian Wilson (1976)
Say what you will about the Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson, he is a musical genius. He revolutionized pop music in the 60s, elevating it to the point of art. Wilson suffered for his art too, as he grappled with drug and alcohol issues as well as waves of debilitating mental illness. When he performed for the Saturday Night Live audience in the fall of 1976, these issues were readily apparent. Coming off a bout of inclusiveness and his wife threatening to have him institutionalized, he seemed worse for wear. Wilson struggled through some of his classic songs, straining his voice as he tried and failed to hit notes that his younger self could do with ease. Though he lacked energy, Wilson rounded off the set with perhaps his most famous song, “Good Vibrations.” This, too, suffered badly. The soaring crescendos of the song’s chorus were subdued and lifeless. It resulted in a truly disappointing showing for the pop legend.
Kanye West (2008)
In 2008, controversial music genius Kanye West stopped by the Saturday Night Live stage to promote his new album, “808s & Heartbreak.” To give the audience what they wanted, West launched into arguably the best song on the album and the only one to feature him singing, “Love Lockdown.” The problem was, however, that the song employed the use of a voice vocoder to modulate Kanye’s vocals. When played live on SNL, this vocoder caused West’s voice to sound messy and crackled, falling in and out of the microphone. Though backup tracks were cranked up to cover the inconsistent vocal effect, it was still quite apparent. While West later made headlines on SNL for espousing his support for Donald Trump, his 2008 appearance remains one of the worst musical performances in the show’s history.
Lana Del Rey (2012)
Nowadays, Lana Del Rey is something of a living legend. She has a legion of diehard fans and has filled a unique Americana music niche in a sea of overproduced gumball pop. Back in 2012, however, Del Rey was a newcomer. She had just gone viral on YouTube and was still attempting to earn the respect she now holds. Though her critically-acclaimed second album “Born to Die,” was only weeks away from being released, Del Rey earned the ire of American audiences when she performed on Saturday Night Live. During the two songs she performed, Del Rey sounded awkward and had a stiff stage presence. Furthermore, her now famous mannered vocals sounded flat yet somehow forced. Most didn’t know what to make of her. Others assumed her internet hype was style over substance. In truth, Del Rey seemed to know what she was doing as this performance was but a blip in her soon-to-come lauded musical status.
MC Hammer (1991)
For a brief period in the early 1990s, MC Hammer was all the rage in popular music. Though he had but a few hit songs, he played his moment in the spotlight beautifully. It made sense, then, for Saturday Night Live to invite him to play in the winter of 1991. He took the stage and performed three songs badly. To make matters worse, he didn’t play his most famous song “Can’t Touch This.” Instead, he took up most of his stage time playing songs from the “Addams Family” movie soundtrack. While not as disastrous as other performances on this list, his SNL performance functioned more like an advertisement than a concert. Furthermore, it seemed like a hail-mary attempt at staying relevant in the music world.
Post Malone ft. Fleet Foxes (2021)
When Post Malone brought his pop-trap stylings to the Saturday Night Live stage in 2021 he turned heads, and not necessarily for the best reasons. During his first song “Cooped Up,” Malone wandered the claustrophobic stage in ill-fitting leather pants, awkwardly shuffling around before feature Roddy Ricch appeared for the chorus and gave the performance a much-needed boost of presence. Malone followed this up with a rendition of his ballad “Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol.” The stage was darkened and strip-downed. Malone then brought out both Taiko drummers and indie darlings Fleet Foxes in what might be the strangest collab in modern music. For their part, Fleet Foxes provided dulcet background vocals. These quickly became lost in the mix, however, as Malone upstaged them dissonantly. He seemed to struggle as he sang the notes of his own song. His vocals were pitchy, distractingly warbled, and made some audience members wonder how he got so famous in the first place.
Kesha (2010)
In the Obama era of American pop culture, Kesha emerged as something of a scandalous sensation. Seductive yet corny, she unapologetically ushered forth some of the catchiest and syrupiest pop hooks in modern memory. While she’s undergone several image makeovers since then, her 2010 performance on Saturday Night Life remains a high-watermark of bad entertainment. It’s hard to exactly pinpoint what was so bad about her performance but there are plenty of opportunities. Besides her clunky, possibly intoxicated stage presence, Kesha treated the audience to bouts of uninspired rapping as well as inane questions like “Does anyone ever stop to think that maybe we are the aliens?” She solidified her awful set when she played “Your Love Is My Drug.” Donning excessive amounts of glow paint, Kesha sang at needlessly pitchy volumes while likely offending Indigenous peoples due to her tactless outfit.
Ashlee Simpson (2004)
Without a doubt, Ashlee Simpson’s 2004 Saturday Night Live musical performance will go down as the worst in history. It also helped invigorate the early internet meme phenomenon. When Ashlee Simpson took the stage, she performed her song “Pieces of Me.” When she started singing her second song, “Autobiography,” however, the audience was treated to her backing track from the first song. Her backing band responded accordingly and began playing the first song again. Caught lip-syncing redhanded and unsure what to do, Simpson proceeded to do an awkward jig-type dance before wandering off the stage. Though she later claimed to have acid reflux, prompting the lip-syncing, it did little to help her reputation. In fact, Simpon’s music career kind of faded after that point. Rarely does a single performance go so bad that it ruins a full career, but this one quite possibly did.
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The post 17 Times Saturday Night Live Musical Acts Bombed (BIG Time) appeared first on 24/7 Tempo .
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