Entertainment
Ryan Gosling’s ‘SNL’ Episode Just Hit a Massive 50-Year First for the Show
If there’s one thing that Saturday Night Live knows how to do, it’s make an iconic moment. For over 50 years, the NBC comedy institution has welcomed hundreds of actors, comedians, and musicians to take the Studio 8H stage as hosts, musical guests, or fun cameos. Just this season, we’ve already seen Heated Rivalry breakout Connor Storrie make his hosting debut, Cher perform as a musical guest, and Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor take the stage. But the most recent episode, hosted by Ryan Gosling, was historic because the musical guest, Gorillaz, wasn’t a new act using the platform to catapult itself into viewers’ playlists. They’re actually an iconic band that finally made their debut. The twist? They are the first virtual band to ever headline SNL.
Gorillaz Surprised Everyone With Their Song Choices on ‘SNL’
Leading up to Gosling’s fourth time hosting the sketch comedy series, the virtual band had been featured in the typical promos, plus one featuring Gosling and their hit, “Clint Eastwood.” The promo saw Gosling hilariously believe he was joining the Five-Timers Club, only to be proven incorrect by Mikey Day. Long-time fans of the band might have believed that it would be the sole appearance of their massive hit, but Gorillaz surprised all by using their opening slot to play “Clint Eastwood,” a song they released in 2001. The inclusion of the 25-year-old song was meant to thank the supporters who had been by their side since day one.
‘Saturday Night Live UK’ Could Be The 1 Exact Thing That British Comedy Has Been Missing
Will this bold move pay off, or will it be met with the cold shoulder?
The high-concept band, which has been around since 1998, was originally created by Jamie Hewlett and Blur frontman Damon Albarn. But for the longest time, we only knew them by their virtual counterparts, 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, and Noodle. Every album cover, every music video, everything we knew about Gorillaz was through those characters, and that’s what made them unique. Now that the virtual and non-virtual members are united as one, it was the perfect time for Gorillaz to remind the world why they are one of the most musically unique bands in history. Promoting their new album, The Mountain, the band performed “The Moon Cave” in the second song slot. With the hype largely surrounding the virtual band’s presence, history was also made for Albarn, as it was his SNL debut. Shockingly, Blur, the second biggest ’90s Britpop band behind Oasis, never appeared as musical guests on the series.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Has Featured Many Monumental Musical Moments
During the 50 years SNL has been on the air, it’s played host to many monumental musical moments. Perhaps you watched when Sinéad O’Connor tore up a photo of the Pope in 1992. Maybe it was back in 1977, when Elvis Costello abruptly switched songs into their forbidden track, leading to a long-term ban. Then there was the scandal in 2004 when Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing.
Gorillaz’s appearance doesn’t come with controversy, but it joins the lineup of historic moments that will always be remembered. Just as Nirvana brought grunge to a mainstream audience and Funk 4 + 1 provided the first-ever hip-hop performance, the cultural significance of music on SNL continues to shape what we listen to.
Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30pm EST on NBC. All episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
- Release Date
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October 11, 1975
- Showrunner
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Lorne Michaels
- Directors
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Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel
- Writers
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Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan