Now that season 51 of Saturday Night Live is in the books, we can finally do what the internet does best. We can rank all the musical performers.
I undertake this mission fully aware that my own biases will figure in. SNL books a wide range musical acts and each of us is bound to prefer some over others. I’ll do my best to filter out those personal preferences and rank this year’s artists on how well they fulfilled fans' expectations, but I promise you in advance – there are several places I won’t be able to divorce my own tastes from these rankings.
You of course are free to push back, or, better yet, publish your own rankings.
Saturday Night Live’s musical guests from worst to best in Season 51
Did I just say that SNL books a wide range of musical acts? See, that’s someplace you could immediately push back. They really did not do that in Season 51. They tended to play it very, very safe. About half of the 20 acts this season were either established pop stars, or young ascendant pop stars. The key word here is “pop.”
There was no country music (though one of the acts tried to sell himself as such.) We call this the Morgan Wallen hangover.
There was precious little rap. The hip hop performers who did appear are all drifting further and further away from rap, incorporating other styles into their new music. Consequently, the rappers that did show up usually were just a part of the show – and not the show itself.
Reggaeton? Yes, but it should be noted that they had the biggest reggaeton artist in the world on the show this year – and he was not the musical guest.
Given the pop nature of the artists, it may be surprising that the average age of this year’s guests was 38.5. That would be right in the A$AP Rocky-Marcus Mumford age range. But the number is heavily inflated by two artists who were major stars in the 1960s. Seven of this years performers were in their 20s and another seven were in their 30s.
Not that any of that really matters.
It has been clear for a while that SNL is at one of its never-ending crossroads. After the hoopla of a pretty exciting 50th season faded away, it became increasingly apparent that the show is in need of fresh blood. Bowen Yang left mid-season. The writers seem overly reliant on old-timers like Mikey Day and the eternal Kenan Thompson. Ashley Padilla may be the first cast member to give way to overexposure without ever actually being a core cast member.
(Side Note: Make Ashley Padilla a core cast member.)
Despite Thompson’s presence, the show is about as white as it has ever been, and though the musical guests continue to stretch the cultural parameters, the music was fairly monolithic this season.
But that by no means should suggest that it was bad. If anything, this was a reliable year, with even the weaker performances having value. And there were certainly some genuine high points as well. So let’s get to the actual performers and how well they did this season.
20. Dijon (Episode 7)
I’ll give this one caveat to acclaimed singer/producer Dijon’s low ranking. His performance, which featured a tight jazzy circle of musicians (one of whom was Bon Iver) may have worked better if you were present.
The intimacy of the performance didn’t generate very much energy if you watched on TV. Then, he kind of committed a fundamental sin in SNL terms by using the exact same set and aesthetic for an inferior second song.
19. Role Model (E2)
Role Model was the second of three straight opening musical guests – all in their 20s, and all performing some version of pop. You will have to wait quite a while to see the other two on this list. Once upon a time, Role Model used to do rap-influenced urban soul like “Puerto Rican” or “Not a Fan.”
It was always sort of dream poppy, but on SNL that dream pop seemed to have gone entirely country, so much so that he performed on a barn set, surrounded by hay bales.
The tunes were sweet and perfectly commonplace, and the main reason he rose out of the basement on this list was the surprise appearance of Charli XCX in the role of Sally on his first song. She basically quadrupled the energy in the room just by walking onstage.
18. Sombr (E5)
I’m guessing this is the first entry where a bunch of readers might start to get mad. I’ll admit it – I don’t get Sombr. He’s cute and he did look good in his red suit on “12 to 12.” But that falsetto and that goofy dancing? Simply not a fan. Beyond that, I didn’t’ sense a lot of energy during that first number, “Back to Friends” was somewhat better, but please tell me why he finished by climbing a ladder.
17. Paul McCartney (E20)
I’m trying my best not to judge on a curve here. I’m not sure I am succeeding. If we go strictly by vocal performance, the venerable McCartney, who played a pretty big role on the season finale, was the worst of the season. By a wide margin. It was almost painful on “Days We Left Behind,” a sweet tune from his upcoming album, and only slightly better on the classic “Band on the Run.”
On the other hand, as near as I can tell, Macca did not use effects to help his voice and I admire that. He did get help from very good bandmates, but that’s to be expected. The video projections during the opening number were gorgeous. Plus, he not only appeared in a couple of non-singing skits, but he closed the show with a third performance and gets a slight bump from that.
16. Anitta (E17)
This season’s one nod toward reggaeton pop, Anitta began her new single “Choka Choka” strong, with a hot set and high-powered dancers. The music was solid as well, though it did grow redundant about midway through. She did a 180 on her second number, performing a sweet, somewhat sleepy ballad.
15. A$AP Rocky (E10)
“Punk Rocky” may have been the strangest performance of the season and Rocky gets points for that. The chaotic street jam, the megaphone mic – it was fun to look at. I’m not convinced the song is all that much, but the cartoon violence at the end, complete with Rocky’s hilarious exit, made it a weird, fun performance.
I kind of wish he had just stuck to “Helicopter” for his second number. That would have been a nice nod to the virtually non-existent rap in season 51. By opening the medley with “Don’t Be Dumb,” he did himself no favors.
14. Cher (E9)
Like McCartney, we won’t award bonus points for being a legend. But we will give them for the Bowen Yang send-off she does along with host Ariana Grande toward the end of the show. Otherwise, her voice barely sounded real on “DJ Play a Christmas Song” but was much better on the outright rocker “Run Rudolph Run.”
13. Harry Styles (E15)
Everything I said about Sombr above applies here – except Styles is a far more polished performer. I don’t think “Dance No More” is anything special but my god how the crowd seemed to go wild at the simplest of hip shaking. “Coming Up Roses” was a sweet romantic number, with its cascade of plucked strings and Paul Simon intro.
12. Cardi B (E12)
I was vaguely disappointed in “Bodega Baddie,” a fun-but-paper-thin number. “Errtime” was a stronger statement – all monochrome leather and techno dance energy.
11. Geese (E11)
As I’ve mentioned with a couple other acts already, I’m not a fan of Geese. I’m just writing that off to me not being cool enough because all the cool people I know think they are the best new band out there.
I absolutely love the fact that they were on the show – they were the one genuinely transgressive, abrasive act booked this season. I just wish they had reversed the order of their songs. I don’t think there was anything special about “Au Pays du Cocaine.” But “Trinidad” seemed to at least hint at what all the fuss is about.
10. Brandi Carlile (E4)
Carlile came on after the opening three pop acts with some politically charged rock and roll. “Church and State” is a good song but never seemed transcendent to me. “Human” is just a rock-solid power ballad performed by a genuine pro.
8/9. Olivia Dean/Lily Allen (E6/8)
At the risk of insulting two major pop divas, I’m going to admit that I can’t really separate them in my memory. Both delivered as expected. Neither was so good I’ll be remembering the performance beyond next week. Allen’s “Madeline,” with a cameo by Dakota Johnson, was good performance art. Dean’s “Man I Need” is very good neo-soul pop.
7. Gorillaz (E14)
I was pleasantly surprised by Gorillaz. Now 58, Damon Albarn was the oldest perfomer not named McCartney or Cher this year and there was a bit of lethargy in his delivery on “Clint Eastwood.” But that barely matters. Having Del the Funky Homosapien there for the rap part was crucial. In the same way, Black Thought elevated “The Moon Cave.”
6. Olivia Rodrigo (E18)
Here’s a conflict. Rodrigo is my favorite real-world performer of the season. She hosted and performed on what may be the weakest overall show of the year. That’s not her fault. The skits were simply underwhelming. Still, she gets major credit for performing a take-off of “Driver’s License” in the monologue, the wacky “My Room” number, and being part of the ensemble in the “Busted” skit.
That’s a lot of singing apart from her two actual numbers. Of those numbers, “Drop Dead” is pristine power pop. “Begged” has her in a swing singing a song that could use a second level. Of, and I did I mention that Debbie Harry (unrecognized, based on crowd reaction) intros her first number?
5. Mumford & Sons (E13)
Marcus Mumford turns in two very professional numbers. Quality songs. Good performances. And potent cameos – Hozier on “Rubber Band Man” and Sierra Ferrell on “Here.” Both get to sing entire verses.
4. Jack White (E16)
Maybe the Jack Black/Jack White pairing didn’t result in the fireworks we hoped, but it was still plenty of fun. White gave us a riff on “Seven Nation Army” (with Black singing parody lyrics) in the monologue, and then White proceeded to serve up a couple a couple of brand new rockers during his performance sets.
3. Noah Kahan (E19)
Like many of you, I spent much of 2022 singing the chorus of “Stick Season.” Even so, I don’t consider myself the biggest Noah Kahan fan out there.
But you can’t deny he delivers what his audience wants. Both “Great Divide” and “Doors” from his new album are big-time folky rock anthems, built on the “Stick Season” blueprint. Quieter acoustic verses build to undeniable big choruses and he provides plenty of guitar-based support to carry them off.
2. Doja Cat (E1)
Doja Cat began the season as the musical guest on a show hosted by Bad Bunny. I don’t know about you, but I would think there is a lot of pressure in that scenario. Fortunately, she was up to the task. “Aaahh Men” is a huge opener and “Gorgeous” is a lovely complement. I just wish she had gotten up out of that giant rose-petal throne at some point. I mean, there’s such a thing as too much restraint.
1. Sabrina Carpenter (E3)
And then there’s such a thing as no restraint. Love her or hate her, I think there’s no denying that Sabrina Carpenter and the latter-day incarnation of SNL were made for each other.
She is a virtually perfect modern pop star, providing insanely catchy songs and just enough trashy edginess to keep eyes and ears on her. “Manchild” is both a quality pop song and – in her “Live From New York” tee pair with “It’s Saturday Night!” panties – it becomes instant pop fuel for conversation.
And no matter how calculated the cursing on “Nobody’s Son” may have been (after all, she left the F-bombs out of “Manchild”), it still generates energy. Oh, and she hosted – one of just three performers to pull the double in season 51. (Styles and Rodrigo were the others.)
There was a time when cursing during a performance earned Paul Westerberg and the Replacements a lifetime ban. (They were also rip-roaring drunk and trashed their dressing room.) That’s how much times have changed. I suspect Lorne Michaels, or whoever might be running the show in the future, would have Carpenter on every week if she agreed to it.
Here’s hoping that season 52 injects a bunch of new blood, leans a little less heavily on current pop icons, and, of course, elevates Ashley Padilla to the main cast.
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