We know that Timothée Chalamet can sing like Bob Dylan because he did so in the glorious film A Complete Unknown. We have also heard Chalamet sing a bit during appearances elsewhere. So why the movie star also became the musical guest on Saturday Night Live was not truly a surprise because it is Chalamet, after all.
The guy can seemingly do anything he wants, and he can do so at a high level. Of course, he can. He is Timothée Chalamet. He can even go on ESPN's College Gameday and speak about college football like a superstar.
We also knew that Chalamet was not going to perform original tunes on SNL on last week's episode. He was going to do Dylan tunes. Part of this was because it is awards season (the actor was recently nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in the Dylan biopic), and voters will see more proof that Chalamet can truly sing. At least he can sing like Dylan.
Timothée Chalamet embodies Bob Dylan on Saturday Night Live but fans might want more
He performed three songs on SNL in two different segments. The first had Adam Sandler introduce Chalamet, who then churned out "Outlaw Blues" which turned into "Three Angels." The backing band, including James Blake on keyboards, was electric (literally and figuratively), and Chalamet was incredible.
In his second segment, he turned out "Tomorrow is a Long Time." This was more toned down with the actor playing acoustic guitar while Blake joined him again on keyboards.
The question might be, though, if Chalamet is simply miming or if he could become a part-time musical artist. He can play the guitar decently enough, and he can carry a tune. Sounding like Dylan is fine, but Dylan's strength was never his voice. That instrument was bettered by loads of singers. Dylan sang poetry and his voice gave the words slightly more meaning.
Maybe Chalamet does not want to do anything else than do Dylan tunes. That could be the limit to his drive to be a musician. Fans might want more, though. He has hinted at a great musical ability, and many might want to see him take the next proverbial step. Knowing this is Timothée Chalamet we are speaking about, however, we can assume if he does try his hand at music, he will be excellent.