10 times musical guests proved ‘SNL’ is recorded live
Saturday Night Live is an American institution. Having the honour to perform as a musical guest on the program is something very few artists in the world can say they have done. You can tell it means a lot to people as they take to the stage and give it their all, using innovative set design and performing good renditions of great songs to put their stamp on such a huge stage.
Of course, while most people turn up and deliver a good performance, there are some exceptions to this rule. Occasionally, people wind up taking to the stage and giving either a terrible or controversial performance. Either way, whatever they end up doing, they dispel any speculation about whether or not SNL is recorded live.
Some of these performances were deemed so bad that guests were never invited back. Remember, SNL is watched by people around the country, so if any act does something even remotely out of line, the show will be called into question, and a huge number of complaints will be launched. SNL needs to be careful on that front, so controversial performances are widely discouraged.
Here are some acts that performed so poorly or so controversially that they proved SNL was live and almost ruined the entire show’s credibility.
10 moments when musical guests proved SNL was filmed live:
Kanye West
Kanye West has made a name for himself as one of the most controversial musicians on the planet. However, one of his worst performances on SNL isn’t due to the time he wore a MAGA hat on stage and preached controversial politics. It’s a lot more simple than that. Simply put, Kanye proved SNL was live by delivering one of the worst musical performances of all time.
In 2018, Kanye and Lil Pump took to the stage dressed as giant water bottles to perform his new song ‘I Love It’. It became quite clear that the two of them hadn’t rehearsed as they continued getting the words wrong, and their vocals sounded terrible. This haphazard mess is arguably one of the worst SNL performances of all time.
Rage Against The Machine
How many times are live broadcasters going to ask Rage Against The Machine to behave when on air and then be surprised when they don’t? The clue is in the name. SNL learnt the hard way, as when they got the band to perform as the musical guest, they had to cut their sets short thanks to a subtle protest the band did.
It might have passed many people by, but in a middle finger to the government (and partly to SNL), the band draped upside-down American flags off the back of their amplifiers. Many viewers were outraged, and the show’s producers had to step in to ensure the band didn’t perform their second song at risk of upsetting even more people.
Elvis Costello
While you expect some form of protest from some of the musicians who are on this list, you wouldn’t necessarily have someone like Elvis Costello down as the rebellious musician who would expose the live nature of SNL. However, during his performance on the show in 1977, that’s exactly what he did.
The whole dispute came down to a disagreement that Costello had with the show’s producers and his label. The two of them insisted that he had to play ‘Less Than Zero’, which was his most recent single and proving to be one of his biggest. Costello wasn’t happy with the song choice, so ten seconds into his performance, he awkwardly switched the song to ‘Radio Radio’. He was banned from the show and asked never to return.
Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa’s live shows were notorious for being outrageous. When he was with the Mothers Of Invention, people would leave their shows with horrendous stories about ridiculous acts the group had performed on stage; however, it wasn’t during a musical performance that Zappa showed SNL was filmed live.
Zappa’s point of contention came from his performance during the sketches. He had been jovial during the dress rehearsal but then, before going on air, seemed to decide that he was too cool for the light-hearted comedy show. As such, he decided to shrug off his performance, acting as though he was too cool to be in the room with the other comics.
Sinead O’Connor
Sinead O’Connor’s musical performance on SNL might be one of the most famous in the show’s history. When she took to the stage, she intended to protest, using the opportunity of the live performance to really hammer home a point to an audience who had no choice but to watch.
In a bid to draw attention to the generations of sexual abuse which had taken place in the catholic church, O’Connor decided to rip up a photo of Pope John Paul II. Naturally, religious groups were furious with her performance, and O’Connor was banned from ever returning to the show in the future.
The Replacements
While SNL may seem like an American institution at this point, the rules once you’re on the program are pretty simple, and one of the biggest is that you are not allowed to swear. The Replacements never had any intention of following this rule and cursed on-air during their performance, to the displeasure of households watching around the country.
It wasn’t just their acid tongues that landed the duo in hot water. They were nuisances all day on the set of SNL, getting excessively drunk and even stripping nude at one point. They left such a bad taste in the mouths of the producers that they weren’t just banned from SNL but from every single show on NBC.
Fear
Fear’s SNL performance is one of the most controversial live performances in history. There are a lot of lovers of punk who see it as something legendary. Meanwhile, other people see it as a dangerous experiment that should never have taken place. Whatever side you’re on, there is no denying such a show could only ever take place in a live environment.
The band was notorious for its upbeat and chaotic live shows and decided to bring that attitude to its live SNL performance. In doing so, it invited hardcore fans to sit in the front row. All of whom stormed the stage once the show started and gave prime-time America a glimpse of what a punk rock gig was like.
Cypress Hill
The no-swearing rule is a big one on SNL, but another strict rule that all performers need to follow: no drug use. This is a show that people across the country watch, and while musicians might have a liberal attitude towards drugs, a lot of the public doesn’t share that view.
Cypress Hill was told multiple times that they could not do drugs live on air, but they politely decided to ignore this rule as DJ Muggs lit up a joint halfway through the group’s performance. “It wasn’t just the ‘Saturday Night Live’ people saying he couldn’t smoke up on air,” said Cypress Hill Member Sen Dog, “It was everyone: our record label, our management, our friends. I felt like, to me, Muggs wanted to make that statement.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers
When the Red Hot Chili Peppers found mainstream success, their guitarist, John Frusciante, struggled to come to terms with all the new eyes on them. This manifested in a disastrous performance on SNL, where their iconic song, ‘Under The Bridge,’ was absolutely butchered.
Frusciante was playing in the wrong key, improvising poorly and occasionally screaming during the song. Lead singer Anthony Kiedis had no idea what was going on but managed (somehow) to get through the performance. Frusciante left the band later that year, and his stunt on SNL will certainly contribute to this decision.
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson’s performance on SNL might be one of the most famous live performances in the world. Not only did it derail her career, but it also made people start questioning the validity of some of the performances on SNL.
When she performed on the show on October 23rd, 2004, the backing track for the song malfunctioned, and the wrong lyrics started playing through the speakers. Simpson panicked and decided to do a hoedown dance and then walk off the stage. The performance led people to assume that she intended to lip-sing, which destroyed her credibility.
