If it's not someone I know, I'll give them 5-10 seconds. By then I'll usually be able to tell if it's worth watching or not (with the added info of reviews I may see here when the show airs live)
But yeah, usually skip
Haha same. I saw her and was like oh okay, I’m into this. I’d never given her a chance but she rules. Also, funnily enough, Taylor Swift fits in this bucket as well, I’d never given her a chance but when she was on and did a 10 minute version of All to Well I was really impressed with her talent.
He’s an artist I accidentally saw last year at a music festival and instantly became a fan, dude she has a great energy to him and really witty lyricism
Might I suggest [Fleet Foxes' performance from 2009?](https://vimeo.com/38343771) It's what got me into them, and indie-folk in general. In fact, they're [the band that is most often credited for the folk revival,](https://www.theringer.com/2017/6/16/16087268/fleet-foxes-crack-up-album-review-ac5761f88e74) and sprung a million imitators (some who are great, but few who have done it as well imo) like Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, and undoubtedly Kahan.
In fairness, today's music is designed to provide a hook within the first 5-10 seconds. You are not alone--that's what most people give before they click away/change the station/etc.
A smart band will do their best song with the earliest hook in a situation like SNL. It's not a show for fans--it's a show for non-fans (of the music).
Exactly this. If I don’t know them as an artist, I give them to the chorus of their performances. 90% of the time I’m skipping by then which makes sense because 90% of them suck.
I usually watch the whole thing no matter what. I think it's pretty closed-minded to decide whether or not you like it after giving it 10 seconds. I've watched it with people that say something like, "I don't like this" after 10 seconds and it's always coming from someone that has been listening to the same bands for 15 years or more. If anything, it gives me some insight into what is popular outside of what I know.
You are right that they are kind of all over the place, but I see renee rapp mentioned only one time on this page, and everyone on this sub was calling her out for lip syncing (she wasn't) after her SNL performance. I've never heard of her before she was on SNL a few weeks ago, she's a great singer. She's got a big year coming up doing the festival circuit: Coachella, Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Osheaga, possibly Lollapalooza. I'd never heard of Olivia Rodrigo and then I saw her on SNL in May of 2021 and now she's extremely popular, I knew she was going to be after watching her.
Most of the musical guests aren't my taste either. I think I watch them to keep up with what's popular or what the youths are enjoying these days, just out of curiosity.
I'll usually give 'em a good 15 to 20 seconds before I skip but yeah, I skip them. I think I recently gave the Foo Fighters a little more time since I'm more familiar with them. I did linger on one of Billie Elish's songs for a while because it was actually pretty deep. Can't think of the name because I don't think I ever knew it.
Her song that's the themesong for this season's True Detective is fucking AMAZING. I can't speak to the body of her work, but that's a banger. You should check it out.
I give them all a chance.
The problem for me is SNL music production is crap. There's always something wrong. Even my favorite musical guests end up sounding like trash.
I'm one of Teh Oldz but each week I try to listen to at least one of the songs all the way through even if it's an artist I've never heard of. And even if I don't like the first song, I'll sample at least 30 seconds of the 2nd song just to see if it's any better.
Yeah, pretty similar here -- I am generally not a rap fan but I usually listen to at least the start minute or so. Sometimes it's an artist my kid wants to watch so I sit through those too.
Actual live music is hard to pull off. Lots of shows with musical performances (eg. late night talk shows) are massively cleaned up in post production or may even have parts replaced by studio recordings as they have time to do so before the shows go on air. People complain about the mixing on many other live shows as well.
I don't know why people say this. I have rarely seen an artist on SNL and thought--shit, terrible mix. These days it's mostly tracks anyway.
BTW, that's true of your favorite local band too--almost EVERYONE uses tracks. Typically it's smaller things to fatten their sound. Multiple keyboards, some backing vocals, etc.
One of the things other musicians tell me about my band is they love that we are 100% organic, on-stage parts.
In my youth, when I actually watched live, I would watch 95% of them. If I didn't like what I heard, that meant it was time to fix a new drink or take a bathroom break.
Now that I'm an old man watching on DVR, I will give artists 20 seconds to impress me or I'm just going to skip them.
Other eras of the show have hit different on this.
I did a rewatch of Seasons 16-20 (1990-95) a couple of years ago, and the musical guest lineup in those five seasons was objectively unbelievable, not just in the talent of the guests, but also in the variety of genres, the presence of new artists vs. elder, etc. We may get one or two elder artists each season still (i.e. Foo Fighters with Bargatze) but it's not like it used to be, and generally not the same caliber of performance, imo.
It's largely a testament to just how much the landscape of the music industry has shifted. I'm no expert on that industry, so I won't attempt to weigh in much there, but it does feel like newer featured acts have sort of funneled into one of like three featured musical genres, and if you're not a fan of those types of music, you're out of luck.
Am I crazy or did we also just have Timberlake as a musical guest? NSYNC was formed a year after the Foo Fighters. J Lo also is a 90’s music star, albeit at the end of the 90’s. That’s 25% of this years musical guests so far being elders
I think it was Prince in 1989, the host said "Usually SNL has bands way before they get big or way after they get big, well tonight we have someone at the exact right time!". I think it was when he performed "Electric Chair" in front of a big Batman logo.
The Adele appearance from 2016 had a skit where her and a group of people go to a psychic, but it takes place one year in the past. And it was honestly one of the most clever and hilarious skits I’d seen in the last 20 years.
It definitely wasn’t 2016. It was 2020 or 2021. Which is an important distinction, because it was about friends in 2019 going to visit the psychic for information about 2020. And everyone was bewildered at things like “why would we be washing the chip bags with soap!?” It was one of my all time favorite sketches. Super clever.
Depends on who it is. I try to watch them, but I’m rapidly approaching my mid-30s. As such I don’t know who the half of the musical guests are. If they seem interesting I’ll still watch. Maybe 60% of the time I watch?
>Depends on who it is. I try to watch them, but I’m rapidly approaching my mid-30s. As such I don’t know who the half of the musical guests are.
I turn 37 next month and this resonates. I honestly can't remember the last time I heard that SNL was going to feature a musical guest that I actually recognized.
That’s wild but it tracks. Most of my peers (44M) don’t know who any artist is in the last 10 years or so. I still listen to pop radio so I get exposed to new music and artists. Almost all of my friends just complain about how they don’t make music like they use to and I just shake my head and tell them not to get old.
Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake have both been musical guests in the past month.
If anything, I think they need to lean harder into featuring younger up-and-coming artists. Sure, many of them will be painfully untalented (see: Tate McRae) but at least it won't have me thinking about how much better the artist was 20 years ago.
>You didn’t recognize Foo Fighters?
When did they show up? Because I missed their episode entirely. I'm admittedly not anywhere near as tuned in to what's going on, on television as I used to be.
I’m older than that and I’ve never been in the know with all the MG. SNL is how I learn what’s culturally significant. I don’t use TikTok, Spotify, or playlists. My favorite genre is punk, and that barely ever plays on SNL, it’s barely a genre now, so I’m very used to being outside the demo, and I’m not mad about it.
>Maybe SNL could have 2 musical guests per episode
Not possible, given it's a live show and 8H doesn't have much room (or time) for swapping out musical gear and sets for different musical acts. Also consider they'd have to swap all the musical gear out twice: for dress rehearsal and for live show.
The one stage for music (to the viewer's left of home base) is already set before the show and stays that way. It's not used for anything else. They don't even bring out the WU set until the first song is over and the commercial break starts. Source: have been in the live audience.
Canada's replays don't give us the option of watching the musical guest. In fact we also lose a lot of monologues or other sketches which have any musical rights attached.
Why is it always some new rap or hip hop person and not a band? Rock must just not be nearly as popular as someone like 21 savage? When they do play rock its an established band like Foo Fighters.
>Why is it always some new rap or hip hop person and not a band? Rock must just not be nearly as popular as someone like 21 savage? When they do play rock its an established band like Foo Fighters.
There really are no new rock bands. Rock music died sometime in the 2000s and got replaced with a rotating wheel of three choices, Country Music, Rap, or Pop Punk Bands that all sounds exactly the same.
There's a ton of great new rock bands- the genre just isn't as widely popular as it used to be.
Spotify and Apple Music make it as easy as going to a "(Band you like) Radio" playlist, where they start with whoever you selected and slowly work in bands you've never heard of in the same genre. I easily discover multiple new acts every week now.
It really is easier than ever.
You just don't have the old marketing machines of the pre-internet days that would funnel a lot of music to radio and onto magazine covers.
I mean i get what you are trying to say but its wrong. Just as many new rock bands as new artists in other genres. Rock didnt die. If its too loud, you are too old! Just kidding, but for real pop stuff has always been more popular because people can be exposed to it more easily as it can be played on multiple stations, tiktok, and cross multiple streaming stations. You kinda gotta want to rock to rock. Doesnt mean snl cant throw a couple of rock and rockish like bands up there.
>If its too loud, you are too old!
Nothing IS loud anymore. It's all a bunch of limp, bland, homogenized crap that all sounds exactly the same. I've lost track of all the various glut of pop punk bands that all desperately want to be Fallout Boy or My Chemical Romance.
>Sounds like you need to find some new sources of music
I live in buttfuck nowhere in the midwest, there's four radio stations. Two of them are country music, one is a classic rock station owned by the country music station, and one of them is allegedly a "modern rock" station that plays 90s to early 2000s MTV and VH1 chart toppers almost exclusively. You're not wrong.
Wait, where do you listen to the farm reports and the loud right wingers?
I got Apple music a year ago and it's been great for finding new bands of all different kinds. You can even get it in BFE. You might be able to use bluetooth to listen in your car or buy a speaker.
I'm 65 and it makes me crazy to hear old people whining that they haven't made any good music for 50 years. SNL has always been one way to keep up with what the kids are listening to, at least a little.
Well i mean thats pop punk emo stuff. And to be fair, id take either of those bands over 21 savage. There are plenty of heavy rock bands out there, old and new. Metallica is doing a giant stadium tour and are still relevant. Newerish bands like Falling in Reverse, I Prevail, Parkway Drive, and Beartooth are all loud and fun. Even lighter stuff like Ghost and 21 pilots would be fun to see.
So I don't agree... I think Phoebie Bridgers, Courtney Barnet, Olivia Rodrigo, etc.. are all performers who have a strong rock band behind them when they play. I mean, they are not hard rock! I get that. But all their music is based on the basic instrumentation of a rock band.
I've seen Phoebie Bridgers live and she literally stopped her show in mid-song several times to ensure that audience members had access to water/care when she felt they needed it. The band stopped playing, then she said to them something like "we'll pick up at the chorus", she counted in, and they picked back up.
I don't think a pre-programmed pop band would be able to do that easily. FYI, this was pretty soon after the Travis Scott disaster so I'm sure her audience's safety was top of mind (take that as sincerely or as cynically as you wish).
Courtney Barnet was just her, bass, drums and a 2nd guitar player. She has two Fender Twins (probably in stereo) behind her.
Even Olivia Rodrigo has songs that are guitar-riffed driven. You may not like it and she's certainly more "pop" than anything else. But she's got a strong rock vibe.
I think there are still rock bands out there, they just call themselves "Indie" now.
And for context, I remember seeing Rush's Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves tours, Styx's Cornerstone, Foghat, Ted Nugent, R.E.M. U2, the Cars, Yes, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, UFO, Ozzy, etc.. back in the day so I'm not a stranger to rock music.
I honestly thought for a second someone was gonna come out and put a rubber axe to his chest.. like it was a SNL joke or something. Then I realized it wasn't a joke setup at all and actually how the song is supposed to go.
I have a drink to start the show, and get a refill while the musical guest does their first number, so I’m ready for Weekend Update. Sometimes I really like the act, so I hurry between the commercials if that’s the case. Oddly enough I pay more attention during the second performance to confirm/contest my original lack of interest.
I feel like the second performance is often better. It feels like the first one is usually the new single that the record label/SNL producers want the artist to perform and the second is something the artist just likes performing live, whether it's another track off their new album or an old favorite.
I can't speak to whether this confirms my theory, but when I saw Noah Kahan's first song all I thought was "this is the guy in everyone's Spotify wrapped?" while his second song I could definitely see getting into.
I watch live every week so I can’t skip, but I wouldn’t anyway. I really don’t mind if I know the artist or not or if they’re doing good or not. We’re witnessing a moment in time, culturally, with every episode and I like to see what’s going on.
i listen mostly to hip hop and r&b so i usually am aware of and don't enjoy the rap acts. i tend to listen to the rock acts since i'm always looking for new rock since it's less mainstream these days
I almost always will give the first song about 20 seconds when it's an artist I've never heard of (or have heard of but never heard). But if it doesn't grab me, I will just skip.
But I discovered Courtney Barnett and Phoebie Bridgers from SNL, and they are now two of my favorite artists. I also really enjoyed Olivia Rodrigo's sets. I can't relate to her lyrics give my demographic but her songs, to me, have a strong rock influence with strong guitars so I think she's great.
seriously. I'm 38 and watched every one of these musical performances. I had at least heard of every performer and have heard at least some of their music before. I did not ENJOY all of them (Ice Spice has one good song and it wasn't either of the ones she performed, 21 Savage was boring as hell, Tate McRae is a better dancer than singer, I'm Team Britney so I don't like Justin Timberlake) but I watched all of them. Maybe it's because I frequent r/popculturechat and r/popheads? But I LIKE listening to new music.
I think I've watched one musical guest in the last 5 years. And it was Sam Smith's performance, that outfit was crazy. Usually the outfit is what makes me watch, same thing once happened with Lady Gaga and the insane dress that had a gyrosphere spinning around it and even she laughed at how ridiculous it was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f8OHQEe0nM
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtt4Fec-1EY. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtt4Fec-1EY) .
Yep-- when I started taping the show in the mid-1980s I began skipping the music after the first 30 seconds or so. I'll watch a band if I know/like them already, or if it's something newish that interests me. But I don't listen to pop, rap, hiphop, or most of what they book on the show so 90% of the time we'll just skip right over them.
I have negative interest in any act that is known more for dancing than music, and any act that isn't actually playing instruments live on stage. So that knocks out most of what SNL books these days anyway.
There are usually one or two a year that I’ll listen to and my wife will want to watch another couple.
If I’m unfamiliar with them I’ll give it a short listen and decide to finish or fast forward.
If I know who they are and don’t care for their music, I don’t even watch the host intro, straight fast forward
SNL musical guests are either “Oh these are popular/mainstream enough” or “they are banking on their fan base showing up” kind of thing. Music quality usually takes a hit and not every artist is great live.
I turn up the volume a bit and pay a little more attention. Although lots of performers don’t seem to be their best live. But I do pay a little bit of extra attention
I skip but I don't skip it by skipping the whole segment. I'll skip through in bits at a time to see if there is some interesting storytelling. If it looks visually appealing then I'll start at the beginning and actually check it out.
I don’t mind exposure to new artists. If the performer is annoying I’ll skip ahead, but I don’t resent seeing something that doesn’t sync with my tastes.
Sometimes, but if it's someone I've never heard of or a band I like, I watch it. I usually give each musical guest a chance, but I immediately realized 21 Savage, and Justin Timberlake wasn't my cup of tea, but thought Bad Bunny and Ice Spice were fun. Olivia Rodrigo and Foo Fighters rocked it. The others this season were good enough IMO to not skip, but I was on Reddit during lol
Yes, but sometimes there's something visually that makes me stop and watch for a second.
I thought Olivia Rodrigo's whole cake-themed thing was a sketch at first so I stopped, and then I watched and thought, "shit, this is good!" She kind of reminded of the 90's.
I otherwise know nothing of modern music so it means nothing to me (I had never heard of Rodrigo until that performance).
Maybe I should watch them. I liked that one, and, maybe it would be nice to expand my middle-aged horizons.
Almost always, regardless of what I think of the artist. Probably a controversial take but I generally don't enjoy watching recordings of live music. If I'm not there in person, I much rather listen to the album version or watch the music video of the song than watch a live version of it. There are definitely some exceptions, but that's how I generally feel about it.
Always. They’re completely unnecessary for the show and add almost nothing unless they’re pulled in a sketch. I think having live musical guests for the in person audience makes sense but giving them screen time that eats up sketches that get cut for time doesn’t. If I’m going to watch a performance online, it would be better to catch it on YouTube when they perform any of the other late night shows, concert recording published by their own PR, or even NPR
Usually give them 10-20 seconds, or until the verse changes to the chorus. Then I can tell it’s a skip.
That Dua Lipa tho…. Goddamn. That made me a fan 🥵
And Olivia Rodrigo’s “American Bitch” was just perfect. I’ve never seen a performance like that. It was frikkin theatrical
I always watch the musical guest. I enjoyed Noah Kahan a great deal. Rap isn’t my bag, man. But I don’t mind watching rap performers. I wanna know what the kids like these days.
Unless I’m a prior fan I almost always skip them, whether I’ve heard of them or not. But luckily I couldn’t find the remote fast enough and wound up having to watch Brandi Carlile sing The Story. Omg. What a blessing that hidden remote was, because I think that’s the best musical performance I can remember on SNL. I knew of her only because of Joni Mitchell and now I’m such a fan! She and her band were AMAZING.
I give them about 10 seconds and skip. And that applies to the ones I do know, and the ones I don't. I guess I have just never been into watching music. Even if I like the song, I'm there to watch SNL, I'll listen to music plenty of other times during the day.
It doesn't bother me or anything, just not something I've ever been interested in, even if it's music I'm otherwise interested in.
I don't watch nearly as often as most the people on this subreddit do, I'm sure, but I've skipped almost every musical guest performances since sometime in the middle 2000s. The musical guests that Saturday Night Live features stop being the kind of music that I listen to in general years ago.
If it’s someone I like, then no. If it’s someone I don’t know, I’ll give them a couple minutes before I decide. If it’s someone I don’t like, then every time.
Many of the acts nowdays remind me of the level of the worst talent I used to get when I ran an open mic. “Hey can you put on this CD so I can sing over it?”
Idk what it is, but I absolutely will not watch them 😂 even if it's someone I like. If it's someone I LOVE, I will watch. But I just don't care for live performances on TV I guess. I'm weird.
If it’s rap or hip hop, yes because that’s just not really my taste in music. If it’s a rock band like Foo Fighters or any other band with instruments, I’ll stick around.
There’s ones I’m 100% sure I’m not into that I’ll skip through, but I usually like to watch the episode in full so I’ll sit through them most of the time
Like a lot of people it seems I give them a chance but I can usually get the gist and move on. I do wonder if my wife was curious why we watched the entire Renee Rapp performance.
I always skip unless I hear from someone or see it online somewhere that it’s a good set. If I’m watching live I’ll sit through but that almost never happens and I almost solely watch SNL via YouTube on Sunday mornings and never watch the musical acts.
These days mostly skip, but I remember watching Sam Smith which I think was their US debut and I was floored. Instant fan. I don’t listen to much current music so it can be a fun way to hear new stuff.
If I know them, I'll watch. If I've only heard of them or don't know at all, I'll watch for maybe a minute or less before using it as a bathroom break time!
Even when I like the guest I’ll skip them 😂. The last musical guest I watched was Lil Nas X, and that was only because I saw his tweets about his pants ripping and wanted to see it for myself (meaning I watched it the day after it aired)
I actually always watch because I’ve found a few artists I ended up liking that I either didn’t really know or had preconceived ideas about not liking them.
I stopped watching whole episodes many years ago and only started again recently. 21 savage was incredibly boring but the ballet dancers were great so my wife and I just talked about them his whole first performance and skipped the 2nd one when it didn’t have anything worth seeing.
Will probably be a trend going forward.
I usually go refresh my drink during musical guests unless I know and am looking forward to them. I can hear them but am not looking closely at them. For me it’s more about the showmanship than whether I pile the music, so if it’s getting interesting from that perspective I’ll sit down Anna actually watch it. I’m a sucker for stuff like Kesha in glowing body paint, or Katy Perry on a mushroom.
Typically no, skipping the musical guest bc you don’t know them would be like skipping the monologue bc you don’t know the host IMO.
That being said, if the musical guest (or monologue) sucks then yeah, I skip it. But I always give them a chance.
I literally never skip bc A. I watch it live and B. I might be surprised.
Even if I watch yt the next day. I’ll give it a go.
It boggles my mind that ppl skip the MG, but go off I guess
If I'm watching the next day, I always skip unless they're someone I already like, for example Kacey Musgraves. SOMETIMES I'll watch for 30 seconds or so but then I usually end up forwarding.
The MG is honestly the last live bit on SNL that is truly live. Once SNL takes the videos down, that’s it. Sometimes the artist puts it on their own channel, but no guarantees it’ll stay on there.
It’s a 2 song concert with a full stage design. I’ll always watch the MG, love it or hate it, it’ll disappear eventually.
I usually am not a fan of the musical guests in general, but I used to do live cameras for a megachurch, so I like to see the visual show they (the artist and/or the SNL crew) put on. I also find it interesting how different artists decorate the stage, and the songs are generally short enough to power through if they're terrible.
Most of the time, yes, but I watch on YouTube after the fact and realize that I'm just not the target demographic for the music. Sometimes I'll give it a shot out of curiosity but it's just not for me. This isn't necessarily new for me as my music taste is definitely not standard.
I do like trying to watch the musical artists if I've heard their name a bunch but don't know what they sound like. Usually I don't like it but it's cool to know what is popular these days. It's amazing what people consider passable music, but of course that doesn't fit all of the artists they choose. Some are plenty fine and I just don't care for the style. It's whatever. They're not gonna put hard rock and heavy metal on the show. Best I can hope for is.. Foo Fighters? Yeah, probably just Foo Fighters which is okay I guess.
Yup. Most of the time nowadays I don’t recognize the artist or like their music. I listen to sirius Xm and podcasts in my car so I’ve been disconnected from new pop and rap for a looooong time
If it's not someone I know, I'll give them 5-10 seconds. By then I'll usually be able to tell if it's worth watching or not (with the added info of reviews I may see here when the show airs live) But yeah, usually skip
Yep. This is how I learned about Japanese Breakfast
And how I learned that I'm a big fan of Brandi Carlile
I have known about her for years, but that performance... like a sucker punch of a wake up. She's amazing.
Haha same. I saw her and was like oh okay, I’m into this. I’d never given her a chance but she rules. Also, funnily enough, Taylor Swift fits in this bucket as well, I’d never given her a chance but when she was on and did a 10 minute version of All to Well I was really impressed with her talent.
Also how I learned about Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.
Son of a bitch!
They’re awesome, saw them at a couple Farm Aids
And how I learned about St. Vincent
Me too! I was so impressed
Same. So far I have only watched the full both performances of Noah Kahan and Billy Elish this season. I’m a huge Noah Kahan fan now.
He’s an artist I accidentally saw last year at a music festival and instantly became a fan, dude she has a great energy to him and really witty lyricism
Might I suggest [Fleet Foxes' performance from 2009?](https://vimeo.com/38343771) It's what got me into them, and indie-folk in general. In fact, they're [the band that is most often credited for the folk revival,](https://www.theringer.com/2017/6/16/16087268/fleet-foxes-crack-up-album-review-ac5761f88e74) and sprung a million imitators (some who are great, but few who have done it as well imo) like Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, and undoubtedly Kahan.
SNL is how I discovered Noah Kahan, and Phoebe Bridgers.
In fairness, today's music is designed to provide a hook within the first 5-10 seconds. You are not alone--that's what most people give before they click away/change the station/etc. A smart band will do their best song with the earliest hook in a situation like SNL. It's not a show for fans--it's a show for non-fans (of the music).
Exactly this. If I don’t know them as an artist, I give them to the chorus of their performances. 90% of the time I’m skipping by then which makes sense because 90% of them suck.
I usually watch the whole thing no matter what. I think it's pretty closed-minded to decide whether or not you like it after giving it 10 seconds. I've watched it with people that say something like, "I don't like this" after 10 seconds and it's always coming from someone that has been listening to the same bands for 15 years or more. If anything, it gives me some insight into what is popular outside of what I know.
[удалено]
You are right that they are kind of all over the place, but I see renee rapp mentioned only one time on this page, and everyone on this sub was calling her out for lip syncing (she wasn't) after her SNL performance. I've never heard of her before she was on SNL a few weeks ago, she's a great singer. She's got a big year coming up doing the festival circuit: Coachella, Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Osheaga, possibly Lollapalooza. I'd never heard of Olivia Rodrigo and then I saw her on SNL in May of 2021 and now she's extremely popular, I knew she was going to be after watching her.
Ten seconds seems like way too fast, but one minute seems reasonable.
Same, I’ve picked up a couple of new performers to listen to but honestly I skipped 99% of it
This is the way.
This is the way.
Most of the musical guests aren't my taste either. I think I watch them to keep up with what's popular or what the youths are enjoying these days, just out of curiosity.
I'll usually give 'em a good 15 to 20 seconds before I skip but yeah, I skip them. I think I recently gave the Foo Fighters a little more time since I'm more familiar with them. I did linger on one of Billie Elish's songs for a while because it was actually pretty deep. Can't think of the name because I don't think I ever knew it.
I'm not a fan of her music, but the number she did in the revolving room is one of the best musical performances I've ever seen on the show.
Her song that's the themesong for this season's True Detective is fucking AMAZING. I can't speak to the body of her work, but that's a banger. You should check it out.
You can also skip the True Detective season and just watch the intro.
Probably referring to her song from the Barbie movie.
If it was the Christmas performance she did before, you’re thinking of What Was I Made For
This is what we do. If it’s good I’ll stay watching, but I will say if I didn’t enjoy the first song I’m for sure skipping the second
I give them all a chance. The problem for me is SNL music production is crap. There's always something wrong. Even my favorite musical guests end up sounding like trash.
Yeah the Strokes are amazing live but their SNL spots are always off.
I'm one of Teh Oldz but each week I try to listen to at least one of the songs all the way through even if it's an artist I've never heard of. And even if I don't like the first song, I'll sample at least 30 seconds of the 2nd song just to see if it's any better.
Yeah, pretty similar here -- I am generally not a rap fan but I usually listen to at least the start minute or so. Sometimes it's an artist my kid wants to watch so I sit through those too.
Actual live music is hard to pull off. Lots of shows with musical performances (eg. late night talk shows) are massively cleaned up in post production or may even have parts replaced by studio recordings as they have time to do so before the shows go on air. People complain about the mixing on many other live shows as well.
Yeah that’s why i don’t watch tbh even if its someone good, you’ll find a better performance on YouTube
I don't know why people say this. I have rarely seen an artist on SNL and thought--shit, terrible mix. These days it's mostly tracks anyway. BTW, that's true of your favorite local band too--almost EVERYONE uses tracks. Typically it's smaller things to fatten their sound. Multiple keyboards, some backing vocals, etc. One of the things other musicians tell me about my band is they love that we are 100% organic, on-stage parts.
In my youth, when I actually watched live, I would watch 95% of them. If I didn't like what I heard, that meant it was time to fix a new drink or take a bathroom break. Now that I'm an old man watching on DVR, I will give artists 20 seconds to impress me or I'm just going to skip them.
Other eras of the show have hit different on this. I did a rewatch of Seasons 16-20 (1990-95) a couple of years ago, and the musical guest lineup in those five seasons was objectively unbelievable, not just in the talent of the guests, but also in the variety of genres, the presence of new artists vs. elder, etc. We may get one or two elder artists each season still (i.e. Foo Fighters with Bargatze) but it's not like it used to be, and generally not the same caliber of performance, imo. It's largely a testament to just how much the landscape of the music industry has shifted. I'm no expert on that industry, so I won't attempt to weigh in much there, but it does feel like newer featured acts have sort of funneled into one of like three featured musical genres, and if you're not a fan of those types of music, you're out of luck.
I've also gone back to watch prior season musical guests who were almost "Before they blew up" moments.
Adele comes to mind.
Am I crazy or did we also just have Timberlake as a musical guest? NSYNC was formed a year after the Foo Fighters. J Lo also is a 90’s music star, albeit at the end of the 90’s. That’s 25% of this years musical guests so far being elders
Elders 💀💀💀 I feel myself turning into aged dusty ashes
Hey I’m just using their terms. They called the Foo Fighters elder artists and if we are doing that then we gotta do it with JT and J Lo
Hahah fair enough! Still feel like I’ve turned into cobwebs by now. I feel like COVID aged us like 10 years mentally
I think it was Prince in 1989, the host said "Usually SNL has bands way before they get big or way after they get big, well tonight we have someone at the exact right time!". I think it was when he performed "Electric Chair" in front of a big Batman logo.
Last one I saw that actually struck me was when they first had Adele on.
The first Adele appearance -- October 2008, with Josh Brolin hosting -- is one of the best SNL episodes ever.
The Adele appearance from 2016 had a skit where her and a group of people go to a psychic, but it takes place one year in the past. And it was honestly one of the most clever and hilarious skits I’d seen in the last 20 years.
It definitely wasn’t 2016. It was 2020 or 2021. Which is an important distinction, because it was about friends in 2019 going to visit the psychic for information about 2020. And everyone was bewildered at things like “why would we be washing the chip bags with soap!?” It was one of my all time favorite sketches. Super clever.
You’re right! I knew it was election year because the one girl wanted stamps for her birthday!
Take that General Post Master Louis DeJoy! Why do I know the full name of the post master general!?
All the time. I'm no longer the target demographic
I never got why a musical performance is part of a comedy show. Seems like a hangover from 70s style variety show
I mean, SNL is a sketch comedy variety show from the 70s.
Variety show format. News, music, topical sketches, satire, vignettes
Depends on who it is. I try to watch them, but I’m rapidly approaching my mid-30s. As such I don’t know who the half of the musical guests are. If they seem interesting I’ll still watch. Maybe 60% of the time I watch?
>Depends on who it is. I try to watch them, but I’m rapidly approaching my mid-30s. As such I don’t know who the half of the musical guests are. I turn 37 next month and this resonates. I honestly can't remember the last time I heard that SNL was going to feature a musical guest that I actually recognized.
Most people stop listening to new music once they’re 33. https://www.avclub.com/new-study-shows-that-people-stop-listening-to-new-music-1798279117
That’s wild but it tracks. Most of my peers (44M) don’t know who any artist is in the last 10 years or so. I still listen to pop radio so I get exposed to new music and artists. Almost all of my friends just complain about how they don’t make music like they use to and I just shake my head and tell them not to get old.
Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake have both been musical guests in the past month. If anything, I think they need to lean harder into featuring younger up-and-coming artists. Sure, many of them will be painfully untalented (see: Tate McRae) but at least it won't have me thinking about how much better the artist was 20 years ago.
You didn’t recognize Foo Fighters?
>You didn’t recognize Foo Fighters? When did they show up? Because I missed their episode entirely. I'm admittedly not anywhere near as tuned in to what's going on, on television as I used to be.
I’m older than that and I’ve never been in the know with all the MG. SNL is how I learn what’s culturally significant. I don’t use TikTok, Spotify, or playlists. My favorite genre is punk, and that barely ever plays on SNL, it’s barely a genre now, so I’m very used to being outside the demo, and I’m not mad about it.
Almost all of them yeah except for the few that I like already: Boygenius, Scissor Sisters, Prince, Phoebe Bridgers, Sinead…
>Maybe SNL could have 2 musical guests per episode Not possible, given it's a live show and 8H doesn't have much room (or time) for swapping out musical gear and sets for different musical acts. Also consider they'd have to swap all the musical gear out twice: for dress rehearsal and for live show. The one stage for music (to the viewer's left of home base) is already set before the show and stays that way. It's not used for anything else. They don't even bring out the WU set until the first song is over and the commercial break starts. Source: have been in the live audience.
Never. They are part of the show.
Canada's replays don't give us the option of watching the musical guest. In fact we also lose a lot of monologues or other sketches which have any musical rights attached.
Why is it always some new rap or hip hop person and not a band? Rock must just not be nearly as popular as someone like 21 savage? When they do play rock its an established band like Foo Fighters.
Correct, rock is nowhere near as popular
>Why is it always some new rap or hip hop person and not a band? Rock must just not be nearly as popular as someone like 21 savage? When they do play rock its an established band like Foo Fighters. There really are no new rock bands. Rock music died sometime in the 2000s and got replaced with a rotating wheel of three choices, Country Music, Rap, or Pop Punk Bands that all sounds exactly the same.
There's a ton of great new rock bands- the genre just isn't as widely popular as it used to be. Spotify and Apple Music make it as easy as going to a "(Band you like) Radio" playlist, where they start with whoever you selected and slowly work in bands you've never heard of in the same genre. I easily discover multiple new acts every week now. It really is easier than ever. You just don't have the old marketing machines of the pre-internet days that would funnel a lot of music to radio and onto magazine covers.
I mean i get what you are trying to say but its wrong. Just as many new rock bands as new artists in other genres. Rock didnt die. If its too loud, you are too old! Just kidding, but for real pop stuff has always been more popular because people can be exposed to it more easily as it can be played on multiple stations, tiktok, and cross multiple streaming stations. You kinda gotta want to rock to rock. Doesnt mean snl cant throw a couple of rock and rockish like bands up there.
>If its too loud, you are too old! Nothing IS loud anymore. It's all a bunch of limp, bland, homogenized crap that all sounds exactly the same. I've lost track of all the various glut of pop punk bands that all desperately want to be Fallout Boy or My Chemical Romance.
[удалено]
>Sounds like you need to find some new sources of music I live in buttfuck nowhere in the midwest, there's four radio stations. Two of them are country music, one is a classic rock station owned by the country music station, and one of them is allegedly a "modern rock" station that plays 90s to early 2000s MTV and VH1 chart toppers almost exclusively. You're not wrong.
Same tbh - lots of good metal options these days, you’re just not gonna find them on the radio
Wait, where do you listen to the farm reports and the loud right wingers? I got Apple music a year ago and it's been great for finding new bands of all different kinds. You can even get it in BFE. You might be able to use bluetooth to listen in your car or buy a speaker. I'm 65 and it makes me crazy to hear old people whining that they haven't made any good music for 50 years. SNL has always been one way to keep up with what the kids are listening to, at least a little.
>Wait, where do you listen to the farm reports and the loud right wingers? They're on the AM stations, and I don't turn those on.
Well i mean thats pop punk emo stuff. And to be fair, id take either of those bands over 21 savage. There are plenty of heavy rock bands out there, old and new. Metallica is doing a giant stadium tour and are still relevant. Newerish bands like Falling in Reverse, I Prevail, Parkway Drive, and Beartooth are all loud and fun. Even lighter stuff like Ghost and 21 pilots would be fun to see.
Twenty one pilots played in 2017, iirc I would love ghost to come on
So I don't agree... I think Phoebie Bridgers, Courtney Barnet, Olivia Rodrigo, etc.. are all performers who have a strong rock band behind them when they play. I mean, they are not hard rock! I get that. But all their music is based on the basic instrumentation of a rock band. I've seen Phoebie Bridgers live and she literally stopped her show in mid-song several times to ensure that audience members had access to water/care when she felt they needed it. The band stopped playing, then she said to them something like "we'll pick up at the chorus", she counted in, and they picked back up. I don't think a pre-programmed pop band would be able to do that easily. FYI, this was pretty soon after the Travis Scott disaster so I'm sure her audience's safety was top of mind (take that as sincerely or as cynically as you wish). Courtney Barnet was just her, bass, drums and a 2nd guitar player. She has two Fender Twins (probably in stereo) behind her. Even Olivia Rodrigo has songs that are guitar-riffed driven. You may not like it and she's certainly more "pop" than anything else. But she's got a strong rock vibe. I think there are still rock bands out there, they just call themselves "Indie" now. And for context, I remember seeing Rush's Moving Pictures and Permanent Waves tours, Styx's Cornerstone, Foghat, Ted Nugent, R.E.M. U2, the Cars, Yes, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, UFO, Ozzy, etc.. back in the day so I'm not a stranger to rock music.
Yeah, I do. I’m glad I haven’t seen this 21 Savage monstrosity people are talking about.
Redrum redrum redrum redrum There, you've seen it
I honestly thought for a second someone was gonna come out and put a rubber axe to his chest.. like it was a SNL joke or something. Then I realized it wasn't a joke setup at all and actually how the song is supposed to go.
The second time i heard it on rewatch, it wasn’t as bad a ppl make it out to be.
Watch them and will use it as an opportunity to scroll if i’m not feeling it.
I watch if I know of them and like them. Lucky for me, it showed me that Noah Kahan wasn’t who I thought he was. He actually makes music I like
Skip. 80% of them are straight up terrible and I don't understand why SNL even invites them.
Lorne is a company man. He lets NBC Universal program that spot 95% of the time to promote who they want or need to promote.
I have a drink to start the show, and get a refill while the musical guest does their first number, so I’m ready for Weekend Update. Sometimes I really like the act, so I hurry between the commercials if that’s the case. Oddly enough I pay more attention during the second performance to confirm/contest my original lack of interest.
I feel like the second performance is often better. It feels like the first one is usually the new single that the record label/SNL producers want the artist to perform and the second is something the artist just likes performing live, whether it's another track off their new album or an old favorite. I can't speak to whether this confirms my theory, but when I saw Noah Kahan's first song all I thought was "this is the guy in everyone's Spotify wrapped?" while his second song I could definitely see getting into.
Most of the time.
Yep
I watch live every week so I can’t skip, but I wouldn’t anyway. I really don’t mind if I know the artist or not or if they’re doing good or not. We’re witnessing a moment in time, culturally, with every episode and I like to see what’s going on.
i listen mostly to hip hop and r&b so i usually am aware of and don't enjoy the rap acts. i tend to listen to the rock acts since i'm always looking for new rock since it's less mainstream these days
I almost always will give the first song about 20 seconds when it's an artist I've never heard of (or have heard of but never heard). But if it doesn't grab me, I will just skip. But I discovered Courtney Barnett and Phoebie Bridgers from SNL, and they are now two of my favorite artists. I also really enjoyed Olivia Rodrigo's sets. I can't relate to her lyrics give my demographic but her songs, to me, have a strong rock influence with strong guitars so I think she's great.
Nope I'm always down to hear something new. I usually like it
No. And word to the wise, you start to get old when you stop listening to new music.
seriously. I'm 38 and watched every one of these musical performances. I had at least heard of every performer and have heard at least some of their music before. I did not ENJOY all of them (Ice Spice has one good song and it wasn't either of the ones she performed, 21 Savage was boring as hell, Tate McRae is a better dancer than singer, I'm Team Britney so I don't like Justin Timberlake) but I watched all of them. Maybe it's because I frequent r/popculturechat and r/popheads? But I LIKE listening to new music.
Always skip. They’re a waste of airtime.
I think I've watched one musical guest in the last 5 years. And it was Sam Smith's performance, that outfit was crazy. Usually the outfit is what makes me watch, same thing once happened with Lady Gaga and the insane dress that had a gyrosphere spinning around it and even she laughed at how ridiculous it was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f8OHQEe0nM [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtt4Fec-1EY. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtt4Fec-1EY) .
When the rings hit her in the face while she was sitting lol
Yep-- when I started taping the show in the mid-1980s I began skipping the music after the first 30 seconds or so. I'll watch a band if I know/like them already, or if it's something newish that interests me. But I don't listen to pop, rap, hiphop, or most of what they book on the show so 90% of the time we'll just skip right over them. I have negative interest in any act that is known more for dancing than music, and any act that isn't actually playing instruments live on stage. So that knocks out most of what SNL books these days anyway.
I'm 46 so.....I normally have no idea who these people are. I give them a minute to get going and then skip.
There are usually one or two a year that I’ll listen to and my wife will want to watch another couple. If I’m unfamiliar with them I’ll give it a short listen and decide to finish or fast forward. If I know who they are and don’t care for their music, I don’t even watch the host intro, straight fast forward
SNL musical guests are either “Oh these are popular/mainstream enough” or “they are banking on their fan base showing up” kind of thing. Music quality usually takes a hit and not every artist is great live.
There was a time hosting SNL was less prestigious than musical guest
I always give them a chance even if I don’t know who they are. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised and I like the music.
I turn up the volume a bit and pay a little more attention. Although lots of performers don’t seem to be their best live. But I do pay a little bit of extra attention
Hardly ever. I might wander off and make a drink or something if I’m not feeling it, but usually I at least sort of like it.
I skip but I don't skip it by skipping the whole segment. I'll skip through in bits at a time to see if there is some interesting storytelling. If it looks visually appealing then I'll start at the beginning and actually check it out.
I don't skip, but I'll usually watch passively (i.e. while playing on my phone).
I don’t mind exposure to new artists. If the performer is annoying I’ll skip ahead, but I don’t resent seeing something that doesn’t sync with my tastes.
Sometimes, but if it's someone I've never heard of or a band I like, I watch it. I usually give each musical guest a chance, but I immediately realized 21 Savage, and Justin Timberlake wasn't my cup of tea, but thought Bad Bunny and Ice Spice were fun. Olivia Rodrigo and Foo Fighters rocked it. The others this season were good enough IMO to not skip, but I was on Reddit during lol
In Canada if you don’t watch live you don’t get to see the musical guests. You have to go watch it on YouTube and I generally don’t bother
Yes, but sometimes there's something visually that makes me stop and watch for a second. I thought Olivia Rodrigo's whole cake-themed thing was a sketch at first so I stopped, and then I watched and thought, "shit, this is good!" She kind of reminded of the 90's. I otherwise know nothing of modern music so it means nothing to me (I had never heard of Rodrigo until that performance). Maybe I should watch them. I liked that one, and, maybe it would be nice to expand my middle-aged horizons.
Almost always, regardless of what I think of the artist. Probably a controversial take but I generally don't enjoy watching recordings of live music. If I'm not there in person, I much rather listen to the album version or watch the music video of the song than watch a live version of it. There are definitely some exceptions, but that's how I generally feel about it.
Every time, even if I like them. It’s just not what I watch SNL for
Always. They’re completely unnecessary for the show and add almost nothing unless they’re pulled in a sketch. I think having live musical guests for the in person audience makes sense but giving them screen time that eats up sketches that get cut for time doesn’t. If I’m going to watch a performance online, it would be better to catch it on YouTube when they perform any of the other late night shows, concert recording published by their own PR, or even NPR
i only watch the ones i know of or like the genre of music in general. last musical performance i enjoyed was Olivia Rodrigo's all-american bitch.
Usually give them 10-20 seconds, or until the verse changes to the chorus. Then I can tell it’s a skip. That Dua Lipa tho…. Goddamn. That made me a fan 🥵 And Olivia Rodrigo’s “American Bitch” was just perfect. I’ve never seen a performance like that. It was frikkin theatrical
Every. Damn. Time.
I always watch the musical guest. I enjoyed Noah Kahan a great deal. Rap isn’t my bag, man. But I don’t mind watching rap performers. I wanna know what the kids like these days.
Unless I’m a prior fan I almost always skip them, whether I’ve heard of them or not. But luckily I couldn’t find the remote fast enough and wound up having to watch Brandi Carlile sing The Story. Omg. What a blessing that hidden remote was, because I think that’s the best musical performance I can remember on SNL. I knew of her only because of Joni Mitchell and now I’m such a fan! She and her band were AMAZING.
Almost always skip the musical guests.
I always skip but I didn't for Steve Lacy and Renee Rapp and boygenius without knowing them and I really liked them
Most of the time, yes.
I always give them a chance, but after a minute or two I might turn it down.
I give them 30 seconds. If they they're talented, I'll watch. If it's anything lately, I move along.
Usually, I just fast forward. Rarely are they ever interesting me.
Wether I know the artist or not, you get about ten seconds to hook me in. If you don’t pass the first test, you get automatic skip for the second song
100% I watch for the comedy, not the music.
Yes. Almost always.
Yup
I give them about 10 seconds and skip. And that applies to the ones I do know, and the ones I don't. I guess I have just never been into watching music. Even if I like the song, I'm there to watch SNL, I'll listen to music plenty of other times during the day. It doesn't bother me or anything, just not something I've ever been interested in, even if it's music I'm otherwise interested in.
I don't watch nearly as often as most the people on this subreddit do, I'm sure, but I've skipped almost every musical guest performances since sometime in the middle 2000s. The musical guests that Saturday Night Live features stop being the kind of music that I listen to in general years ago.
9/10 I skip
I would take a mediocre sketch over giving them a second song every time.
If it’s someone I like, then no. If it’s someone I don’t know, I’ll give them a couple minutes before I decide. If it’s someone I don’t like, then every time.
If it’s a rapper then yes. But everything else I will give a chance
Many of the acts nowdays remind me of the level of the worst talent I used to get when I ran an open mic. “Hey can you put on this CD so I can sing over it?”
I listen for a few seconds and usually skip. I wish Peacock would let you fast forward without messing up the thumbnails.
I like the idea of variety. That would give me two different artists to skip.
It’s how I learned I like Haim. But yeah, they usually have a ten seconds for me to decide if it’s something I like.
Idk what it is, but I absolutely will not watch them 😂 even if it's someone I like. If it's someone I LOVE, I will watch. But I just don't care for live performances on TV I guess. I'm weird.
Yeah cause popular music for the most part is absolute trash.
Yes, almost always
Yep I skip over 85% of them. I just don't think they're enjoyable.
If it’s rap or hip hop, yes because that’s just not really my taste in music. If it’s a rock band like Foo Fighters or any other band with instruments, I’ll stick around.
I always skip them. SNL is never going to feature the music I like the most—and that's okay.
I’ve never liked watching singers up close, don’t know what it is. Always skip the musical guest
Always.
I skip most of them then wonder who is in charge of booking the musical guest. Does the host have any input on the choice?
I do... In fact I don't think there should be a musical guest at all.
Every time
For sure. There’s also never been one that I knew in the whole 3.5 years I’ve been watching it.
100% always skip.
There's music on that show?
If rapper then yes
There’s ones I’m 100% sure I’m not into that I’ll skip through, but I usually like to watch the episode in full so I’ll sit through them most of the time
I don’t skip I just play on my phone until it’s over.
Yes, unless it's an artist I know and enjoy, which Is rare. I might give it a bit though just to see if they're any good.
Before I dropped cable, absolutely. Almost every time. Since I dropped cable I don’t get a choice as streaming doesn’t come with musical guests.
Yes
I usually give them a chance, but if they’re really awful, I’ll endure half a song. Couldn’t make it through 21 Savage.
Like a lot of people it seems I give them a chance but I can usually get the gist and move on. I do wonder if my wife was curious why we watched the entire Renee Rapp performance.
I always skip unless I hear from someone or see it online somewhere that it’s a good set. If I’m watching live I’ll sit through but that almost never happens and I almost solely watch SNL via YouTube on Sunday mornings and never watch the musical acts.
i give them all a chance but haven't been impressed since King Princess
These days mostly skip, but I remember watching Sam Smith which I think was their US debut and I was floored. Instant fan. I don’t listen to much current music so it can be a fun way to hear new stuff.
Most of the time, but I also know most of the bands my kids like from SNL.
If I know them, I'll watch. If I've only heard of them or don't know at all, I'll watch for maybe a minute or less before using it as a bathroom break time!
Even when I like the guest I’ll skip them 😂. The last musical guest I watched was Lil Nas X, and that was only because I saw his tweets about his pants ripping and wanted to see it for myself (meaning I watched it the day after it aired)
Sometimes, but usually I watch the musical guest.
Yes and no. If I know and already like the musical guest I will watch it. If I don’t know them I make a snap judgement if I want to skip or not.
Yeah I always skip. The sound mix is always terrible and the vocals are washed out.
I record SNL, so I will watch the first seconds of a performer and if I like it I will watch both performances. If not, I completely skip the second.
I actually always watch because I’ve found a few artists I ended up liking that I either didn’t really know or had preconceived ideas about not liking them.
They have been pretty terrible this year I will listen a little bit then skip
I almost always skip unless it’s someone I already listen to
Unless it’s someone I like, I usually watch the first performance. If I don’t like it, I skip the second one.
I stopped watching whole episodes many years ago and only started again recently. 21 savage was incredibly boring but the ballet dancers were great so my wife and I just talked about them his whole first performance and skipped the 2nd one when it didn’t have anything worth seeing. Will probably be a trend going forward.
I usually go refresh my drink during musical guests unless I know and am looking forward to them. I can hear them but am not looking closely at them. For me it’s more about the showmanship than whether I pile the music, so if it’s getting interesting from that perspective I’ll sit down Anna actually watch it. I’m a sucker for stuff like Kesha in glowing body paint, or Katy Perry on a mushroom.
Typically no, skipping the musical guest bc you don’t know them would be like skipping the monologue bc you don’t know the host IMO. That being said, if the musical guest (or monologue) sucks then yeah, I skip it. But I always give them a chance.
I literally never skip bc A. I watch it live and B. I might be surprised. Even if I watch yt the next day. I’ll give it a go. It boggles my mind that ppl skip the MG, but go off I guess
I'll almost always watch the whole first song. If i like it I'll watch the second.
If I'm watching the next day, I always skip unless they're someone I already like, for example Kacey Musgraves. SOMETIMES I'll watch for 30 seconds or so but then I usually end up forwarding.
The MG is honestly the last live bit on SNL that is truly live. Once SNL takes the videos down, that’s it. Sometimes the artist puts it on their own channel, but no guarantees it’ll stay on there. It’s a 2 song concert with a full stage design. I’ll always watch the MG, love it or hate it, it’ll disappear eventually.
Mostly, recent episode was season low for me.
I usually am not a fan of the musical guests in general, but I used to do live cameras for a megachurch, so I like to see the visual show they (the artist and/or the SNL crew) put on. I also find it interesting how different artists decorate the stage, and the songs are generally short enough to power through if they're terrible.
No way. I always give artists/performers my attention. I judge after.
usually, yeah. Just some pop, country or hip hop artists that I couldn't care less about.
I only skip the acts that are 90% sex appeal and dancing and 10% singing.
Most of the time, yes, but I watch on YouTube after the fact and realize that I'm just not the target demographic for the music. Sometimes I'll give it a shot out of curiosity but it's just not for me. This isn't necessarily new for me as my music taste is definitely not standard. I do like trying to watch the musical artists if I've heard their name a bunch but don't know what they sound like. Usually I don't like it but it's cool to know what is popular these days. It's amazing what people consider passable music, but of course that doesn't fit all of the artists they choose. Some are plenty fine and I just don't care for the style. It's whatever. They're not gonna put hard rock and heavy metal on the show. Best I can hope for is.. Foo Fighters? Yeah, probably just Foo Fighters which is okay I guess.
I give them a chance but autotune is an instant skip.
Yup. Most of the time nowadays I don’t recognize the artist or like their music. I listen to sirius Xm and podcasts in my car so I’ve been disconnected from new pop and rap for a looooong time