From groundbreaking moments to controversial incidents, SNL's stage has witnessed some of music's most defining performances. Join us as we explore the musical appearances that changed the landscape of pop culture forever, featuring legendary artists who left an indelible mark on television history.
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00:00Once again, Ashley Simpson.
00:02Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most iconic SNL musical performances
00:07that either made pop culture history for all the right reasons, or became unforgettable for all the wrong ones.
00:20Number 10, Balls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine, Season 21.
00:25Ladies and gentlemen, Rage Against the Machine.
00:30In April 1996, Rage Against the Machine made their SNL debut on an episode hosted by multi-millionaire
00:42and Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes.
00:46As a protest against Forbes politics, the band hung two upside-down American flags from their amplifiers,
00:51a symbol of America's inverted democracy.
00:54Leave any round of family!
00:57Pop it full and shout!
01:00The plan was for the imagery to loom in the background as Forbes introduced them,
01:09but SNL stagehands managed to yank the flags down at the last second.
01:14Nevertheless, Rage delivered a blistering version of Balls on Parade,
01:17which itself is a scathing critique of the US military.
01:20They don't lie to burn the bulls, they just remove them,
01:23while all the warehouses finish crimp in the cells.
01:26Rally round the family, pockets full of shells!
01:29Although they were scheduled to perform two songs, their second performance was cancelled due to the protest,
01:33and they were escorted from the building.
01:36Number 9, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, Season 17.
01:40January 11, 1992, was the day Nirvana shook up the music world,
01:44dethroning Michael Jackson to claim the number one position on the US album charts.
01:49That same night, they crashed America's living rooms with the debut SNL performance
01:54of their breakout single, Smells Like Teen Spirit.
02:06While the band had already been building a following,
02:08this was the moment many first encountered their raw, unfiltered punk grunge sound,
02:13ripped from Seattle's underground and thrown onto the global stage.
02:24This performance was nerve-wracking for the young trio,
02:30but that only heightened the intensity of their delivery.
02:33When drummer Dave Grohl's stick snapped mid-song,
02:36they powered through with a feral, electrifying set that many still regard highly.
02:41Number 8, All Too Well by Taylor Swift, Season 47.
02:57I walked through the door with you, the air was cold,
03:03but something but it felt like home somehow died.
03:08On Saturday Night Live, musical guests typically perform twice,
03:13with their sets sandwiched between the comedy sketches.
03:15However, in the 47th season, Taylor Swift broke with tradition
03:19when she delivered one of the longest performances in the show's history,
03:22a 10-minute version of her song, All Too Well.
03:25Sacred prayer, and we swear to remember it all too well.
03:36Yeah.
03:36Armed with just her guitar and her voice, Swift gave a riveting set
03:41as the stage itself mirrored the song's emotional arc,
03:45transitioning from fall to winter.
03:47As she performed, the accompanying short film,
03:49which had premiered just the day before, played on behind her.
03:52But you keep my old scar from that very first week,
03:57cause it reminds you of innocence, and it smells like meek.
04:02The 10 minutes flew by in an instant, and through it all,
04:05Swift never once lost the audience.
04:08If anything, she pulled them in even closer.
04:10Number 7, Radio Radio by Elvis Costello, Season 3.
04:14Elvis Costello only got to perform on SNL's third season
04:17after the original musical guest, The Sex Pistols, were denied visas.
04:21Costello's record label had insisted he play Less Than Zero,
04:25a song about British fascism that he knew would fly over most Americans' heads.
04:38Instead, in one of the boldest live TV rebellions,
04:41Costello played only a few seconds of the track,
04:43before abruptly stopping and launching into Radio Radio,
04:47a sharp critique of radio broadcasters and the media.
04:49I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there's no reason to do this song here.
04:53Radio, radio.
04:54One, two, three.
04:55His defined act angered Lorne Michaels,
04:58and reportedly led to a decade-long ban from the show.
05:01However, in 1999, Costello returned for SNL's 25th anniversary,
05:06referencing the moment by interrupting the Beastie Boys set,
05:09and once again playing Radio Radio.
05:11I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen,
05:12but there's just really no reason to do this song here tonight.
05:15One, two, three, four!
05:16Number six, Killer by Lady Gaga.
05:19Season 50.
05:20Just one day after the release of her highly acclaimed seventh album, Mayhem,
05:24Lady Gaga pulled double duty on SNL,
05:27serving as both host and musical guest.
05:29Last time I hosted SNL, I was 27.
05:32I'm 38 now, which is scientifically the best age for a female pop star to be.
05:38While her first performance of the night, Abracadabra, was magical enough,
05:41it was the second song, Killer, which had debuted the previous day,
05:45that truly stole the show.
05:55Gaga kicked things off backstage at Studio 8H,
05:59weaving through the hallways with her backup dancers,
06:02and even dropping low for some intricate floor work.
06:04The performance then erupted onto the main stage for an electrifying finale,
06:08complete with an intense drumming duet, a piercing scream,
06:12and a dramatic costume change.
06:13It was pure, unfiltered chaos, the kind that only Lady Gaga can orchestrate.
06:20Number five, The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie.
06:33Season five.
06:33For one of their final shows of the 1970s, SNL recruited the one artist
06:38who had arguably defined the decade, David Bowie.
06:48Bowie transformed Studio 8H into his own avant-garde playground,
06:53bringing performance artists Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias to join him on stage.
06:58Right from the moment he appeared, trapped in a plastic tuxedo that was so stiff,
07:03he had to be physically carried to the microphone.
07:06It was clear this was no ordinary show.
07:08I gazed a gaisley stare, but all the millions here, we must have died alone.
07:18This was Bowie doing what he did best,
07:22closing one era while anticipating the artistic direction of the future.
07:25And it proved to be an accurate prediction,
07:28as the surreal theatrical style has since echoed through artists like St. Vincent and Lady Gaga.
07:44Number four, Autobiography by Ashley Simpson.
07:48Season 30.
07:49Some SNL performances launch careers,
07:51while others, like Ashley Simpson's, seemingly end them.
07:54In October 2004, Simpson had just released her debut album,
07:58when she appeared as the musical guest to perform Pieces of Me and Autobiography.
08:02While the first performance went smoothly,
08:15the second would become the defining moment of her career.
08:17As the band began to play,
08:19the vocal track from Pieces of Me unexpectedly came on again,
08:22throwing Simpson into a state of panic.
08:24This little hit revealed that she had lip-synced the first song,
08:39and planned to do the same for the second.
08:42The panic flooded her body,
08:43and the only response that she could muster was an awkward dance,
08:46before abandoning her band on the stage.
08:48She looked confused, not sure what to do.
08:52Then flustered, she walked off the set.
08:57Everyone on the show was stunned,
09:00including Lorne Michaels.
09:01Number three, That's The Joint, by Funky 4 Plus 1.
09:05Season six.
09:06Hip-hop has given us many iconic live TV performances,
09:09but none would have been possible without this one.
09:11So what's the deal?
09:13Sugar Hill.
09:14So what's the deal?
09:15Sugar Hill.
09:16Ooh, you know that's the joint.
09:19Back in 1981,
09:20blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry hosted SNL,
09:23and insisted on booking Funky 4 Plus 1
09:25as the second musical guest of the night.
09:28This made them the first rap act to perform on national television.
09:31Their performance of That's The Joint was groundbreaking,
09:34not just for its historical significance,
09:37but also for its content.
09:38Ah, that's the joint.
09:41Uh, uh, uh,
09:42Because little rock and sea is a melody.
09:45Keep helping me rock and sing in harmony.
09:47Because chap is a rhythm.
09:49For many in middle America,
09:51it was their first taste of a DJ-run show,
09:53record-scratching,
09:54and rap group chants.
09:56This was hip-hop in its rawest form,
09:59something that many had never even seen before,
10:01and it kicked open the door for countless artists to follow.
10:05Everybody say,
10:06Get funky!
10:07Get funky!
10:08And make money!
10:09And make money!
10:10And you don't stop!
10:13Give it to us now!
10:14Number 2.
10:15Beef Bologna by Fear.
10:17Season 7.
10:18Thank you very much.
10:21It's great to be here in New Jersey.
10:25In the late 70s and early 80s,
10:28Fear was just another scrappy punk rock band
10:31tearing up the Los Angeles scene.
10:33They eventually rose to national prominence in 1981
10:36after they found a hardcore fan in SNL alum,
10:39John Belushi,
10:40who pulled some strings to land them a spot
10:42as the musical guest.
10:44It didn't take long for SNL producers
10:45to regret that decision.
10:56Fear had bussed in dozens of fans
10:58to form a makeshift mosh pit,
11:00and things quickly devolved into chaos.
11:03Bodies flew across the stage,
11:04bringing slam dancing from grimy dive bars
11:07right onto national television.
11:16The performance reportedly got Fear banned from the show,
11:19but it also inspired a generation of punk rockers.
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11:38Number 1.
11:39War by Sinead O'Connor
11:40Season 18
11:42Sinead O'Connor's SNL performance became iconic,
11:58not for what she did while singing,
11:59but what came immediately after.
12:01During dress rehearsals,
12:02O'Connor ended her rendition of Bob Marley's War
12:04by solemnly holding up the picture of a refugee child.
12:08However, during the live show,
12:09she replaced that photograph
12:11with one of Pope John Paul II,
12:13tearing it into pieces
12:14and calling him the real enemy.
12:17Evil!
12:23Fight the real enemy!
12:24This bold move was a protest against the Catholic Church's handling of misconduct cases
12:31by its clergy,
12:32which at the time hadn't gained widespread attention.
12:35As a result,
12:36O'Connor's protests were seen as disrespectful
12:38and it cost her her career.
12:40Yes, it is offensive to people
12:42because they've built their lives on this belief
12:45and it is going to be offensive, yes,
12:47and many people will not survive it.
12:50But it has to happen.
12:50However, as the truth emerged,
12:52public opinion of the singer changed
12:54and she is now celebrated for her extraordinary bravery.
12:58What's the most unforgettable SNL performance you watch live?
13:01Let us know in the comments below.
13:02Do you agree with our picks?
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