by Tyler Glover
In September 2019, Taylor Swift played at the L'Olympia Theater in Paris, France, turning for a short time the city otherwise known as the “City of Love” into the "City of Love(r)."
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Her album, Lover, had just been released the previous month and this venue allowed her to play her new music in front of many fans. Swift notes at the concert that she feels this is a "release party." Swift was set to start her Lover Fest tour this summer but like almost everything else this year, it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During this pandemic, entertainers have found multiple ways of continuing to deliver content to their fans in an effort to uplift their spirits and offer some sort of distraction. Taylor Swift's concert special is an entertaining concert that showcases the spectacular songwriting and vocal ability of the best songwriter of this generation.

Swift's concert special showcases eight of the songs from Lover: "ME!" "The Archer," "Death By A Thousand Cuts," "Daylight," "Cornelia Street," "You Need To Calm Down," and the title track.

In between the songs, Swift offers a glimpse into her songwriting process. Swift explains that one time in the middle of the night, she got an idea and went straight to her piano to work on it. She also mentions a time she got an idea while in the bathtub. She offers viewers a look into the meaning of each of these songs. She has an impeccable ability to capture the human condition and find ways to relate her experiences to her fans, which is definitely one of the reasons she is as successful as she is. Another reason for Swift's success is her awareness that without her fans, there is no way for her to be where she is today. Swift thanked her fans for caring about the music she makes. She is very aware there are other options for music and never fails to show her fans how grateful she is for their loyalty.

Aside from her songwriting ability, we also see breathtaking performances in this concert special. Swift has many songs with very high production values but every song she writes is written first with just her and one instrument. This special showcases many acoustic performances that show just how strong of a vocalist Swift is. Her performance of "Cornelia Street" is my absolute favorite performance from this special. If the two Grammys she won for the song, "Mean" doesn’t do it, this performance should silence all of the people who once believed Taylor Swift could not sing.

The only thing I was left wanting from this special was MORE of it. This was truly a magical gift from Taylor Swift at a time when the world needed it.

If you missed the "Taylor Swift: City of Lover Concert" special, it is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+ for a limited time.

5. "Shelter From the Storm" by Chris Martin 
This is hopefully the only time you’ll ever see a pre-recorded musical performance on a best ‘SNL’ performances of the season list, but Chris Martin’s excellent cover of Bob Dylan’s “Shelter From the Storm” appeared in the very first ‘SNL: At Home’ episode in April. It was a good selection for a country quarantining at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This marked Martin’s second musical guest performance of the season, as his band Coldplay appeared in the episode hosted by Kristen Stewart in November of 2019. Making two musical appearances in the same season on ‘SNL’ is incredibly rare and the only other instance I can remember was all the way back in season two when Levon Helm appeared with The Band in an episode hosted by Buck Henry and then again with Dr. John and Paul Butterfield in an episode hosted by Broderick Crawford.  

4. "Lover" by Taylor Swift 
Taylor Swift’s performance of “Lover” in the episode hosted by Phoebe Waller-Bridge was the perfect example of how less can be so much more when it comes to musical performances. The performance was just Swift at a piano, that was either green or made to look so via lighting that matched her outfit and the stage/background, singing one of the best songs of her award-winning career. In one of the nicer stage production touches I’ve ever seen for a ‘SNL’ musical performance the stage and background was covered with I believe sheet music (or possibly love letters), with many of them affixed to make it look like they were suspended in air. It’s an all-around beautiful performance. 

3. "Once in a Lifetime" by David Byrne
David Byrne was an out of leftfield selection as musical guest of “Saturday Night Live” in 2020, but a very welcomed one. Byrne had appeared in comic John Mulaney’s latest Netflix special “The Sack Lunch Bunch” and it feels like one of those times when the week’s host, Mulaney (a former writer on ‘SNL’) recommended his buddy tag along. It was Byrne’s third musical appearance on ‘SNL,’ but his first since 1989. His ‘SNL’ debut came all the way back in 1979 with the Talking Heads. Byrne has turned his body of work into a Broadway musical called “American Utopia” and brought the cast of the musical along for his ‘SNL’ performances, which included the memorable Talking Heads 1981 single “Once in a Lifetime.” I’m sure it left a lot of millennial or Gen Z viewers of the show confused, but I loved it (even though I’m a millennial). 

2. "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo
Like with Billie Eilish, I was late to the Lizzo bandwagon, but her soulfulness on tracks like “Truth Hurts” and her great personality won me over by the time she appeared as musical guest on the much anticipated episode featuring Eddie Murphy’s much hoped for return to the show. Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” was an example of a first time musical guest making the most out of their ‘SNL’ debut by knocking the entire thing out of the park. Props for having an entire female band, especially a kickass guitarist Celisse Henderson who honors rock music and guitar pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe with a Gibson SG Custom guitar and “Sister” emblazoned on the strap. 

1. "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish
I hadn’t listened to a single Billie Eilish song before her appearance as musical guest in the season 45 premiere of “Saturday Night Live,” despite reading and hearing a bunch about how the teenager was taking the music world by storm. I marveled at his first performance on the show of her hit single “Bad Guy,” even though I admittedly was enamored on the first, live view by the production with her performing the song on a revolving stage and wondering how the show managed to pull it off. It was certainly one of the most unique musical productions I’d ever seen from the show. My respect for her actual musical talent came after multiple listens.