Best Musical Performances from 'Saturday Night Live' Season 51

by Julian Spivey

Photo: NBC

5. “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz
Typically, when musical guests appear on “Saturday Night Live,” it’s to promote their new music, but occasionally bands will perform a classic instead. That happened on two instances this season with Gorillaz performing their 2001 hit “Clint Eastwood” and Paul McCartney performing his 1974 classic “Band on the Run.” Now, I like “Band on the Run” better of the two, but McCartney has actually played the song twice on ‘SNL,’ and his 2010 performance was better. So, Gorillaz it is. The highlight of this performance was Del the Funky Homosapien, who was on the recording, joining the band and knocking his verses out of the park. 

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4. “Dance No More” by Harry Styles
To be quite honest with you, Harry Styles’ “Dance No More,” from his latest album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, is the type of song I might grow to dislike if I hear it too many times, but his performance of it on ‘SNL’ on an episode in which he pulled double duty as host and musical guest was a lot of fun. The song, written by Styles and his producer Kid Harpoon, is a fun dance track about how dance songs seem to be fading from radio play. When Styles is at his best, he reminds me a bit of David Bowie, and this is the “Let’s Dance”/”Modern Love” era. 

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3. “The Man I Need” by Olivia Dean
Olivia Dean’s “The Man I Need” feels like a throwback, which I mean as a compliment. It’s the kind of R&B-influenced pop sound that Whitney Houston popularized in her heyday. The English singer-songwriter hit it big with “The Man I Need,” a song about “knowing how you deserve to be loved and not being afraid to ask for it,” according to Dean. It’s a bit of a peculiarity for me in that I enjoy it but also find myself a bit annoyed by the repeated “talk to me” lines. 

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2. “The Great Divide” by Noah Kahan
Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan is a bit of a curiosity, as he’ll perform something like “The Great Divide,” about struggling with things like mental health and how religious trauma can play a role in it, but he’ll do it with a smile on his face like it’s a party song. It’s a bit weird, but the song itself is touching and, from a songwriting perspective, might be the best song (other than McCartney’s “Band on the Run”) performed on the show this season. 

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1. “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter should annoy me. Most pop stars do. But she doesn’t take herself seriously, and I find that cheekiness to be charming, so she can get away with a song about how men are stupid without completely offending this man. Her performance of “Manchild” was a combination of fun performance mixed with theatrical staging (as if she’s performing in front of a mirror while bopping around her bedroom in her underwear) – something that isn’t a stranger to ‘SNL’ these days, but it usually doesn’t do anything for me. Bubblegum pop at its finest.  

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What was your favorite musical performance from the 51st season of 'SNL'?