Tag: SNL (11-20 of 25)

May 9 2011 09:03 PM ET

Michael Bolton talks about his 'Jack Sparrow' 'SNL' digital short, his new CD, and sticking his face in a mountain of (fake) cocaine

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Is Michael Bolton now the coolest rock star on the planet thanks to the crooner’s game turn in this weekend’s Saturday Night Live digital short, “Jack Sparrow”?

Maybe not, but Bolton’s performance as a movie-obsessed version of himself who hilariously ruins the Lonely Island crew’s hip-hop track by singing about Pirates of the Caribbean, Forrest Gump, Erin Brockovich, and Scarface has definitely cranked up his cool quotient.

The short has also turned him into an unlikely Internet phenomenon. After the jump, Bolton talks about his collaboration with Lonely Island-ers Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, his new CD of duets, and why he won’t be dressing in drag again any time soon.

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Apr 15 2011 10:53 AM ET

Dave Grohl Q&A: The Foo Fighters frontman talks about the new Foos album, saying no to 'Glee,' and playing 'Smells LIke Teen Spirit' for the first time in 18 years

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Image Credit: Landmark/PR Photos

On Tuesday, the Foo Fighters released their seventh CD, Wasting Light, and recently debuted a new documentary, Back and Forth, tracking the band’s tumultuous 17-year-long history.

And let’s not forget that this August will mark 20 years since the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the song that signaled a seismic shift in modern music—and made megastars of Grohl’s previous band, Nirvana.

All of which seems to have left Grohl, 42, feeling a tad, well, old. “It’s weird when there’s a kid on the bill who comes up and says, ‘Your band was my first concert,’” he muses. “You just think, ‘Oh no. I’m that guy, now? What am I, f—ing Gandalf?’”

In truth, few people would confuse the Foos overlord for the Lord of the Rings wizard. Apart from anything else, Gandalf doesn’t drop the F-bomb nearly as much as Grohl who, after the jump, foul-mouthedly talks about Wasting Light, Back and Forth, and what it was like to play “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time in 18 years.

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Apr 4 2011 12:50 PM ET

'SNL' skit men The Lonely Island reveal new album cover, guests Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and more

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Last week, the Andy Samberg-led comic trio The Lonely Island revealed the hilarious cover to their sophomore album due May 10, Turtleneck & Chain.

In torquoise turtlenecks, gold neclaces, and white slacks, the crew looks less like joke-tellers and more like a ’90s R&B group. “When we met each other in the eighth grade, that was pretty much the look we all had,” group member Akiva Scaffer explained on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Friday evening.

Chain features collaborations with Akon, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna, among others, likely pulling from their guest appearances on Saturday Night Live. Their joyous Akon-assisted jam “I Just Had Sex” with Akon made its debut as a Digital Short late last year, and has already gone gold. (Stalker smash “The Creep” with Nicki Minaj went similarly viral).

Check out the the covers and album titles that didn’t make the cut after the jump. Andy Samberg hoped for 3 Morks, while Shaffer wished for royal whales and Jorma Toccone tried to play basketball in outer space:

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Dec 13 2010 11:33 AM ET

Paul McCartney's divisive 'Saturday Night Live' performance: Why you should cut him some slack

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Paul-McCartneyImage Credit: Dana Edelson/NBCPaul McCartney got way more screen time on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live than your average musical guest. In addition to very funny turns on “Weekend Update” and a digital short, the former Beatle performed “Jet” and “Band on the Run” (from the recently reissued Band on the Run album), “A Day in the Life” leading into John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance,” and “Get Back” to close the show. So how did he do?

Opinions are divided here at EW headquarters. Most everyone agrees that the sound mix was up (or down) to SNL‘s usual muddy standard, making it difficult at times to hear Macca’s voice over his backing band. Even when he was fully audible, though, some are complaining that he seemed a little hoarse.

To which I say, so what? The man turns 70 the summer after next. Of course his vocal cords aren’t quite as limber as they were in 1966. It’s still a pleasure to see him rocking out as enthusiastically as he did on Saturday night. He was having fun up there running through some all-time classic tunes, which made it a fun show to watch from home. And the “A Day in the Life”/”Give Peace a Chance” medley was just right, a tribute to a late friend that was touching without being heavy-handed.

Over to you now. What did you think of McCartney’s SNL performance? Sound off in the comments.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix)

More from EW.com:
Ken Tucker’s Saturday Night Live recap
Ringo Starr’s 70th birthday concert: Guests galore, and Paul McCartney, too

Nov 22 2010 12:48 PM ET

Jay Pharoah takes on Jay-Z, Drake, Biggie on 'Saturday Night Live' rap-off

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In an evening of excellent impressions (Miley vs. Katie Holmes? Shello! Prutty kewl), new SNL cast member Jay Pharoah stood out for both who he took on in his Thanksgiving-themed Weekend Update segment—Jay-Z, Drake, Biggie Smalls—and how on-point his impersonations were.

Close your eyes and listen to the Hova celebrate turkey thighs and Beyonce’s badonk! Marvel as “Drake” nails his sing-songy Canadian cadences in honor of drunk uncles and fat cousins! Bounce along as the Notorious, posthumous B.I.G. lisps a loving tale of candied yams and “biscuits for days”! It’s all after the jump: READ FULL STORY »

Oct 3 2010 12:09 PM ET

Kanye West on 'SNL': How'd he do?

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SNL-KanyeImage Credit: Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo BankAfter his disastrous Auto-Tune-gone-wrong debacle the last time he performed on Saturday Night Live, all eyes were on Kanye West for his return appearance last night. I’m happy to report that things went a lot more smoothly this go-round. Both of West’s performances—”Power” and “Runaway”—went off without a hitch, and provided two of the more memorable moments of this week’s show. For both tracks, West appeared on a completely white set. At first, I thought to myself, What, is he too good for the usual Grand Central Terminal backdrop? But I have to say the whitewashed background provided some striking visuals, as did the couple dozen scantily clad women surrounding West, providing an “Addicted to Love”-meets-Caligula vibe. (It also wasn’t surprising that he replaced the already infamous line “F— SNL and the whole cast” with a new verse.) On “Runaway,” West again relied on Auto-Tune, but there was no malfunction this time—just a well-executed rendition of the cool, robotic track. Do you think Kanye redeemed himself after last time? We’ll have clips of the performances when SNL makes them available to help you decide for yourself.

May 10 2010 01:50 PM ET

Who was that singing with Jay-Z on 'Saturday Night Live'? Meet Bridget Kelly

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Bridget-KellyImage Credit: Robb D. Cohen/Retna ltd; NBCJay-Z had some help on the “Empire State of Mind” portion of his Saturday Night Live medley this past weekend. Did you recognize the singer belting out the song’s chorus in place of Alicia Keys? That was Bridget Kelly, 23, a graduate of N.Y.C.’s arts-focused LaGuardia High School and an early signee to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint.

Kelly has filled in on “Empire State of Mind” at numerous recent Jay-Z gigs, including last fall’s “Answer the Call” charity show and this spring’s Coachella festival. Hers is a crucial role: “Empire State of Mind” is a smash that concert attendees expect Jay to play, and it just wouldn’t work without a big, clear voice to sing that hook. Luckily, Kelly has been present and up to the task.

What did you think of Bridget Kelly’s big SNL moment? Are you looking forward to hearing her upcoming debut album?

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Jay-Z on Saturday Night Live: Big highs and a low
Tim McGraw, Faith Hill organize “Nashville Rising” flood benefit show
Bassist Carlos Dengler leaves Interpol
Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”: The first mega-smash of the summer?
Muse announced as first artists on upcoming ‘Twilight: Eclipse’ soundtrack; more to come

May 10 2010 10:51 AM ET

Jay-Z on 'Saturday Night Live': Big highs and a low

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snl-jay-zImage Credit: Dana Edelson/NBCDid you catch Saturday Night Live this past weekend? What a display of graceful aging and show-biz longevity! Oh yeah, and Betty White wasn’t bad, either.

I kid because I love. Jay-Z is hardly elderly, but rap is for the most part a young man’s game. His 40 years feel just shy of White’s 88 in hip-hop terms. That makes performances like the first one he gave on this week’s SNL all the more impressive. How is it that a guy who’s already retired and un-retired once, a dude who’s voyaged to the corporate boardroom and back, has so much more stage presence and vitality than any other rapper alive? READ FULL STORY »

Apr 19 2010 11:50 AM ET

Ke$ha's amazingly bland Saturday Night Live performances: Watch here

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kesha-snlImage Credit: Dana Edelson/NBCKe$ha‘s SNL debut last weekend was supposed to be epic, but the only moderately entertaining thing was her outfits. Her first performance was a star spangled train wreck: The 23-year-old pop star hit the stage to perform her Billboard smash “Tik Tok” looking like a sad man’s Wonder Woman in a shiny gray ensemble and a cape lined with the stars and stripes of the American flag. Vocally, she was only alright. For such a club anthem, Ke$ha’s delivery seemed tame and tired.

Even worse was the second performance of her latest hit, “Your Love is My Drug.” Ke$ha’s body was marked up in glowing paint like a spectacular, trippy tribal hallucination. But again, her delivery was tired. She drunkenly staggered danced across the stage before dropping to her knees to finish. “It’s Saturday night,” she closed. “Do you wanna make out?” No, thanks.

Like a movie with amazing special effects and a poor plot, Ke$ha dropped the ball. Check out her performances after the jump.

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Apr 11 2010 06:10 AM ET

Justin Bieber's performance on 'SNL': how did he do?

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Justin-BieberImage Credit: Kevin Mazur/KCA2010/WireImage.comHaving already devoured QVC, the Billboard charts, and American Idol, Justin Bieber woke up Saturday morning and thought to himself, “Hmm, Saturday Night Live is ripe for the picking!” The 16-year-old singer was SNL‘s musical guest last night, but I’m not quite sure I get the objective. Was SNL hoping the Bieb’s presence would get tween girls to tune in, or was this a step toward gradually expanding his appeal to, I don’t know, people who like music? Ultimately, the majority of SNL‘s audience has probably never seen Bieber perform, so at least everyone got to find out what this “dreamy Christmas elf,” as host Tina Fey described him, was all about. And luckily, the Bieb didn’t have to worry about there being much comedy on the show to overshadow his two musical acts (sorry, Tina, but they gave you precious little to work with this time). READ FULL STORY »

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