When host Jalen Brunson and musical guest KATSEYE take the stage at Studio 8H in New York for Saturday Night Live ’s Season 52 opener on Saturday (Sept. 26), they’ll join a long and star-studded lineage. We took a look back to see who was booked as host and musical guest on the first episodes of every previous season of the show.
These are considered plum bookings: Viewers often make an extra effort to check out the first episode of a season. As a result, producers go all out to open the season with a strong episode. For SNL , that means booking a hot host and musical guest.
They have definitely done that this year. KATSEYE has logged six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, topped by “Gabriela,” which reached No. 21. They received two Grammy nods for the ceremony earlier this year: best new artist and best pop duo/group performance for “Gabriela.” KATSEYE will become the first all-female group to be the musical guest on a season-opening episode of SNL.
Brunson, the New York Knicks’ All-Star point guard and 2026 NBA Finals MVP, will become the third basketball star to host a season-opener, following Charles Barkley (1993) and LeBron James (2007).
Legendary comedian George Carlin was host of the first episode on Oct. 11, 1975. There were two musical guests that night — Billy Preston and Janis Ian — both of whom had had big recent hits on the Billboard Hot 100 .
Steve Martin has hosted four season-openers, more than anyone else. Tom Hanks is in second place, having hosted two season-openers.
Ye (formerly Kanye West ) has been the musical guest on three season-openers, more than anyone else. The Rolling Stones and Miley Cyrus are the only performers who were both host and musical guest on a season-opener.
If you’re ready to go back in time, here are the hosts and musical guests on the first episode of every SNL season.
Date: Oct. 11, 1975
Host: George Carlin
Musical guests: Billy Preston and Janis Ian
Notes: This was the only time there were two unrelated musical guests for an SNL season opener. Preston performed “Nothing From Nothing,” a No.
1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1974, and his current single “Fancy Lady.” Ian performed her classic “At Seventeen,” a No. 3 hit on the Hot 100, and “In the Winter.” Both of Ian’s songs were featured on Between the Lines , which had topped the Billboard 200 in the issue dated Sept.
20. As host, Carlin performed three monologues, including his classic “Baseball-Football” routine .
Date: Sept. 18, 1976
Host: Lily Tomlin
Musical guest: James Taylor
Notes: Taylor performed three songs – “Shower the People,” which was at its No. 22 peak on the Hot 100 at the time; a cover of Jr.
Walker & the All-Stars 1966 hit “(I’m a) Road Runner” (featuring saxophonist David Sanborn); and the classic title track from his 1970 album Sweet Baby James . “Shower the People” was drawn from Taylor’s album In the Pocket, which had reached No.
16 on the Billboard 200 in August. “(I’m a) Road Runner” wound up on Taylor’s 2008 album, Covers .
Date: Sept. 24, 1977
Host: Steve Martin
Musical guest: Jackson Browne
Notes: Browne performed the title track from his upcoming album Running on Empty and the title track from his 1976 album The Pretender . The Pretender was his first album to reach the top five on the Billboard 200, hitting No.
5 in December 1976. Running on Empty reached No.
3 in March 1978. This episode marked the first appearance of the Festrunk Brothers, better known as “two wild and crazy guys,” played by Martin and Dan Aykroyd.
Two months after this episode aired, Martin landed his first top 10 album on the Billboard 200, Let’s Get Small .
Date: Oct. 7, 1978
Host: The Rolling Stones
Musical guest: The Rolling Stones
Notes: The Stones performed three songs from Some Girls , a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 for two weeks in July – “Beast of Burden,” “Respectable” and “Shattered.” In addition, band members appeared in two sketches — a parody of The Tomorrow Show , in which Tom Snyder (played by Dan Aykroyd) interviews Mick Jagger; and an Olympia Cafe sketch, which featured Charlie Watts and Ron Wood.
Date: Oct. 13, 1979
Host: Steve Martin
Musical guest: Blondie
Notes: Blondie was the first act associated with the new wave scene to be booked as a season-opening musical guest. They performed their then-current hit “Dreaming” and what would become its follow-up, “The Hardest Part.” Both songs were drawn from Eat to the Beat , which would reach its No. 17 peak on the Billboard 200 in November.
Date : Nov. 15, 1980
Host: Elliott Gould
Musical guest: Kid Creole & the Coconuts
Notes: Kid Creole was a buzzy group at the time, but SNL was definitely early in giving them this kind of exposure. They had not yet cracked the Billboard 200 or the Hot 100.
Kid Creole performed “Mister Softee” (from their non-charting 1980 album Off the Coast of Me ) and “There But for the Grace of God Go I” (a non-album single). This was Jean Doumanian’s first episode as executive producer.
She replaced Lorne Michaels, who left the show, along with the primary cast members, after five years of service. He’d be back.
Date : Oct. 3, 1981
Host: none
Musical guest: Rod Stewart
Notes: Stewart performed his current hit “Young Turks,” which would hit No. 5 on the Hot 100 in December. He also reached back a year for “She Won’t Dance With Me” and then nearly four years for “Hot Legs.” Tina Turner joined him on “Hot Legs.” (This was in the period where she was rebuilding her career before her triumphant 1984 comeback.)
Date : Sept. 25, 1982
Host: Chevy Chase
Musical guest: Queen
Notes: Queen performed “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in early 1980, and their 1981 hit “Under Pressure” (but sans David Bowie, with whom they teamed on the record.) This was Queen’s final live performance in the U.S. with lead singer Freddie Mercury, who would die nine years later.
Chase, who was the breakout cast member in SNL ’s first season before leaving to pursue a film career, hosted this episode. But, weirdly, he wasn’t in New York.
His segments were taped at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif.
Date : Oct. 8, 1983
Host: Brandon Tartikoff
Musical guest: John Cougar Mellencamp
Notes: Tartikoff, the head of NBC’s entertainment division, was an odd choice to be the host of a season-opener. The highly regarded executive was hardly a household name (except in households that read Variety ).
Tartikoff died in 1997, at age 48, from Hodgkin lymphoma. Mellencamp performed “Crumblin’ Down” and “Pink Houses.” Both songs were featured on his album Uh-Huh , which would reach No.
9 on the Billboard 200 in January 1984. Both songs became top 10 hits on the Hot 100.
Date: Oct. 6, 1984
Host: none
Musical guest: Thompson Twins
Notes: Thompson Twins performed “Hold Me Now,” a No. 3 hit on the Hot 100 in May, and their forthcoming single “The Gap.” Both songs were from their album Into the Gap , which had reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 in May.
Date : Nov. 9, 1985
Host: Madonna
Musical guest: Simple Minds
Notes: SNL had one of the biggest music stars on the planet – as a host. Go figure. Simple Minds performed “Alive & Kicking,” which would reach No. 3 on the Hot 100 in December. It was drawn from Once Upon a Time , the band’s only top 10 album on the Billboard 200. The album would reach No. 10 in March 1986. This episode marked Lorne Michaels’ return as executive producer.
Date: Oct. 11, 1986
Host: Sigourney Weaver
Musical guest: none
Notes: While there was no official “musical guest,” Buster Poindexter appeared as a special guest and performed three songs. Weaver had starred in the summer box-office smash, Aliens .
Madonna appeared in the cold open to read a mock statement from NBC about the lackluster previous season: “It was all a dream—a horrible, horrible dream.” This played off the season premiere of Dallas two weeks earlier in which all the events of the previous season were revealed to be Pam’s bad dream.
Date: Oct. 17, 1987
Host: Steve Martin
Musical guest: Sting
Notes: This was Martin’s third time hosting a season-opener. Sting performed “We’ll Be Together,” which would reach No. 7 on the Hot 100 in December, and “Little Wing.” Both songs appeared on his second solo album, …Nothing Like the Sun , which later hit No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in November and December. Sting also appeared in a sketch as James Bond villain Goldsting.
Date: Oct. 8, 1988
Host: Tom Hanks
Musical guest: Keith Richards
Notes : The Rolling Stones guitarist performed “Take It So Hard” and “Struggle” from his first solo album, Talk Is Cheap . The album would reach No. 24 on the Billboard 200 in November. Hanks’ film Punchline opened the day before this episode aired. His previous 1988 film, Big, made a bigger impression, and would bring him his first Oscar nomination for best actor.
Date: Sept. 30, 1989
Host: Bruce Willis
Musical guest: Neil Young
Notes: Young performed “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “No More” from his then-current album Freedom and “The Needle and the Damage Done” from his classic 1972 album Harvest. Harvest topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in March 1972; Freedom would reach No. 35 on that chart in November. Willis’ hit film Look Who’s Talking – Willis was the voice of the baby – opened two weeks after this episode aired.
Date: Sept. 29, 1990
Host: Kyle MacLachlan
Musical Guest: Sinéad O’Connor
Notes: O’Connor performed “Three Babies” and “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance.” Both songs were from I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got , which had spent six consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 that spring. Writer Conan O’Brien appeared in the inevitable Twin Peaks sketch. (MacLachlan starred in that series.)
Date: Sept. 28, 1991
Host: Michael Jordan
Musical Guest: Public Enemy
Notes: Public Enemy was the first rap act to be the musical guest in a season-opener on SNL . They performed “Can’t Truss It” and “Bring the Noise.” “Truss” appeared on their album Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black , while “Noise” was originally released on the group’s breakthrough It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back set in 1988, but would later be memorably re-recorded along with metal band Anthrax for Apocalypse 91 .
The latter album would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 4 in the issue dated Oct.
19, the group’s highest ranking ever on that chart. Jordan was the first athlete to host a season-opener of SNL .
This was the first time that both the host and the musical guest on a SNL season-opener were Black, a sign of change in TV.
Date: Sept. 26, 1992
Host: Nicolas Cage
Musical Guest: Bobby Brown
Notes: Brown performed “Humpin’ Around” and “Good Enough.” Both songs appeared on his album Bobby , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 in the issue dated Sept. 12, and both went top 10 on the Hot 100. Brown also appeared in the “Queen Shenequa Show” sketch. Cage was coming off the summer boxoffice hit Honeymoon in Vegas .
Date: Sept. 25, 1993
Host: Charles Barkley
Musical guest: Nirvana
Notes: Nirvana performed “Heart-Shaped Box” and “Rape Me.” Both songs appeared on In Utero , which would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Oct. 9. A little more than six months after this appearance, Kurt Cobain took his own life. Barkley appeared in the “Charles Barkley’s Big, Tall & Black Men’s Stores” sketch.
Date: Sept. 24, 1994
Host: Steve Martin
Musical guest: Eric Clapton
Notes: Clapton performed “I’m Tore Down” and “Five Long Years.” Both songs appeared on From the Cradle , Clapton’s traditional blues album that would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Oct. 1. At the end of the show, Clapton sat in with the SNL Band to play the closing theme.
Date: Sept. 30, 1995
Host: Mariel Hemingway
Musical guest: Blues Traveler
Notes: As mentioned in a sketch on the show, the original musical guest scheduled to appear on this episode was “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” – as the legendary performer was cumbersomely known at the time. In his stead, Blues Traveler performed the zesty “Run-Around,” a top 10 hit on the Hot 100, and “Hook,” a top 30 hit.
Both songs appeared on the album Four , which had reached its No. 8 peak on the Billboard 200 a few weeks earlier (issue dated Sept.
9). Hemingway was the star of the short-lived primetime soap Central Park West .
Date: Sept. 28, 1996
Host: Tom Hanks
Musical guest: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Notes: Petty & the Heartbreakers performed “Walls (No. 3)” and an electric version of “Angel Dream (No. 2)” The original versions of both songs appeared on Songs and Music From She’s the One , which had debuted and peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 in August. Hanks’ directorial debut, That Thing You Do!, opened the following week.
Date: Sept. 27, 1997
Host: Sylvester Stallone
Musical guest: Jamiroquai
Notes: Jamiroquai performed “Alright,” a song from their debut album, Travelling Without Moving . The album reached its No. 24 peak on the Billboard 200 on the chart dated Sept. 27.
Date: Sept. 26, 1998
Host: Cameron Diaz
Musical guest: Smashing Pumpkins
Notes: Smashing Pumpkins performed “Perfect” from their album Adore , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 a few months earlier (chart dated June 20). The band also appeared in the Roxbury Guys sketch. Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins, who performed musical interludes in Diaz’s summer box-office smash There’s Something About Mary , made a cameo appearance.
Date: Oct. 2, 1999
Host: Jerry Seinfeld
Musical guest: David Bowie
Notes: Bowie performed his classic “Rebel, Rebel” (from Diamond Dogs , which became his first top five album on the Billboard 200 in July 1974), and “Thursday’s Child” (from his then-current album ‘Hours… , which would debut and peak at No. 47 on the chart dated Oct. 23). Seinfeld appeared in sketches that tweaked SNL ’s Point-Counterpoint franchise from the 1970s and also the jail cell setting of the finale of his landmark sitcom.
Date: Oct. 7, 2000
Host: Rob Lowe
Musical guest: Eminem
Notes: Eminem was the first solo rapper to be the musical guest on an SNL season-opener. He performed “Stan” (with Dido) and “The Real Slim Shady.” Both songs appeared on The Marshall Mathers LP , which had spent its first eight weeks on the Billboard 200 at No.
1 that spring and summer. “The Real Slim Shady” was Eminem’s first top 10 hit on that chart.
(It peaked at No. 4 in June.) The rap icon also appeared during Weekend Update.
Date: Sept. 29, 2001
Host: Reese Witherspoon
Musical guest: Alicia Keys
Notes: This episode aired just 18 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Alicia Keys performed “Fallin'” and “A Woman’s Worth.” Both songs appeared on Keys’ debut album Songs in A Minor , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No.
1 in July and spent a total of three weeks on top. In addition, “Fallin’” topped the Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks.
“A Woman’s Worth” also made the top 10. Witherspoon was coming off her summer box-office smash Legally Blonde .
This episode marked the first time that both the host and musical guest of a SNL season-opener were women.
Date: Oct. 5, 2002
Host: Matt Damon
Musical guest: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Notes: Springsteen & the E Street Band performed “Lonesome Day” with Soozie Tyrell, and “You’re Missing.” Both songs appeared on Springsteen’s The Rising , which had spent its first two weeks on the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in August.
Date: Oct. 4, 2003
Host: Jack Black
Musical guest: John Mayer
Notes: Mayer performed “Bigger Than My Body” and “Clarity.” Both songs appeared on his album Heavier Things , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 on the Sept. 27-dated chart. “Bigger Than My Body” cracked the top 40 on the Hot 100. Black’s hit film School of Rock opened the day before this episode aired. Kyle Gass, Black’s partner in Tenacious D, also appeared on the show.
Date: Oct. 2, 2004
Host: Ben Affleck
Musical guest: Nelly
Notes: Nelly performed “My Place” and “Na-NaNa-Na” with Jaheim. Both songs were from his album Suit , which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Oct. 2. (Another Nelly album, Sweat , debuted at No. 2 that same week.) “My Place” reached No. 4 on the Hot 100.
Date: Oct. 1, 2005
Host: Steve Carrell
Musical guest: Kanye West
Notes: West performed a medley of “Gold Digger” and “Touch the Sky,” as well as “Heard ‘Em Say” with Adam Levine. All three songs were from West’s sophomore album Late Registration , which had spent its first two weeks on the Billboard 200 at No.
1 in September. “Gold Digger” logged 10 weeks at No.
1 on the Hot 100. Carrell was also red-hot, with the summer box-office smash The 40-Year Old Virgin and his sitcom The Office , which launched its second season on Sept.
20.
Date: Sept. 30, 2006
Host: Dane Cook
Musical guest: The Killers
Notes: The Killers performed “When You Were Young” and “Bones.” Both songs appeared on their sophomore album Sam’s Town , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 in the Oct. 21 issue. Lenny Pickett, Earl Gardner, and Steve Turre, members of the SNL Band, joined The Killers on “Bones.”
Date: Sept. 29, 2007
Host: LeBron James
Musical guest: Kanye West
Notes: West topped both the Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 in the same week he was the musical guest on SNL ’s season-opener. Now, that’s what you call hot!
West performed a medley of “Stronger” and “Good Life” and a medley of “Champion” and “Everything I Am.” All four songs appeared on his third album Graduation , which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the Sept.
29-dated issue. “Stronger” also topped the Hot 100 that week.
“Good Life” later also made the top 10. West appeared in a 106 & Park sketch on the show.
Date: Sept. 13, 2008
Host: Michael Phelps
Musical guest: Lil Wayne
Notes: Lil Wayne performed “Got Money” and “Lollipop.” Both songs appeared on Tha Carter III , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in June and spent a total of three weeks on top.
“Lollipop” had topped the Hot 100 for five nonconsecutive weeks in the spring. “Got Money” also made the top 10.
Phelps’ mother made a cameo appearance in the Olympic champion’s opening monologue. Phelps also starred in “The Michael Phelps Diet” sketch.
Date: Sept. 26, 2009
Host: Megan Fox
Musical guest: U2
Notes: U2 performed “Breathe” and “Moment of Surrender” from their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon and “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” from their 1991 classic Achtung Baby . Both albums had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1. Fox was the female lead of the summer box-office smash Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen .
Date: Sept. 25, 2010
Host: Amy Poehler
Musical guest: Katy Perry
Notes: Perry performed “California Gurls” and “Teenage Dream”, highlights from her second Capitol album Teenage Dream , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in in the issue dated Sept.
11. Both singles also topped the Hot 100.
Perry also appeared in the “Bronx Beat” sketch and an SNL Digital Short. Poehler, then the star of Parks & Recreation and previously a SNL cast member from 2001-08, reprised her roles as Betty Caruso and Amber.
Date: Sept. 24, 2011
Host: Alec Baldwin
Musical guest: Radiohead
Notes: Radiohead performed “Lotus Flower” and “Staircase.” “Lotus Flower” appeared on the band’s album The King of Limbs , which had peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in April. “Staircase” was taken from the live video The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement (2011). Clive Deamer played additional drums and percussion for both of Radiohead’s performances.
Date: Sept. 15, 2012
Host: Seth MacFarlane
Musical guest: Frank Ocean
Notes: Ocean performed “Thinkin Bout You” and the single version of “Pyramids.” Both songs appeared on his album Channel Orange , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 in July. John Mayer, the 2003 musical guest, played guitar on both songs. MacFarlane was coming off the summer box-office hit Ted . In the opening monologue, MacFarlane dipped into his character voices from Family Guy and American Dad!
Date: Sept. 28, 2013
Host: Tina Fey
Musical guest: Arcade Fire
Notes: Arcade Fire performed “Reflektor” and “Afterlife.” Both songs appeared on the band’s album Reflektor , which would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Nov. 16. Also, Arcade Fire members Will Butler, Régine Chassagne and Win Butler appeared in the “New Cast Member or Arcade Fire” sketch. Fey, then a star of 30 Rock , had been an SNL writer and cast member from 1997–2006.
Date: Sept. 27, 2014
Host: Chris Pratt
Musical guest: Ariana Grande
Notes: Grande performed “Break Free” and “Love Me Harder” (the latter with The Weeknd). Both songs appeared on her album My Everything , which entered the Billboard 200 at No.
1 in the issue dated Sept. 13.
Both songs also made the top 10 on the Hot 100. Grande also appeared as She-Ra in the “He-Man and Lion-O” sketch.
Pratt was coming off the summer box-office smash Guardians of the Galaxy . Pratt’s then-wife Anna Faris (then starring in the sitcom Mom ) appeared during his opening monologue.
Date: Oct. 3, 2015
Host: Miley Cyrus
Musical guest: Miley Cyrus
Notes: Cyrus performed “Karen Don’t Be Sad” and “The Twinkle Song.” Hillary Clinton introduced Cyrus’ first musical performance. The Flaming Lips appeared as Cyrus’ backing band for that performance. Clinton appeared in the “Hillary Clinton Bar Talk” sketch with Kate McKinnon (as Hillary’s alter-ego Val) and Darrell Hammond (as Bill Clinton).
Date: Oct. 1, 2016
Host: Margot Robbie
Musical guest: The Weeknd
Notes: The Weeknd performed “Starboy” and “False Alarm.” Both songs appeared on his Starboy album, which would enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the issue dated Dec.
17, and would log five nonconsecutive weeks in the top spot. “Starboy” also topped the Hot 100 in the issue dated Jan.
7, 2017. The Weeknd also appeared on Weekend Update during an inevitable bit titled “The Weeknd Update.” Robbie was one of the stars of the summer box-office smash Suicide Squad .
Date: Sept. 30, 2017
Host: Ryan Gosling
Musical guest: Jay-Z
Notes: Jay-Z performed “Bam” with Damian Marley and “4:44.” Both songs appeared on his 4:44 album, which had topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in the summer. Gosling’s film Blade Runner 2049 opened the following weekend. Gosling’s La La Land co-star, Emma Stone, appeared in his opening monologue.
Date: Sept. 29, 2018
Host: Adam Driver
Musical guest: Kanye West
Notes: Ariana Grande was set to be the musical guest of this season-opener, for what would have been the second time in five years, but she withdrew, citing “emotional reasons,” and was replaced by West. The rapper performed “I Love It” with Lil Pump and Adele Givens (the latter via prerecorded video), “We Got Love” with Teyana Taylor, and “Ghost Town” with Kid Cudi, 070 Shake and Ty Dolla Sign (on guitar).
“Ghost Town” was drawn from West’s album Ye , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in the week ending June 16.
Following the goodnights, West, wearing a Make America Great Again hat, went off-script with his support for Donald Trump. Driver starred in the acclaimed summer box-office hit BlacKkKlansman .
Date: Sept. 28, 2019
Host: Woody Harrelson
Musical guest: Billie Eilish
Notes: Eilish performed “Bad Guy” and “I Love You” with her brother and creative partner Finneas O’Connell. Both songs were from her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? , which had entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in April and logged a total of three weeks on top. “Bad Guy” also topped the Hot 100 in August.
Date: Oct. 3, 2020
Host: Chris Rock
Musical guest: Megan Thee Stallion
Notes: Megan Thee Stallion became the first female rapper to serve as musical guest on an SNL season-opener. She performed “Savage” with pre-recorded vocals from Beyoncé, Malcolm X and Tamika Mallory, and “Don’t Stop” with Young Thug.
The “Savage” remix had topped the Hot 100 in May. Both songs would be featured on Megan’s album Good News , which would debut and peak at No.
2 on the Billboard 200 in the Dec. 5 issue.
Megan also appeared in the pre-recorded “Bottom of Your Face” and “NBA Bubble Draft” sketches. Rock was a SNL cast member from 1990-93.
Date: Oct. 2, 2021
Host: Owen Wilson
Musical guest: Kacey Musgraves
Notes: Musgraves was the first country or country crossover artist to be the musical guest on a SNL season-opener. She performed “Justified” and “Camera Roll” from her album Star-Crossed , which entered the Billboard 200 at No.
3 in the issue dated Sept. 25.
Musgraves performed “Justified” wearing only a pair of boots, while seated on a stool cross-legged playing an acoustic guitar. It was the first time in the show’s history that a musical guest performed nude on stage in front of the audience – though a guitar strap and Musgraves’ hair kept things fairly PG.
The staging was inspired by a scene in Forrest Gump in which Robin Wright’s character performs in the nude.
Date: Oct. 1, 2022
Host: Miles Teller
Musical guest: Kendrick Lamar
Notes: Lamar performed a medley of “Rich Spirit” and “N95” and later in the show, “Father Time” (featuring Sampha). All three songs are from his fifth studio album, Mr.
Morale & the Big Steppers , which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in May.
Lamar was the eighth rap star to serve as a season-opening musical guest, following Public Enemy, Eminem, Nelly, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Megan Thee Stallion. Teller co-starred in Top Gun: Maverick , the top box-office hit of 2022.
Date: Oct. 14, 2023
Host: Pete Davidson
Musical guest: Ice Spice
Notes: Ice Spice was the second woman rapper, following Megan Thee Stallion, to serve as a season-opening musical guest. She performed “In Ha Mood” and “Pretty Girl” with Rema.
Davidson was the fifth former cast member to return as host, following Chevy Chase (1982), Amy Poehler (2010), Tina Fey (2013) and Chris Rock (2020). (Note: Alec Baldwin, who hosted the 2011 season opener, has never been a full-fledged cast member, though he has served as guest host 17 times, more often than anyone else.) In lieu of a cold open, Davidson shared reflections on the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which occurred one week earlier.
After Weekend Update, a title card encouraged viewers to donate to the American Red Cross and the International Rescue Committee.
Date: Sept. 28, 2024
Host: Jean Smart
Musical guest: Jelly Roll
Notes: Jelly Roll was the second country or country crossover artist to be the musical guest on a SNL season-opener, following Kacey Musgraves. The appearance came two weeks before the Oct.
11 release of Beautifully Broken , which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1.
Jelly performed “Liar” and “Winning Streak.” Hannah Einbinder, daughter of original Not Ready for Primetime Player Laraine Newman (as well as Smart’s co-star on Hacks ), joined Smart in introducing Jelly for the first song. Smart sang Cole Porter’s 1930 chestnut “I Happen to Like New York” in her opening monologue.
Date: Oct. 4, 2025
Host: Bad Bunny
Musical guest: Doja Cat
Notes: The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was having another monster year: After releasing his sixth solo album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos , in January 2025, he launched an ambitious and hugely successful 30-date residency in Puerto Rico, which was so big that it boosted the island’s economy, and attracted numerous high-profile guests. He won three Grammys, including album of the year and best música urbana albumat the Grammys on Feb.
1, 2026, making history as DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS became the first Spanish-language album to win the topprize. Bunny headlined the 2026 Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show one week later at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Doja Cat performed “Aaahh Men!” and “Gorgeous” on SNL.
Date: Sept. 26, 2026
Host: Jalen Brunson
Musical guest: KATSEYE
Notes: KATSEYE has logged six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, topped by “Gabriela,” which reached No. 21. They received two Grammy nods for the ceremony in February 2026: best new artist and best pop duo/group performance for “Gabriela.” KATSEYE will be the first all-female group to be the musical guest on a season-opening episode of SNL.
Brunson, 2026 NBA Finals MVP and New York Knicks star point guard, will be the third star basketball player to host a season-opener, following Charles Barkley (1993) and LeBron James (2007). He’s the fourth athlete to get the gig, following those three players and swimmer Michael Phelps (2008).
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