The 47th season of Saturday Night Live aired from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022. As the show is coming out the other side of the pandemic-affected Seasons 45 and 46, the musical guests also feel like a return to form. The season included many acts who, like in the previous season, took advantage of being on stage once again.
Nothing is guaranteed at SNL until the show goes live, which led to several guests rescheduling their appearances. The Christmas show hosted by Paul Rudd with Charli XCX was limited in its cast and sketches. So, in the cases when everything went smoothly, these are the show's best musical guests from the most recent season.
10 Arcade Fire
The Canadian rock group is no stranger to 30 Rockefeller Center. They've been on Saturday Night Live as musical guests a total of five times as of May 2022. In their most recent appearance, they joined Doctor Strange himself, Benedict Cumberbatch in his second hosting gig, to promote their album We.
Arcade Fire played the songs "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)" and "The Lightning I, II" during the show. They also made a rare third performance during the credits with "End of the Empire II." During one performance, vocalist Win Butler took to the mic to denounce the leaks regarding the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe vs. Wade.
9 Charli XCX
Charli XCX was scheduled to perform on the Christmas show but had to cancel once the Omicron strain of COVID forced many other cast members to pull out. While she did appear in a pre-recorded sketch on the limited show that aired, she was eventually invited back in March 2022. This time, she supported first-time host Oscar Isaac.
Charli performed two songs from her dance-pop album Crash: "Beg for You" and "Baby." These performances harken back to pop icons of the late 90s and early 2000s, especially in their intricate dance choreography. Charli additionally made another sketch appearance, this time as a singing meatball.
8 Japanese Breakfast
The Korean-American musician Michelle Zauner, known by her stage-name Japanese Breakfast, made her SNL debut on Season 47's finale. She performed the first two tracks off her 2021 album Jubilee, "Paprika" and "Be Sweet." Despite the band's niche place in indie rock, they put on quite a show to wrap up the season.
Zauner also appeared in a sketch alongside host Natasha Lyonne, as well as departing cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney. The sketch "Women's Commercial" finds Bryant and McKinnon advertising "grey adult pigtails" for older women. Needless to say, Zauner helps the sketch end on a musical number.
7 Halsey
Halsey is certainly a favored musical guest by the people at Saturday Night Live by now. The pop artist performed as both host and musical guest in 2019 and has been the musical guest only on three other occasions, in 2018, 2020, and now 2021. It's safe to call them the John Mulaney of musical guests for how often they return.
For their Season 47 appearance, Halsey supported Kim Kardashian-West's infamous hosting gig. They performed two songs from their Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross-produced album If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power: "I am not a woman, I'm a god" and "Darling," the latter of which features guitar work from Lindsey Buckingham.
6 Post Malone
For someone like Post Malone who's one of the biggest musical acts of his day, it's surprising he made his SNL debut in 2022. The episode, hosted by fellow pop star Selena Gomez, featured Post performing songs for his album Twelve Carat Toothache, which was later released in June 2022.
"Cooped Up" featured support from Roddy Ricch, who canceled his musical guest appearance earlier in the year. "Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol" featured guest vocals from indie-folk band Fleet Foxes. The latter makes for a very emotional performance as Post sings about his struggle with drinking and overdependence on substances.
5 Kacey Musgraves
Pop country artist Kacey Musgraves opened up Season 47 alongside first-time host Owen Wilson. She had previously appeared as a musical guest in 2018 alongside Amy Schumer. This time, she was supporting her 2021 breakup album star-crossed, featuring some very moving emotional performances from the singer-songwriter.
Her second performance of the night, "camera roll," was a touching tribute to her ex-husband, but the real shining moment came earlier. Her performance of lead single "justified" featured her fully nude, in a reference to Robin Wright's character in Forrest Gump. It's a good start to the season, making provocative SNL history.
4 Lizzo
Lizzo took on double duty roles in April 2022 as both host and musical guest. She previously made her SNL debut alongside Eddie Murphy's iconic 2019 episode, so the stakes were high. Fortunately, her sketch chops were second-to-none, as seen in her team-up with the "Please Don't Destroy" writers to sing about a horny zookeeper.
However, leave it to Lizzo to blow the roof off Studio 8H with her performances. Her newly-released song "About Damn Time" made for one of the season's most energetic songs. She also performed "Special," the title track from her upcoming album. The highlight of the night, however, was her flute skills in the sketch "Orchestra."
3 Bleachers
Before Jersey native Jack Antonoff was producing for the Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack, he was one of the best songwriters and producers of the 2010s. Thanks to Roddy Ricch dropping out of Ariana DeBose's hosting debut, Antonoff's solo act Bleachers made their debut as well. To put it plainly, the opportunity was not wasted.
Bleachers, with support from indie artists Claud and Blu DeTiger, performed two songs off their 2021 album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night. "How Dare You Want More" is their own slice of E Street Band rock, while the more melancholy "Chinatown" shows off the band's strength when it comes to wowing audiences.
2 Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish previously debuted on SNL in 2019, where she made waves with her intricate stage design during "bad guy." In 2021, she returned to host as well but thankfully didn't shy away from topping her previous appearance. Her performance of "Happier Than Ever" featured an entire set that splits apart as the song ramps up.
Billie also got to flex her skills in sketches like "TikTok," which finds her as a nurse doing TikTok dance routines, and "Santa Song," where she plays a jazz singer who sings about Saint Nick himself. To close out the night, Billie and her brother Finneas took it low-key, performing her song "Male Fantasy" acoustically.
1 Taylor Swift
It may seem unfair, but Taylor Swift definitely one-upped the rest of Season 47's musical guests. Rather than perform two songs throughout the night, Swift performed her 10-minute version of "All Too Well." This episode came right off the release of her re-recorded version of her album "Red," which was originally released in 2012.
Accompanied by the self-directed short film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien, Swift's performance is all too emotional. She didn't disappoint fans hoping to see her in a sketch, either. She joined Pete Davidson to sing about the "Please Don't Destroy" trio, labeling them as "Three Sad Virgins."