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Every Musical Guest for Saturday Night Live Season 49

From Ice Spice to boygenius and beyond, SNL's 49th season welcomed a musically-diverse, ultra talented batch of Musical Guests.

By Samantha Vincenty

Saturday Night Live has welcomed a genre-diverse and extremely talented group of musical guests since the show's debut in 1975, and Season 49 certainly continued that tradition. From pop megastar Bad Bunny in his double-duty episode to six-time Grammy nominees boygenius, SNL's musical guests in 2023 and 2024 have delivered strong performances that just might've introduced a viewer or two to their new favorite artist.

How to Watch

Watch Saturday Night Live Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and Peacock, streaming next day on Peacock.

SNL's musical performances have also historically included highly memorable introductions: Who can forget March 7, 2020 Host Daniel Craig's instantly viral "Ladies and gentleman, The Weeknd," or the time Christopher Walken mispronounced Foo Fighters' name because they fully told him to? In Season 49, surprise moments included Taylor Swift showing up to intro her "Karma" remix collaborator Ice Spice, and Lady Gaga stunning the audience by presenting Bad Bunny. 

RELATED: Every SNL Host for 2023-2024

The first SNL of 2024 brought another surprise guest, with Rachel McAdams introducing Reneé Rapp's "Not My Fault" featuring rapper—and October 2022 SNL Host—Megan Thee Stallion. McAdams famously portrayed Regina George in the original 2004 Mean Girls movie, while Rapp plays the queen bee in the 2024 musical version. 

Below, a roundup of every single Musical Guest from SNL Season 49. 

Every SNL Musical Guest for 2023-2024

October 14: Ice Spice

Ice Spice poses while wearing a chain that looks like herself

Ice Spice was the musical guest in Season 49's premiere episode hosted by Pete Davidson, performing "Pretty Girl" and "In Ha Mood." In 2023, the Bronx native also collaborated with three-time SNL musical guest Nicki Minaj on the Barbie movie soundtrack hit "Barbie Girl," and featured on Taylor Swift's "Karma" remix.

Pete Davidson Thinks He’s Kenan Thompson’s Favorite Rapper

October 21: Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny performs on Saturday Night Live Episode 1846

Bad Bunny didn't just host the October 21 episode — he also performed two songs from his latest album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana. First he performed the reggaeton bop "UN PREVIEW," and switched things up with a grandiose set piece to deliver the rap track "MONACO."

It was Bad Bunny's second time as musical guest, following his debut on the February 20, 2021 episode in which he also popped up as a singing plant in Ego Nwodim and Pete Davidson's "Loco" pretaped sketch.

RELATED: Everyone Who's Been SNL Host and Musical Guest in the Same Episode

These certainly weren't Bad Bunny's only wonderful performances on NBC; in 2019, Bad Bunny, Jimmy Fallon, Questlove, and Black Thought led a parade through the streets of Old San Juan to sing "MIA" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Watch "Loco" and "MIA" below. 

"Loco"

Bad Bunny and Jimmy Fallon perform "MIA" on The Tonight Show

Bad Bunny and Jimmy Perform "MIA" on the Streets of Old San Juan

October 28: Foo Fighters

The Foo Fighters and H.e.r perform on saturday night life episode 1847

Foo Fighters were Musical Guest for their ninth time on Nate Bargatze's episode; it was the Dave Grohl-fronted band's first SNL appearance since the death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins. 

Grohl also popped up in two of the night's sketches: he was a classic angry uncle in the music video "Lake Beach," and a weird plane passenger in another. 

"Lake Beach"

Lake Beach

"Airplane"

Airplane

November 11: boygenius

boygenius: Not Strong Enough (Live)

Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker are solo singer-songwriters who formed the group boygenius in 2018 to perform songs they wrote together. The Timothée Chalamet-hosted episode marked Bridgers' second time as musical guest, and the other members' first.

The trio performed two songs from their 2020 full-length, the record, "Not Strong Enough" and "Satanist." They also put on wigs to appear in a sketch as three sleep demons taking the form of Australian singer and actor Troye Sivan. 

Troy Sivan Sleep Demon

Troye Sivan Sleep Demon

November 18: Tate McRae

Tate McCrae wears a hat at Lollapalooza

Canadian singer and songwriter Tate McRae was the Musical Guest for Jason Momoa's November 18 episode of SNL. 

McRae released her latest single, "Greedy," in September 2023, following up her debut studio album, I Used to Think I Could Fly. Her sophomore album, Think Later, was released on December 8.

December 2: Noah Kahan 

Noah Kahn performs on stage at a music festival

Kahan's third studio album, Stick Season (We'll All Be Here Forever), an expanded version of 2022's Stick Season, was released on June 9, 2023.

He performed "Dial Drunk" and "Stick Season" on the show.

December 9: Olivia Rodrigo  

Olivia Rodrigo on the red carpet in a leopard dress for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Rodrigo first gained recognition on the Disney show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Her solo music career reached the stratosphere in 2021 thanks to the song "Drivers License," which earned her a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Her second album, GUTS, was released in September 2023. 

"Tiny Ass Bag" featuring Olivia Rodrigo

Tiny Ass Bag

December 16: Billie Eilish  

Billie Eilish wears glasses on the red carpet at the Annual Academy Museum Gala

Eilish's 2019 album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, containing the hit single "Bad Guy," cemented her status as a pop icon. She swept the 2020 Grammys, winning Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Bad Guy." 

Eilish's return to SNL featured a sultry cover of Christmas classic "I'll Be Home for Christmas," accompanied by her brother and collaborator, Finneas. 

Her first performance, "What Was I Made For" from Barbie: The Album, was introduced by Barbie director Greta Gerwig and December 16 Host Kate McKinnon, who played Weird Barbie in the film. Fun fact: Gerwig and McKinnon were college suitemates

The performance was emotional for more reasons than the power of Eilish's acclaimed song: Video footage of the women of SNL back when they were young girls flashed in a montage on the screen behind Eilish. 

RELATED: Every Surprise Celebrity Cameo from SNL Season 49

Eilish also joined Kate McKinnon in a new "Whiskers R We" sketch, in which Eilish played the long-lost daughter to Kate McKinnon's cat-loving character. Hats off to both Eilish and McKinnon for their master cat-handling (and guinea-pig handling) skills in this one. 

Whiskers R We with Billie Eilish

January 20: Reneé Rapp

Renee Rapp on the red carpet in a black jacket for the Variety Power Of Young Hollywood

If you aren't familiar with Reneé Rapp's 2023 Snow Angel album, or her songs "Tummy Hurts," "Too Well," and "In the Kitchen," you may recognize her from the TV series The Sex Lives of College Girls. Rapp was a regular on the show for its first two seasons, playing wealthy student Leighton.

In January 2024, Rapp flexed both her singing and acting skills as teen queen Regina George in Mean Girls, a remake of the 2004 film that's adapted from the hit Broadway musical (Tina Fey, who revives her role as Ms. Norbury in the movie, wrote the screenplay for this one too). Rapp also took on the role in the stage musical in 2019.

Rapp was Musical Guest in the first episode of 2024 on January 20, with Host Jacob Elordi.

Watch Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion perform "Not My Fault" on SNL