Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a popular American late-night live sketch comedy television show. The show is created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show's 50th season aired on NBC on 28 September 2024.
Saturday Night Live Season 50 brought back many familiar faces and SNL alumni. The show kicked off its 50th season, the first of its kind, with its election season. In the season premiere, Bowen Yang became Charli XCX as he hosted a fake show called "The Talk Talk Show," one of Charli XCX's tracks.
Charli XCX's sixth album, Brat, was released on 7 June and steadily ranked high on the charts. With its distinctive sound and new style, the album quickly became the record of the summer. There were music dances on TikTok and memes, and even the Kamala Harris campaign used the name "Brat" for a while.
A week before SNL, Charli XCX performed at Madison Square Garden with Troye Sivan and special guests Lorde and Addison Rae.
Bowen Yang plays Charli XCX in Saturday Night Live Season 50's Brat Summer-themed segment
On SNL's 50th season opener on 28 September, Yang proved he could do almost anything, playing three summer-defining characters in one night: Brat Summer originator Charli XCX, anti-LGBTQ+ Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and, perhaps most memorably, the glistening baby hippo Moo Deng.
It was a notably jarring surprise to see Yang appear as Vance, following Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan's expert showed up as Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Yang's second appearance on Weekend Update was as the mega-viral two-month-old hippo, Moo Deng. This appearance was somehow expected, given his history of playing internet-famous figures on the recurring fake news segment, no matter how abstract the portrayal.
Yang returned for a third time as Charli XCX for a satirical panel show called Talk Talk, hosted by none other than a laconic Troye Sivan saying "naur." Aside from absolutely nailing the way Charli stands in the "360" video, Yang's take on the pop star delivered an expert breakdown of what was "brat" or "nat."
What is “Brat Summer”?
Charli XCX's album, Brat, was released on 7 June 2023. The summer aesthetic and lifestyle of Brat were the inspiration for this album. Having been in it for over 11 years now, Charli had carved out a little niche for herself with her sound and retro-futuristic aesthetic among queer individuals.
She renewed her contract with Atlantic Records, and the internet went wild over her sixth studio album. The album was minimal, with a green cover, but songs like Club Bangerz caught the world's attention. After being endorsed by Charli, US Vice President Kamala Harris even borrowed the album's aesthetic for her 2024 presidential campaign.
The album's success prompted people to change their profiles to the "brat" font, do TikTok dances, and embrace the "brat summer." Celebrities Kyle MacLachlan and Lorde also interacted with the album's songs. This is exactly what Bowen Yang intended to bring back in Saturday Night Live.
Saturday Night Live (SNL) 50th season is currently available to stream on Peacock.
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