By Thania Garcia
Bad Bunny pulled double duty as a host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” with the help of a few A-listers — most surprisingly Lady Gaga, who introduced the reggaeton superstar’s performance in her best Spanish accent, along with Mick Jagger and Pedro Pascal.
Bunny delivered the first live performance of “Monaco” from his newly-released “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” album, and Gaga called upon “Puerto Rico y todo el corillo” to usher in a performance of “Un Preview.”
Surrounded by moody red lighting, and joined by the mechanical toy horse from the single’s music video, Bunny zoomed through “Un Preview,” and later recreated the Al Pacino-starring video for “Monaco,” with Pascal introducing the latter.
Bunny is the second Latin artist to both host and perform the show, following Desi Arnaz in 1976. Though this is the first time Bunny has hosted SNL, he made his debut on the platform in April 2020 with a cameo during one of the pandemic’s “Saturday Night Live at Home” episodes. He later performed as a musical guest in 2021 when “Bridgerton’s” Regé-Jean Page was given the title of host.
Aside from his performances, Bunny was joined by surprise guest Jagger for a couple of skits — marking the Rolling Stones frontman’s first time on “SNL” since 1986. The appearance comes two days after the Rolling Stones’ New York show, which featured a surprise duet with Gaga.
Jagger crashed a sketch between Bunny and “SNL” cast member Marcello Hernández in which the two were caught in a heated argument on the set of a Spanish-language soap opera. Jagger aptly took the role of the mediating father though it ended with him dramatically slapping both actors. Jagger again joined Bunny for a sketch about some not-so-holy nuns as a parody of “Sister Act 3.”
respect him ✋ pic.twitter.com/3r5VfXgmWJ
When the end credits rolled, Bunny could be seen paying thank yous to Jagger and Gaga, both of whom he warmly embraced. “Saturday Night Live” returned for its 49th season this past weekend, with Pete Davidson hosting and Ice Spice being the musical guest. The episode delivered a series of internet-breaking moments including a surprise cameo from Taylor Swift and her rumored beau, Travis Kelce.
Bunny’s appearance follows the announcement of his “Most Wanted Tour,” which will launch on Feb. 21 in Utah’s Delta Center and make numerous stops in major cities across North America including Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles, with an end date of May 26 in Miami.
The Puerto Rican superstar also made an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Oct. 19, where he spoke about his hosting gig on SNL and shared that the week-long process of putting together the show was equally as exciting as it was exhausting. “I need to sleep,” he joked to Fallon, “I’ve been enjoying the process, all the cast and the producers. The vibe is very cool. I’m grateful.”
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