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Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> hosted SNL<\/em> for the first time and starred in seven sketches that made it to air Saturday night (May 2) in an episode that had her pulling double duty as musical guest. Following a political cold open and Rodrigo\u2019s monologue, the show launched with a terrifically absurd sketch that set the tone for an evening of quirky comedy.<\/p>\n More from Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n SNL<\/em>\u2018s writers played on Rodrigo\u2019s musicality this week: The You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love<\/em> artist sang in two top sketches, as well as in her monologue. (This was all in addition to her first televised live performance of the giddy new single \u201cDrop Dead<\/a>\u201d and her debut of the emotionally turbulent ballad \u201cBegged<\/a>\u201c).<\/p>\n Throughout the episode, Rodrigo portrayed a weird assortment of roles including soap opera villain, human teen trapped in an zoo exhibit on Bug Planet, girl obsessed with her ex at a friend\u2019s birthday, lava cake maker blissfully unaware of how her goods look, main character in an Isley Brothers \u201cBusted\u201d parody, witness of the next greatest white Rasta artist, and TikToker with an unexpected employer. (Dress rehearsal attendees report on Reddit<\/a> that the production also tested at least two more sketches with Rodrigo, one on situationships and another that had her as a guest on a Kenan Thompson-hosted daytime talk show. At press time, no cut-for-time sketches have been made available online.)<\/p>\n Studio 8H brings out nerves in even the best performers. Naturally delivering late rewrites via cue card isn\u2019t an everyday skill, unless you\u2019re full-time cast.<\/p>\n Rodrigo\u2019s previous TV work \u2014 from little girl in an Old Navy commercial to Disney Channel series regular \u2014 and the stage command she\u2019s developed over countless nights on tour as a musician \u2014 served her quite well in preparing for the chaos of Saturday Night Live<\/em>. Or \u201cSaturday Night Liv<\/em>,\u201d as she quipped on Instragram<\/a> post-show.<\/p>\n The night was a milestone moment for Rodrigo, who\u2019d only performed as musical guest before (twice, in 2021 and 2023).<\/p>\n In fact, probably still abuzz from the afterparty, on Sunday she called it the \u201cbest night of my mf life!!!! such a dream come true!!!\u201d She thanked Lorne Michaels and the SNL<\/em> team in her social update \u2014 \u201cfor being so welcoming and brilliant. will remember this forever!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a ranking of every sketch Rodrigo was in on the show that aired Saturday night. Watch all seven sketches from the May 2 episode of\u00a0SNL<\/em>\u00a0below.<\/p>\n The pre-taped commercial parodies on Saturday Night Live<\/em> are a go-to hit. This one is meant to make you snicker at the idea of TikTok stars somehow acting as community helpers, with their paycheck coming in from a home security company, as they divert house robbers from getting away with the crime by putting them on the spot for their next mind-numbing reel. Rodrigo portrays one of those influencers, but her overall screentime is limited.<\/p>\n Props go to the set builders and special effects editors of the opening sketch Saturday night, who had to make it difficult for the scene\u2019s players to keep a straight face. (Rodrigo mostly got through it.)<\/p>\n Soap operas are an easy pick to satirize, but the real humor here is in the series of insane tumbling down the stairs \u2014 for every character involved. Rodrigo gets to play the bad guy and flex physical comedy skills, making for a fun way to start the night.<\/p>\n Cue \u201cGet Him Back!\u201d It\u2019s almost like Rodrigo\u2019s fun Guts <\/em>track addressing mixed feelings about an ex (\u201cI wanna get him back\/ I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad\/ Oh, I wanna get him back\/ \u2018Cause then again, I really miss him, and it makes me real sad\u201d) was the springboard for the premise of this sketch, which has this weekend\u2019s star conspiring to make her ex jealous \u2014 and vice versa \u2014 at a mutual friend\u2019s birthday dinner.<\/p>\n Rodrigo plays the part believably \u2014 maybe she\u2019s been there before \u2014 while SNL<\/em>\u2018s Ben Marshall (the ex) and Ashley Padilla (the random tablemate Ben asks, and then really regrets asking, to pretend to be his date) escalate the awkward scenario in increasingly unsound ways.<\/p>\n Going in with or without knowledge of the source material for this spoof \u2014 the melodramatic music video<\/a> for The Isley Brothers\u2019 2003 R. Kelly-produced single \u201cBusted\u201d \u2014 shouldn\u2019t matter. Opposite Marcello Hern\u00e1ndez, Rodrigo plays the lover of a pajama-clad lad losing sleep over suspicion she\u2019s deceiving him. Busted! Even if she is getting home at the pretty reasonable hour of 10 p.m. The two keep in character while keeping to the rhythm of the 2003 track as they quarrel through song, with impressive musical-comedic timing.<\/p>\n Surprise pop-ins from James Austin Johnson, as a robber trapped in the closet, and Jane Wickline, as the robber\u2019s wife hiding under couch cushions, elevate an already funny bit. Wickline\u2019s very on-brand verse might be the line of the night: \u201cI followed him here\/ I thought he was cheating, I had suspicions \/ I got these long-ass legs\/ So I be jumping to conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n SNL<\/em>\u2018s \u201cShop TV\u201d sketches rarely disappoint. This one, starring Rodrigo as the sweet southern Daisy of Daisy\u2019s Custom Cakes live-selling her concoctions, features her famous chocolate lava cake that everyone but Daisy seems to, well, see something else in. But the scene doesn\u2019t let it all loose. Maybe the visual of explosive peanut butter-chocolate lava escaping the cake\u2019s center was just a bit too much for network TV.<\/p>\n \u201cRasta Driver\u201d might actually be the sketch from Saturday night to bring the most laughs. It\u2019s runner-up on this Rodrigo-focused list, but deserves a standing ovation for Andrew Dismukes. More often cast as the straight character \u2014 the one who dependably holds his ground as the comedic foil to whatever ridiculous thing is going on in a sketch \u2014 Dismukes stuns even himself with a soul-stirring dancehall performance at the wheel, one that leaves the two chatty party girls (Rodrigo, Veronika Slowikowska) in the backseat of his Uber speechless. His commitment to the bit, even when Rodrigo gives her honest review that the song\u2019s \u201ckinda trash,\u201d holds strong: \u201cI wish that was true, sweetheart, I really do. It was next-level and I can\u2019t escape my destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s \u201cMy Room\u201d stand the test of time like Ariana Grande\u2019s \u201cMy Best Friend\u2019s House<\/a>\u201d has among SNL<\/em> fans? The pre-taped Saturday Night Live<\/em> Midnight Matinee sketch starts off with pop pleasantry, with a nostalgic picture painted by lyrics former teens of a certain generation will appreciate: that purple phone with the curly cord, that lava lamp, those boy band posters, that bean bag chair, those glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars, that TV with bullt-in VHS player in your childhood bedroom\u2026<\/p>\n The twist? That perfect \u201990s room is in a zoo on the bug people planet.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day when the sun comes up\/ The bug people come look at me\/ They let the zoo members come in first\/ And the older bugs get in free,\u201d sings Rodrigo, describing her everyday, and later pining over her big bug crush, as though the song\u2019s a diary entry. \u201cThey watch me through my boy band posters\/ Beady eyes all in a row\/ They sit on bleachers while I use the toilet\/ When I flush, they clap like it\u2019s a dolphin show.\u201d<\/p>\n Best of Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u201cHome Security Ad\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cEdge of Destiny\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cMy Ex\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cBusted\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cShop TV: Lava Cake\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cRasta Driver\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cMy Room\u201d<\/h2>\n