SNL music videos
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12 'SNL' music videos that are equal parts catchy and hilarious

The music and comedy worlds often collide whenever Saturday Night Live airs from Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Cast members such as Andy Samberg, Chris Redd, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kenan Thompson and beyond have made the SNL music video digital shorts connect with audiences even more than the live sketches. They’ve done it all, from parodying popular songs such as “Gucci Gang” with “Tucci Gang,” honoring the always phenomenal Stanley Tucci, all the way to sharing original tracks such as “Bottom Of Your Face” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, falling right in line with pandemic-era humor.

Read more:10 ‘SNL’ jokes that alternative fans will instantly relate to

It’s fair to say that SNL keeps the laughs coming with both their songs and accompanying music videos. In fact, it may be time for a whole vinyl collection of these hilarious tracks.

There are many amazing music videos in the annals of the show’s history, but here are just 12 that stick out to us in the best way. Check out our favorites below!

“Magical Mysteries”

This parody of Insane Clown Posse‘s “Miracles” video is almost too good to be true. Perhaps an SNL staff member is a Juggalo and made this track as spot-on as possible. Some may look at this music video and see it as a mockery of ICP, but it’s quite the opposite. In fact, in a New York Times interview, both Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope shared how they were honored that Saturday Night Live parodied their work. “I remember back in the day when “Weird Al” Yankovic did ‘Amish Paradise,’ off Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise.’ Somehow Coolio got mad,” Shaggy 2 Dope explained. “If ‘Weird Al’ wanted to do one of our songs, I’d be like, ‘Hell yeah.’ To me, it’s the same thing with Saturday Night Live.” As an added bonus, Violent J actually called his mom after he saw the sketch. Parody is another form of flattery, and SNL made many Juggalos proud.

“Corporate Nightmare”

Host Kristen Stewart and cast members Pete Davidson, Kyle Mooney and Mikey Day all channel the scene in a Sum 41-sounding “Corporate Nightmare Song.” In fact, Stewart rocks a fiery red-and-yellow hairstyle just like Hayley Williams‘ iconic do in Paramore‘s early days. Beyond that, Mooney offers serious Mike Dirnt vibes. This perfectly captures what it’s like to be a punk in the corporate world, where you want to rage against the machine but still have to do some adult responsibilities here and there.

“I Love My Dog”

Host James McAvoy and cast members Thompson, Redd and Davidson teamed up to make a hardcore rap about how much they love their bitches, er, dogs. The SNL writers saw that opportunity and seized it. Plus, if you were a fan of McAvoy in Split, Glass and more, you will adore him as the man who’s far too aggressive about his dog love. Though, does such a thing exist? Dog parents will empathize fully with McAvoy’s character.

“Murder Show”

This music video was made for true-crime nerds everywhere who binge The Ted Bundy Tapes doc as self-care. After all, there’s nothing better than a murder show, right? Well, according to host and musical guest Nick Jonas, cult shows are where it’s at. For all of us who can descend into crime documentaries for hours, SNL saw us, heard us and made a song just for us. Plus, it has a delightful poppy beat that’s perfect for your summer playlist.

“NFTs”

Davidson, Redd and musical guest Jack Harlow made a parody of Eminem‘s “Without Me” video for “NFTs.” While it was hilarious, and Davidson really does look like Marshall Mathers with bleach-blond hair, this still doesn’t exactly clarify NFTs for many of us. But that’s OK—it’s still a rad video. Seeing Redd in a floor-length leather duster channeling Dr. Dre and Davidson in a superhero onesie was all we really wanted to see, anyway.

“Boombox”

It’s hard to pick just a few Lonely Island music videos for this list. After all, the comedy trio of Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone gifted us classics such as “I’m On A Boat,” “Dick In A Box” and “I Just Had Sex.” Many comedy and music fans have seen and heard these, but another underappreciated standout is “Boombox” featuring the Strokes‘ own Julian Casablancas.

If you need a refresher of all of Lonely Island‘s greatest hits, you can check out the 100th Digital Short extravaganza, where they ran through all of the fan favorites with a star-studded cast, including Justin Timberlake, Michael Bolton, Natalie Portman and more. Thank the musical comedy gods for granting Samberg his breakout with the viral SNL song sketch “Lazy Sunday” featuring Chris Parnell. Without it, we may not have had more Samberg offerings that truly changed the industry and how young generations perceive overlapping jokes with music.

“On The Couch”

The Weeknd teamed up with Redd and Thompson for the ultimate ’90s-inspired, sexy slow jam. Scratch that, it’s actually a hilariously accurate slow jam where Melissa Villaseñor, Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner‘s significant other characters are kicking their dudes to the couch for the night. It was the perfect placement for a musical guest and host Daniel Craig to combine forces and both be absolutely hilarious. Couples in long-term relationships may appreciate this more than others. Sorry, singles, you’ll be on the couch before you know it.

“Tiny Horse”

This may be one of the most absurd SNL music videos, which makes it one of the best. In “Tiny Horse,” Timothee Chalamet shows off his singing chops to his palm-sized stallion. Chalamet had the chance to cheer on his best friend “Tiny Horse” and was kind enough to share him with us. Chalamet also appeared in the most recent episode of SNL with Kid Cudi, Redd and Davidson where he played a “Weird Little Flute.”

“(Do It On My) Twin Bed”

The late-night sketch comedy show blew us away with this song when they combined some of their most talented current cast members with iconic SNL stars of the past. Noël Wells, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, Bryant, Cecily Strong and Nasim Pedrad made one of the best comedy sketches on TV in 2013, and we aren’t the only ones who believe that. Along with host Jimmy Fallon, they captured exactly what it’s like to get it on during the holidays when you’re surrounded by your extended family, old pets, Hanson posters and more. The cast even shared childhood photos of themselves and showed their glow up to adulthood, aka the time in life where you do it twice a year on a trundle bed. Think of it like another rite of passage.

“Slow”

If there’s one thing SNL is incredible at making fun of, it’s the horniness that perseveres in most of our mainstream music. In this case, host Adam Driver and castmates Redd and Thompson are too literal when it comes to taking their time with their significant others played by Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim and musical guest Halsey. Don’t expect a quick text from these guys, ever. Beyond being laugh-out-loud funny, there’s also a cute turtle cameo.

“The Negotiator”

For all the stoners out there, this SNL song is almost too real. After consuming a bag of weed gummies by accident, host Regina King‘s police officer character begins to hallucinate a giant Davidson gummy bear on the roof, who’s later joined by a gummy bear Bryant, Marge Simpson and the sun baby all grown up from Teletubbies. Davidson calmly sings, “You should not have eaten me… You’ll be high forever,” which, well, if you know, you know. King’s character also hilariously said, “I’m definitely dead,” which everyone who has overdone it on an edible will scream at. Plus, it features a laid-back beat, perfect to listen to whether you’re sober or as high as the Empire State building.

“YOLO”

The Lonely Island returned after Samberg’s departure as a cast member in 2012 to perform their digital short “YOLO” with host Adam Levine and musical guest Kendrick Lamar. It showed off the brand-new era of the comedy trio, and this song appeared on their LP The Wack Album, alongside “Hugs” featuring Pharrell Williams, “I Run NY” featuring Billie Joe Armstrong and more incredible collabs. Beyond making fun of the acronym that, unfortunately, dominated much of 2012, they made some pretty good points. Also, it seems as if the Lonely Island were prophets when this was released, as Samberg sang, “There’s no such thing as too much Purell/This a cautionary tale, word to George Orwell.” They could’ve never guessed how relevant these lyrics would be. The Lonely Island have since moved on to creating films and working on other mainstream comedy projects, the most notable being the movie Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which is a fabulous satire about the ins and outs of the music industry.

Do you have a favorite SNL music video that compares to your favorite alternative ones? Sound off in the comments below!