miley cyrus snl performance
[Photo via YouTube]

Miley Cyrus brings gritty “Plastic Hearts” performance to ‘SNL’ stage

Miley Cyrus returned to Saturday Night Live last night for her sixth appearance as the musical guest. She was joined by host Elon Musk who made his SNL debut. 

The singer performed three songs, opening the show with a tribute to mothers in celebration of Mother’s Day. Later, she also made an appearance in a SpaceX-themed skit with Musk and Pete Davidson

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The cold open of the show saw SNL cast members joking around with their mothers as Cyrus passionately covered Dolly Parton’s 1977 “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning.” At the end of the song, they all gathered around her and her own mother, Tish Cyrus. “Happy Mother’s Day to my godmother Dolly Parton and to my mom, Tish,” she said.

Her next performance was with The Kid LAROI on his hit song “WITHOUT YOU.” After the track initially found virality on TikTok, Cyrus announced she was collaborating with The Kid LAROI on a remix.

@mileycyrusWithout You Remix. 4/30. Presave in bio @thekidlaroi #inverted♬ Without You Miley Cyrus Remix – Miley Cyrus

Her remix dropped April 30, and they announced the same day they made a video for it to celebrate their collab and newfound friendship. “We made this video on a random week night!” she said on Twitter. “Hit the kid at 12 am he said ‘I’ll be there in an hour’ and he was. This is what we made!”

They initially teased his appearance alongside Cyrus on the show by revealing online that he was in the SNL studio with her and Musk.

Their performance together on SNL showed a more acoustic take on the song. The blue and green lighting, combined with Cyrus’ extremely comfy-looking cardigan, also contributed to the stripped-back nature of the performance.

One outfit change to a feathery dress later, Cyrus came back to perform her song “Plastic Hearts.” Off her 2020 rock album Plastic Hearts, the gritty ballad showcases Cyrus’ powerful vocals and the live performance was no different. The pink lights and her dress mirrored the album’s art, while her slicked-back hair and spiky bangs contributed to her rocker persona.

Cyrus also had a cameo in one of the episode’s skits. Titled “Chad on Mars,” viewers saw the return of Davidson’s character Chad, this time as an astronaut. The skit took place in the near future when SpaceX successfully sent people to Mars. However, a solar storm was threatening the colony, damaging the life support systems.

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Chad sacrifices himself by volunteering to save everyone. Davidson’s indifferent character is perfectly fine with this, but Cyrus’ character, who is also on Mars, thinks otherwise. 

Earlier in the week, Cyrus and Musk teased their episode on social media, with Cyrus in an extravagant and furry bright red outfit in a video.

They mention that there is no telling what might happen on the show. “I’m a wildcard, so there’s no telling what I might do,” Musk says. “Same here,” Cyrus adds. “Rules? No thanks.”

But after being reminded that the show would be Mother’s Day themed and their mothers would be there, Cyrus changed her tone.

Ahead of the show, Cyrus herself has been sharing comical posts online, including one where she says she and Musk will be leaving after the show via rocket.

She also posted a funny throwback video of her younger self doing vocal warmups. She captioned it, “What I hear when Elon is explaining DOGECOIN to me.”

After the show, Cyrus shared a picture of her and fellow singer Grimes backstage. Grimes, who is also Musk’s girlfriend, had made a cameo in the show as Princess Peach for a Mario-themed sketch. Cyrus’ caption says, “She’s not a princess. She’s a queen,” in reference to her character.

Cyrus also posted a clip of her cold open performance on Twitter. “Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommy’s around the world!” her caption reads. “Especially mine! Who I have to say is the very best one on the entire planet earth! She is the ultimate woman! I love you @tishcyrus !!!! You’re my everything! @nbcsnl

Cyrus has been on SNL multiples times before, as both the musical guest and a host. She has hosted the show alongside musical guests such as the Strokes and has been the performer herself next to hosts such as Larry David and Matt Damon.

Cyrus’ episode comes before the last two shows of the season, and SNL recently announced the upcoming lineups. Next week, Keegan-Michael Key will host alongside musical guest Olivia Rodrigo in her debut appearance on the show. The week after will see Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy host with Lil Nas X as the musical guest.

 

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Last night’s episode was notably the first time in SNL’s history that it was available to watch live internationally.

“‘SNL’ is a global phenomenon and this livestream marks the first time audiences around the world will experience the show simultaneously along with the US,” NBCUniversal chairman Frances Berwick said in a statement. “It’s incredibly exciting to create this worldwide event with host Elon Musk and musical guest Miley Cyrus. We thank our international partners and YouTube for helping us make it happen.”

 

Let us know what your favorite part of the episode was in the comments below!