Charli XCX hosted SNL for the first time and starred in nine sketches Saturday night (Nov. 16) in an episode that indulged in the pop star’s brat vibes.
Pulling double duty Saturday night as host and musical guest, Charli got things going with a monologue that explained how her career started (“I played at my first rave when I was 15 years old — my parents actually drove me there”), how she’s gotten to where she is (“Today, I consider myself to be a triple threat, which in England means I sing, I drink and I smoke”) and what it truly means to be “brat.”
“So many people have asked me, ‘What is ‘brat’?’ And honestly, it’s just, like, an attitude. It’s a vibe. For example, the new Martha Stewart documentary: When Martha gets mad about an old magazine article and she says that she’s glad the journalist who wrote it is dead, that is brat. And on Friday, when that exact journalist responded and said, ‘Hey, I’m alive, b—-!’ — that is extremely brat,” Charli said in front of the live audience at Studio 8H.
Besides bringing a dose of dry wit, the three-time musical guest brought her late-night party to the stage Saturday with Brat tracks “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife” (the original album versions, not her Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat collabs).
The episode had an SNL cast member playing Charli in one sketch — so that Charli could star opposite, as her tourmate Troye Sivan. (Sivan’s response: changing his profile pic to Charli’s version of him.)
Charli’s impersonation skills were also put to the test in portrayals of Adele and Victoria Beckham, and she was part of a group cover of Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” that welcomed the now-recurring character Domingo, the guy who crashed a wedding reception in Ariana Grande’s episode last month.
The best sketch, which had Charli’s humor matching a certain SNL trio’s comedy, was actually cut for time during the live broadcast. Thankfully we’ve got the internet and SNL uploaded this one online.
Here’s a ranking of every sketch Charli XCX was in Saturday night, when SNL‘s Nov. 16 episode aired. Watch all nine sketches below.
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“Banger Boyz”
The accurate idiocy of this podcast will make you shake your head. Charli tops the bro comedy as a hot girl reading ads from sponsors that include Cargo Condoms and Warm Plunges.
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“Babymoon”
The cringe of besties coming up with a song-and-dance for a friend’s celebration returns — as does Domingo, who you might remember from Ariana Grande and Co.’s badly-sung wedding reception performance earlier in the season.
Marcello Hernández’s Domingo was no one-time cameo: He’s officially a recurring character in the plot of Kelsey’s (Chloe Fineman) life, which has now progressed from getting marriage to parenthood.
Charli takes Ariana’s place here as one of the girls in this group, pulling off a solid American accent as the ladies present something “a little bit artistic and a little bit random” in lieu of a gift for the mom-to-be. Their amusing girls’ trip/babymoon rendition of Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” starts off innocently enough — “Kelsey couldn’t fly, so we drove to Miami” — and then divulges their pal spent the vacation learning Spanish on Duolingo and sending nudes to Domingo, who is … still not her husband.
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“It Girl Thanksgiving Special”
Thanksgiving dinner with the Olsen twins, Victoria Beckham and Naomi Campbell among the select few on an exclusive guest list goes … just about how you might imagine it would? No one knows how to cook a turkey, but there’s cigarette casserole, La Mer creamed spinach and “the substance.” Bowen Yang as Marc Jacobs sets the tone of the “it girl” gathering as host, while chef Cher (Heidi Gardner) sings her way through scorching the main dish.
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“Acting Teacher”
Anyone who auditions for commercials, and who’s seen the scammy classes advertised to new actors, actually should find this spoof scarily spot-on. Marcello Hernández’s physical comedy and mannerisms bring to mind Martin Short in this performance. He shines as the so-called acting teacher, and Charli fits in seamlessly with her scene partner’s scheme.
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“Here I Go”
Andy Samberg leads a pre-taped musical short about being the neighborhood snitch whose language of love with his wife, played by Charli, is “calling the cops instead of sex.”
“Does it help to know that who I snitched on was white?” he sings, saying his calls are anonymous but promising to show up to the court date. And he’ll be eating popcorn from the gallery.
Charli’s most memorable lyric: “I literally dare you to park within two centimeters of my driveway, b—-.”
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“Shrek: The Musical”
New York City singles in their early 30s find a little action at a performance of Shrek: The Musical. Hey, it’s an alternative for the apps.
Charli’s “barely 31” character, known for “doing number three” in the bathroom and, in this scene, shamelessly standing outside the theater with her mouth stained green, is the one who gets teased over her hookup, but there’s a funny reveal when you find out who else the famous green ogre has already been “smashmouthing.”
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“Wicked Auditions”
SNL joins the chatter about who else might have auditioned for Wicked, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Somehow they’ve gotten their hands on the screen tests!
The sketch shows Charli’s perfect impressions of Adele and Troye Sivan and brings back Bowen Yang’s impression of Charli. Try-outs from Bad Bunny, JoJo Siwa, Sydney Sweeney and more are part of the inside look at the casting process parody.
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“Thanksgiving Baking Championship 2024”
The anticipation of seeing Thanksgiving-themed cakes that are going to be awful and embarrassing sets up the comedy of this scene before any cakes are unveiled. Charli’s straight-faced warning about her submission on the baking competition show — “We Brits don’t do Thanksgiving, so this may get a bit hairy” — can be taken literally. Watch and you’ll see.
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“Mean Cute With Charli XCX”
Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy all seemingly fall in love at first sight with Charli at 30 Rock, in accidental collisions straight out of a rom-com.
“Hey, this might be crazy, but,” Charli sweetly asks Marshall, just before dropping the twist: “Would you ever want to watch where the f— you’re going?”
Clever insults are traded.
A rat is pulled out of Charli’s hair.
Charli nails the comedic delivery and timing, particularly after trolling Please Don’t Destroy when they say her music sucks. “At least you know how I am. I’ve never heard of you,” she says. “We’re on SNL, sweetie,” the guys hit back, to which Charli says, “Once every… six episodes?”