Introduced by Aubrey Plaza (who made her first public appearance following the death of her husband Jeff Baena,)on Sunday (2.16), during SNL50: The Anniversary Special, Miley Cyrus, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, and the Roots teamed up for a heartfelt tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor.
Backed by Questlove on drums and his band, Cyrus and Howard performed a soulful, gritty rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” (which was written by Prince who also served as an SNL musical guest four times,) that became a worldwide hit for O’Connor, spending four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The ladies’ heartfelt rendition was a fitting tribute to the late Irish singer who only appeared once on SNL. While her fans may’ve wanted O’Connor to perform the mega-hit during her musical guest appearance in 1992, Sinéad instead staged a protest against the Catholic Church, performing an a cappella version of Bob Marley’s 1976 track “War” after which she held up a photograph of Pope John Paul II and proceeded to tear it into pieces. “Fight the real enemy,” she declared as she whipped the pieces to the stage floor.
SNL50 featured an all-star cast of alumni, favorite hosts, and musical guests, including Bad Bunny and Paul McCartney. Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon opened the show with a sensitive generation-spanning performance of “Homeward Bound” and Steve Martin’s monologue featured Martin Short and John Mulaney.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Rex Sorgatz from New York
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