Harry Styles is no stranger to the “Saturday Night Live” stage, having performed many shows both as a member of One Direction and during his solo career. He has previously performed as a musical guest three times with One Direction in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and he returned once again in 2017 as a solo act.
Styles returned to Studio 8H on March 14, following the release of his latest album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.”
The singer was double booked that day as he graced the SNL stage as both the host and the musical guest. He previously pulled off the double role in 2019 following the release of his second studio album, “Fine Line.”
Styles’ performance was highly anticipated by his fans and viewers alike. The frenzy around his show was amplified by his cameo during Ryan Gosling’s hosted episode on March 7. He had shown up as an audience member during Gosling’s opening monologue and sent the movie star into an insecurity-induced free fall.
In his opening monologue, Styles recapped his life and career, poking fun at his perceived identity of being “the fruit man” because his previous albums have all featured songs about fruit.
“I realized I’d spent half of my life in music, touring, creating albums and making songs about fruit that people think were about sex,” Styles said. “I just really like fruit, guys.”
He also addressed longstanding accusations of him “queerbaiting” to which he replied, “maybe you don’t know everything about me, dad.” Keeping the playful response to these accusations and the title of his album, Styles ended his monologue by not kissing a single female SNL cast member, joking he doesn’t kiss “all the time,” but he kissed cast member Ben Marshall and said, “Now that’s queerbaiting.”
Styles appeared in a variety of sketches ranging from a hilarious courtroom sketch featuring cast member Marcello Hernández as comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, to a chaotic pre-taped parody of the TV show “The Pitt.”
The sketch “MAHAspital” rejects the “phony liberal science” of “The Pitt,” focusing on the healing powers of raw milk, crystals and protein, all essentials of the Make America Healthy Again campaign. Styles channeled Noah Wyle’s Dr. Robby, diagnosing patients and prescribing steak and beef tallow as the proper treatment of care.
Styles performed “Dance No More” from his new album after being introduced by Gosling, a fitting way to return the favor from the previous week. The stage was lit up in an explosion of color and a celebration of the groovy disco sound. Styles graced the stage again to perform “Coming Up Roses,” a slower ballad about navigating intimacy and closeness in a relationship.
The performance was introduced by Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel and featured Styles at the piano accompanied by a moving string arrangement.Styles also showcased his singing and dancing in the sketch “Sparkle of the Sea” and the pre-taped music video “She’s an Irish Dancer,” in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
The singer closed off the episode thanking Simon, Gosling and the entire SNL cast. He signed off with the reminder to “be kind to each other and look after each other,” and ended the show with his infamous line: “Treat people with kindness.”
