Sometimes there’s just no room for the musical guest to get a word in edgewise in the weekly Saturday Night Live promo videos. This week’s preview is no exception, as Japanese Breakfast singer Michelle Zauner is left speechless as two SNL vets go ham on the signature vocal stylings of this week’s host, Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne.
“Hi, I’m Natasha Lyonne and I’m hosting the season finale of SNL this week with musical guest Japanese Breakfast!,” Lyonne says enthusiastically in her rode-hard-and-put-away-scratchy voice while wearing a modified Canadian tuxedo. She gets a warm smile from Zauner, but the actress is not as psyched about the “compliments” showered on her cast members Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson.
“You’ve got such an iconic voice Natasha,” McKinnon says as Lyonne croaks out a thank you. “You kind of sound like if Marge Simpson was real.” Lyonne shrugs and says, “not really a compliment,” as Thompson doubles-down on the non-pliments. “Yeah, your voice is amazing,” he says (“good start” Lyonne replies). “You sound like if sandpaper could talk.”
“Horrible finish,” Lyonne glass gargles back in her New Yawk yawp. “You sound like every secretary in a Monsters Inc. movie,” McKinnon realizes. “Okay, hurtful,” Lyonne crackles as Thompson tells her she sounds like she’s had COVID for 1,000 years. “Hate that!” the actress rasps. By the end, she dubs herself “sufficiently insulted” by McKinnon’s “rusty kazoo” zinger.
The show will mark both Lyonne and Zauner’s SNL debuts. After an action-packed 47th season, SNL will go off the air for the summer following Saturday’s (May 21) show, which airs on NBC at 11: 30 p.m. ET.
Watch the promo below.
