Since its premiere in 1975, Saturday Night Live has been one of the biggest bucket-list performance slots for musicians. But to host the legendary sketch-comedy program? That’s when you know you’ve really made it as a star.
And for many musicians over the years, that dream has become reality. Everyone from Ray Charles to the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Madonna, Britney Spears, Drake, Taylor Swift have, at various points in SNL history, piloted different episodes of the series.
It’s not an easy gig — especially for hosts who pull double duty and serve as their own musical guests — with show leads only getting one week of preparation before they are tasked with delivering live monologues and playing absurd characters in skits that challenge them to break away from their artistic images. But with the help of creator Lorne Michaels and a rotating cast of some of the world’s best comedians and joke writers, time and time again, musicians have successfully added 30 Rock to the list of venues they’ve conquered, adding their names to the show’s ever-expanding host history book.
As SNL celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, Billboard is rounding up every musician who’s ever hosted the flagship NBC program — not counting stars like Bruce Willis or Eddie Murphy, who may have musical proclivities but are much more famous for their non-musical pursuits. From Paul Simon to Charli XCX and more, keep reading to see all the artists who’ve led the show — plus their respective seasons, episodes and musical guests — in chronological order below.
