6 Moments You Can’t Miss from Harry Styles’ Double-Duty SNL

Third time’s the charm! Harry performed on SNL with One Direction in 2014, as a solo artist in 2017, and now he joins the elite list of stars who have both hosted and performed on the same night.

Written by Ellen Daly

6. “Lights Up” Live

With an expanded band and a sequin jumpsuit, Harry performed his upcoming album’s lead single “Lights Up” for the first time ever. Putting a twist on his own song, the former boy band member showed his range by utilizing a trumpet player and a small choir to slow down the pop groove into more of a ballad. Branching out from the traditional format of his first touring band, Harry proved with this performance the versatility he’s striving for on his sophomore LP.

5. “Funeral DJs”

Harry and Chris Redd teamed up to channel everyone’s favorite early 2010s pop-EDM group, LMFAO. The irreverent, instant classic sketch had the two DJing on top of a deceased grandma’s casket, alternating between traditional funeral ballads (literally OG Sarah McLachlan) and EDM stylings you would expect at a rave. Unironically, this sketch could transform the future of funerals ― who wouldn’t want Harry Styles dancing on their casket and singing “She’s in heaven smoking blunts”?

4. “Childbirth Class”

This sketch was Harry’s time to shine. He and Heidi Gardner played an expecting Icelandic couple who had traveled to the US on “lip-syncing visas” and oozed with enthusiasm at their childbirth classes. Harry’s excitement was palpable (at times it was easy to forget that he’s not a young Nordic man thrilled to have his first child), and his clear love for comedy was evident. One line that sums it up best? “Sky’s the limit on dadding!”

3. “Sara Lee”

In this absolute rollercoaster of a sketch, Harry plays a social media manager for the bread company Sara Lee who repeatedly mistakes the company’s Instagram for his personal Instagram. The social media manager’s online persona is quite offbeat, boyish, queer, and thirsty ― essentially using the language of a young Twitter stan. He thirst-comments on Nick Jonas’s Instagram as well as that of a “random fashion twink,” and uses his corporate power to DM Shawn Mendes. The sketch feels reminiscent of a Twitter savvy teenager’s fan fiction, and personally, I’m all for it.

2. Harry’s Monologue

The perfect opener to a great show, the singer seems to do it all in this skit. Harry’s charisma shined as he juggled between faux-piano playing, teasing a One Direction reunion, joking about his love life and career, and suggesting that SNL isn’t funny anymore because they don’t do cocaine. His step into the spotlight as host felt all too natural and proved that he is more than just a musician: he’s self-aware, charming, and born to entertain.

1. “Watermelon Sugar” Live

After releasing the track at the same time that his SNL episode went live, Harry premiered “Watermelon Sugar” on national television. The song’s jazzy, groovy feel shows it was written to be performed in this nature, and Harry proved just that. He continued to utilize the bigger band in this debut,, never letting his natural stage presence distract from his respect for the often forgotten band.

Honorary Mention: “Jason”

Cut-for-time classic “Jason” has Harry playing Kyle Mooney’s younger, more popular brother, Jason. The sketch portrays Harry as the high school jock of every Wattpad fanfiction reader’s dreams, but gives us more than we could ever ask for when Harry Styles himself breaks into a rap about sex, the pressures of high school popularity, and how he secretly longs for his brother’s intelligence and creativity. The show may not have aired the sketch, but this rare treat should not be ignored.