Olivia Rodrigo pulled double duty on Saturday Night Live on May 2, hosting the show for the first time while also performing two songs from her upcoming album. But before she took the stage for her first musical number, rock legend Debbie Harry walked out from the wings to introduce her.
Harry's cameo was brief and unannounced. The Blondie frontwoman, who pioneered the new wave scene from 1974 onward and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, offered a pointed co-sign to a younger artist whose guitar-driven pop carries some of that same edge. Rodrigo then performed "drop dead" in an airy green and pink dress, rocking through the boisterous, energetic track. The single, released April 17 and accompanied by a music video directed by Petra Collins at the Louvre, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is her fourth chart-topper, and all four have opened at the summit.
Rodrigo opened the episode with a monologue that revisited her Disney Channel beginnings on Bizaardvark, took a jab at former co-star Jake Paul, and included a musical parody of "drivers license" reworked into a story about getting a Real ID at the DMV. She had appeared on SNL twice before as musical guest, in May 2021 promoting Sour and in December 2023 behind Guts. This was her first time hosting.
For her second performance, Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie introduced the previously unreleased ballad "begged." Rodrigo performed the song seated on a swing, a staging choice that mirrors her upcoming album's cover art, which shows her upside-down on a swing. The track is subdued and melancholic in tone, a sharp contrast to the energy of "drop dead." "All that I want is to know undoubtedly that you just have eyes for me," she sang. "All that I want is to sit here silently and watch movies on TV." On supporting vocals was Weyes Blood, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter.
Storrie, 26, made his own SNL hosting debut on the February 28 episode this season. He and Rodrigo both hosted in the same SNL season 51, though they did not appear in each other's sketches. His appearance fueled ongoing online speculation about whether he or Heated Rivalry co-star Hudson Williams would attend the Met Gala, set for Monday night. Storrie has recently landed brand ambassadorships with Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co.
The new album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, is Rodrigo's third studio record. She has described it as a collection of "sad love songs." Speaking to British Vogue last month, she said, "I realized all my favorite romantic love songs were beautiful because they had a tinge of fear or yearning in them." She also acknowledged the creative difficulty of writing from happiness. "When you're experiencing that you're connected to someone, or feeling really good, you're not in your head thinking about bittersweet poems," she said. The album was produced by longtime collaborator Dan Nigro, who also produced Sour and Guts.
Rodrigo has had a busy stretch heading into the release. She joined Addison Rae onstage at Coachella earlier this month to debut "drop dead" live for the first time, and played a one-night-only show at The Echo in Los Angeles last week. Her 65-date Unraveled Tour begins in September in Hartford, Connecticut, runs through North America into February with a final date in Brooklyn, and then continues through Europe, wrapping in Barcelona in early May 2027.
You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love is due June 12.
