Last night Gorillaz were the musical guest on SNL, marking Damon Albarn's debut on the show. Their new UK #1 album The Mountain just came out a couple of weeks ago, but they only played one song from it: "The Moon Cave," during which they were joined by Asha Puthli, Black Thought, and Anoushka Shankar. They also played their 25-year-old debut single "Clint Eastwood" with Del The Funky Homosapien. They were introduced by host Ryan Gosling, wearing a prosthetic cyclops eye from a previous sketch. It was the actor's fourth time hosting SNL, not fifth, which was apparently news to him.
Early on in Gosling's opening monologue, he noticed a familiar face in the crowd: Harry Styles, who's pulling double duty on next week's SNL episode to promote his new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. Styles was playing it cool but Gosling took issue with the rest of the SNL cast and crew favoring the singer: "Get me to God's country," cast member Sarah Sherman said upon finding out Styles was in the audience, definitely in reference to an infamous SNL moment from last year. Then Gosling led the cast in a rendition of Styles' hit "Sign Of The Times," which just so happens to be featured in the movie Gosling's promoting, Project Hail Mary. A big night for reviving artists' debut singles!
In other music-related moments in the episode, Colin Jost (as Pete Hegseth) sang some Papa Roach in the cold open, James Austin Johnson shredded a little guitar during Weekend Update as a church bandleader, Reba McEntire caught a stray in a sketch about a disruptive wedding guest, and in a pre-taped sketch, Gosling sang as an eccentric baker giving patrons a tour of his famous factory.
Mmm Betty the cat did a whoopsie
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) March 8, 2026
