One of the most consistently entertaining aspects of Saturday Night Live is when the week’s musical guest pulls double duty and shows up in a sketch or two. What’s even better is when said musical guest is actually, you know, funny.
There are loads of examples going all the way back to the iconic series’ early days when Paul Simon complained to creator Lorne Michaels about having to perform “Still Crazy After All These Years” in a turkey get up.
More recently, Rihanna starred in an Emmy-award nominated digital short with Andy Samberg. There was Lady Gaga poking a little fun at herself and her image. And Beyonce teamed up with Justin Timberlake for a performance of “Single Ladies” that proved how versatile Timberlake can be.
And, of course, the ’90s provided some of the most fertile ground for musical guest crossovers, from Madonna and Barbra Streisand on “Coffee Talk” with Mike Myers to Myers and Mick Jagger with their dressing room mirror to Sir Paul McCartney reassuring Chris Farley that reports of his death were indeed a hoax.
Selena Gomez is this week’s musical guest, and she’s proven to have some acting chops having co-starred in Spring Breakers, making a cameo in The Big Short and appearing in the upcoming Neighbors 2. Check out the video above to see some of the best instances of musical guests starring in sketches. Maybe Gomez will wind up making the next cut.