SNL took a somber but impressive look back at their history with Prince, capped off by his performance at the #SNL40 after party that appeared online ahead of Saturday’s tribute show. Jimmy Fallon kicked off the episode, featuring a few sketches of “The Prince Show” with Fred Armisen’s great Prince impression taking center stage. But the true star of the show were the many performances from past episodes featuring Prince.
[protected-iframe id=”0f7623837d9dfdc46b38fc9e7b090642-60970621-60064866″ info=”https://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/3024570″ width=”650″ height=”366″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
First up is “Party Up” from 1981, showing the early Prince right on the cusp of breaking through. The he’s back in 1989 for the 15th anniversary of SNL, complete with his Batman era look to perform “Electric Chair” from the soundtrack to the Tim Burton film. Likely the best treat of the night is seeing all the different looks Prince carried throughout the years.
[protected-iframe id=”f1a843c0835949c1b6afb5399d875519-60970621-60064866″ info=”https://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/3023831″ width=”650″ height=”366″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
[protected-iframe id=”9e00570d1a3e5d0a8dce7451bd2f6330-60970621-60064866″ info=”https://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/3024420″ width=”650″ height=”366″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
Then the later bits of the show have Prince in the 2000s, featuring “Fury” and “Beautiful, Loved And Blessed” alongside Tamar. Then there’s the most recent appearance on the Chris Rock hosted episode from season 40, where Prince performs a trio of songs alongside his group 3RDEYEGIRL. It’s odd seeing it now, but Rock was not lying when he told the people in attendance that they were in for a treat.
[protected-iframe id=”80c60465a2e77865e026bd3a76b60d18-60970621-60064866″ info=”https://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/3023835″ width=”650″ height=”366″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
[protected-iframe id=”52627af106bc38cc457087f9a4a198ef-60970621-60064866″ info=”https://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/3023837″ width=”650″ height=”366″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
All and all it’s a fitting tribute on such short notice. A good time to sit back and witness a performer throughout his prime. The only thing missing is the assless pants.
[protected-iframe id=”8b2882af15c4c36e4ef06be4b4f4a47f-60970621-60064866″ info=”https://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/2823750″ width=”650″ height=”366″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
(Via SNL)