Justin Bieber’s comeback year has lived up to be much more than fans may have expected, and he added to it on Saturday with a performance on Saturday Night Live. After a nearly five year absence the pop singer returned with his “Yummy” single — one that peaked at No. 2 on the singles chart — and his Changes album soon after.
Unable to tour his new album as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Bieber not only pushed the tour back to 2021, but has seemingly began the rollout of what could be a second project with two new singles, “Holy” with Chance The Rapper and “Lonely” with Benny Blanco. Performing the songs for the first time, Bieber stopped by Saturday Night Live to debut live performances of his new singles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rml0FwAL8H0
Kicking things off with “Holy,” Bieber stood alone on a dimly-light stage supported by a neon-blue cross that was brandished behind him to perform the song. After delivering the first two verses and the bridge of the song, Bieber welcomed Chance The Rapper to the stage where he rattled off his verse on the track to complete the performance, one that ended with Bieber fighting back tears as he crouched down to hide them.
Soon after, Bieber returned to the stage to perform his newly-released single, “Lonely,” with Benny Blanco. He started things off sitting in front of the mirror in what appeared to be a dressing room just as the younger version of himself did in the “Lonely” music video. Bieber would slowly make his way out to the SNL stage while performing the song and showing off some serious emotion in the process. He would end the performance on stage under a singular spotlight, one that helped accentuate the somber mood of the song.
This marks the second time this year that Bieber has stopped by SNL as the pop singer made a visit to the late-night show back in February to perform “Yummy” and “Intentions.” You can watch both of Bieber’s SNL performance in the videos above.
