It was announced Wednesday that joke-folk pop cover duo Karmin, which became popular thanks to its “ironic” YouTube covers of Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now” and Lil Wayne’s “6 Foot 7 Foot,” will perform on the Feb. 11 episode of “SNL.” Which ugh.
“SNL” has a very solid batting average when it comes to booking its musical guests, so how did this one slip past the gatekeepers? The show’s seal of approval is usually reserved for career artists or up-and-comers with a genuine buzz — argue about this weekend’s musical act Lana Del Rey all you want, but the time is right for her to make a big splash on the national stage — but the Karmin booking seems like a pretty heinous botch job. Even though the group has an album of originals due out later this year, its booking seems like an awkward attempt to cater to the comments section-dwelling online demo. What, Rebecca Black wasn’t available?
What other blunders has “SNL” made over its 37-year history? Here’s a short list of some of the worst musical acts to ever play Studio 8H, artists who should have never been on the show in the first place or who played and then quickly disappeared after. (I’d embed clips, but “SNL” is notoriously protective of its content online. Hrmph.)
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- Chris Gaines (host Garth Brooks), Nov. 13, 1999: When Brooks hosted a few weeks before Y2K, he brought his short-lived wig-clad altar ego along with him, and there’s a reason the Mango sketch from that night was more memorable than anything else.
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- Ashlee Simpson (host Jude Law), Oct. 23, 2004: Simpson committed the mother of all live performance faux pas on the “SNL” stage when she began singing her second song (“Autobiography”) while her pre-recorded vocals reverted back to her first song (“Pieces of Me”). She did a jig, later blamed acid reflux, and soon fell off the musical map.
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- All Saints (host Greg Kinnear), April 11, 1998: Quick, name an All Saint! The post-Spice Girls UK girl group didn’t last long on these shores, though “Never Ever” remains a pleasant pop treat.
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- J-Kwon (hosts Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen), May 15, 2004: The St. Louis rapper performed on “SNL’s” season 29 finale, doing his party anthem “Tipsy,” which climbed all the way to No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. He was barely heard from ever again.
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- E.G. Daily (hosts Jimmy Breslin and Marvin Hagler), May 17, 1986: The actress, who played Pee-Wee Herman’s love interest Dottie in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” also had a brief pop career in the mid-to-late 1980s. It didn’t make much of an impression, but Daily went on numerous voice roles, including the lead in “Babe: Pig in the City.”
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- Dionne Farris (host Damon Wayans), April 18, 1995: Farris scored a couple of hits with Arrested Development, but her solo career was far less illustrious. Following her 1995 debut “Wild Seed – Wild Flower,” 12 years passed before its follow up emerged.
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- Eagle-Eye Cherry (host David Spade), Nov. 7, 1998: Ah, “Save Tonight.” And then, what else? Cherry never charted again in the U.S.
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- Ms. Dynamite (host Queen Latifah), March 8, 2003: The U.K. rapper came on the scene with a big buzz with her 2002 album “A Little Deeper,” but American audiences never quite “got” her and she failed to — wait for it — blow up. Get it? Dynamite? You get it.
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- Jessie J. (host Zach Galifianakis), March 12, 2011: The full court press to make Jessie J. happen in 2011 began on “SNL,” and continued all year long. And she still hasn’t happened.
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- Karmin will be the musical guest on the Feb. 11 “SNL,” with host Zooey Deschanel.
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