Top 10 Best Musical Sketches on SNL

Top 10 Musical Sketches on SNL

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Musical Sketches on SNL.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the funniest SNL sketches (rather than Digital Shorts) with a musical theme at their center. We’ll be excluding musical monologues however.

Which musical sketch do you enjoy singing along to? Drop some bars in the comments below!

#10: “Airport Sushi”

Since a certain lobster-themed sketch, John Mulaney’s musical skits are always highly anticipated. This one, taking place at LaGuardia airport, became the third installment of the series and highlighted the more… dodgy elements of air travel. As Pete Davidson tries to buy airport sushi, John Mulaney summons the Phantom of LaGuardia to warn him of the consequences. This ignites a hilarious Broadway-spoof medley with references to “West Side Story”, “Annie”, “Wicked” and “Little Shop of Horrors”. We even get cameos from Jake Gyllenhaal and “Talking Heads’” David Byrne, who parodies his own song “Road to Nowhere”. Sketches like this make fans nostalgic for Mulaney’s time as a writer on the show.

#9: “Broadway All-Star Super Bowl Halftime Spectacular”

When Bruno Mars and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are forced to cancel their Super Bowl Halftime performance, a group of Broadway actors step in at the last minute. Taran Killam gives a brilliant performance as Peyton Manning, joined by Melissa McCarthy as the “Whomp Whomping” Mama Pass. They’re soon joined by the tap-dancing antagonist, Richard Sherman, played by Kenan Thompson. Together, this strong and hilarious ensemble joyfully hit one musical theatre cliché after another. They even throw in a “Cats” reference in their finale because, well, why wouldn’t you? By the end, we’re like, Bruno Mars who? This sketch is an underrated musical masterpiece.

#8: “Drivers License”

After Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Drivers License” first hit the airwaves, it received a lot of attention, even inspiring an entire SNL sketch. A group of guys - including guest host Regé-Jean Pages - take a brief interlude from their game of pool to listen to this song on the jukebox. At first, they pretend not to be particularly familiar with it, but it soon becomes clear that they’re a lot more invested than they initially let on. The best part is when they come together for an emotional and impassioned sing-along. It also just happened to air on Rodrigo’s 18th birthday, prompting the singer to call it “the best birthday present ever”.

#7: “Lunch Lady Land”

Adam Sandler made his musical mark on the show through recurring characters like “Opera Man” and the super popular “Chanukah Song”. However, one of his most absurd and hysterical musical moments is this ode to the lunch lady. Singing from the lunch lady’s perspective, he recounts the tale of the food uprising and how Sloppy Joe, played by Kevin Nealon, saved the day. Even Sandler struggles not to laugh at Chris Farley’s overly-enthusiastic performance as the titular lunch lady. It’s such a bizarre concept that we just have to wonder what was going on in the writer’s room when they came up with this idea.

#6: “The Lawrence Welk Show”

This sketch spoofs a variety show of the same name which ran on ABC in the mid-twentieth century, and later on PBS. Fred Armisen plays the big band leader with an impossible-to-place accent. He introduces the “attractive and flirtatious” Maharelle sisters who’ve come “all the way from the Finger Lakes”. Three of the sisters were inspired by Betty and Judy from “White Christmas” … and then there’s Dooneese, played by Kristen Wiig. It was the popularity of Wiig’s quirky character that turned this into a recurring sketch. Since then, the likes of Anne Hathaway, Betty White, Elton John, and, perhaps most amusingly, Melissa McCarthy have featured in the sketch.

#5: “Bodega Bathroom”

A predecessor to the madcap “Airport Sushi'', this time Mulaney chose a subject that he called a “taboo New York rite of passage” in an interview with Vulture. When a customer asks to use the bodega’s bathroom, he finds himself in a “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory''-like situation. The bodega man is joined by an array of colorful characters in a parody of Broadway hits. We hear warnings from the bodega cat, cockroaches, a Grizabella-inspired Virgin Mary Candle, and even the toilet itself - oh, and of course ancient Sour Patch Kids. By the time everyone comes together for the final tune, we’re ready for an encore.

#4: “Tidal”

You may remember Ariana Grande debuting her talent for musical impressions on “The Tonight Show”. However, for many, this sketch was the moment we first learned just how far her range can go. A power cut threatens an “incident free” day at Tidal. Fortunately, Chloe, the shy intern, single-handedly saves the day with her impressive arsenal of impressions. She expertly covers Britney Spears and Shakira, although her Rihanna is a tad wobbly - and don’t ask her to do Ariana Grande. She then brings it home with 90s icons Céline Dion and Whitney Houston. It might not be the funniest SNL sketch but it’s certainly one of the most memorable.

#3: “A Song From SNL: I Wish It Was Christmas Today”

While every decade has its definitive Christmas hit, for many SNL fans, this was it for the early 2000s. Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon sing and play the instruments, while Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan complete the performance with some excellent dance moves. We’re not sure that the guys even realized just how huge this song would end up being. What was meant to be a one-time performance soon became a recurring hit. It even started popping up during other holiday seasons, just so they could remind us of their love of Christmas. Heck, even the lead singer of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas, covered it.

#2: “More Cowbell”

In this spoof of VH1’s documentary series “Behind the Music”, we go behind the scenes of Blue Öyster Cult recording “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”. Christopher Walken plays the band’s producer who insists that the track needs, you guessed it, more cowbell. What made this sketch so legendary was Will Ferrell’s overzealous performance and his tight-fitting t-shirt that only seemed to get shorter by the second. It was so hilariously ridiculous that it didn’t take long until the entire cast started to break. According to Will Ferrel, on an episode of “The Tonight Show”, fans to this day, refer to “More Cowbell” around Christopher Walken. You know a skit has done exceptionally well when it spurs a catchphrase so iconic that it still haunts the actor.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Civil War Soldiers”
Nothing Raises Morale Quite Like “Party At My Parents House”

“Aladdin”
We Bet Jasmine Wishes She’d Stayed on the Ground Now

“How a Bill Does Not Become a Law”
An Entertaining & Informative Spoof of “Schoolhouse Rock!”

“Cobras & Panthers”
There’s No Battle Quite Like a Dance Battle

“Bunny Business”
If You Haven’t Seen This Sketch, You Must Be Hopping Mad!

#1: “Diner Lobster”

The premise of this sketch starts off simple enough. A guy unexpectedly orders lobster in a diner. So we hardly expected the full-on elaborate “Les Misérables”-inspired performance that followed. We see Kenan as Jean Valjean, Kate as Clawsette and the wait staff soon form the barricades. Mulaney actually wrote this sketch with Colin Jost while he was still a writer on the show, but it never made it to air until much later. Fun fact: it even won an award from PETA. Mulaney has a unique way of taking a simple idea and escalating it drastically, and this sketch in particular is absolute perfection.