Katy Perry Returns to ‘SNL’ With Trippy Performance

Katy Perry is no stranger to Saturday Night Live, and she returned to the famous stage on Jan. 29. Perry served as the musical guest in 2010, 2013, and 2017, and she also hosted in 2011. This time around, she was appearing alongside host Willem Dafoe in promotion of her Las Vegas residency and her latest single.

Perry brought her signature cartoon style and high energy to her first performance with her latest single with Alesso, “When I’m Gone.” Perry owned the stage for the mushroom-themed number, clad in red spandex and flanked by dancers dressed as mushrooms. In typical Perry fashion, the theatrics and choreography were on point, but not at the expense of her signature pipes. Later on, she performed her 2019 song “Never Really Over.”

2022 is shaping up to be a big year for Perry as she enjoys a highly successful Las Vegas residency called Play. The show was initially set to run from Dec. 29, 2021, until March 19, 2022, but high ticket demand led to the addition of 16 summer dates well. 

Perry, who shares one daughter, Daisy, with fiance Orlando Bloom, opened up in a recent interview about what prepping for a concert looks like for her. “Well, people think backstage is pretty scandalous, but for me, for a decade, it’s pretty much been the same,” she told PEOPLE. “We’re just getting ready, we’re eating well, we’re doing a pre-show workout. We’re doing lots of different business things and really sticking to the meditation. So the [things] that I do, and have done for over a decade, has given me a lot of help with fatigue and exhaustion. Especially getting through these shows, because I think this is probably the most physically grueling show I’ve done.”