Miley Cyrus returned to Saturday Night Live for a surprise cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” and it mostly received praise for her stripped-down arrangement. However, one aspect of the segment divided the audience: the lightning. Cyrus’ performance was a part of SNL’s latest At Home special, meaning that every segment was produced at actors’ and guests’ homes. Being filmed far from the NBC studio at New York City’s Rockefeller Center, that meant that Cyrus would have to set up her own performance area at her home, much like Coldplay’s Chris Martin did on the April 11 episode.
The “Slide Away” and “Mother’s Daughter” singer obliged with an outdoor performance filmed at night, lit only by a firepit and some sort of red ambient lighting. Cyrus’ guitarist, who filmed his part at a separate location, also used red lighting. While it definitely created a vibe, it was also somewhat hard to see.
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It is worth noting that Martin also used a drastically different look, but his decision to use black-and-white covered for any limitations caused by low video quality. Red lighting is just a bit harsher to capture on camera, and Cyrus performance exemplified that. Fans at home were fairly torn on the decision to light the scene in that way, especially since it was so far from the typical SNL look. However, others loved the aesthetic Cyrus was going for. Scroll through to see what SNL viewers had to say about Cyrus’ lightning choice.
i am watching snl but i do not have the energy for a live tweet but i just wanna say. what the fuck was that red lighting about.
— a. (@settledsoft) April 26, 2020
This Miley performance on SNL is a great example why concert photographers hate red lighting #snl
— SkaPunkPhotos (Photography by Bryan Kremkau) (@skapunkphotos) April 26, 2020
Hmm, Miley did pretty well. Though she was an interesting shade of red. #SNL
— Craig Anderson (@SeatownCraig) April 26, 2020
Miley Cyrus first performance: 9/10
— Michael Stone (@Michael__Stone) April 26, 2020
I’m down for some Pink Floyd. And great lighting. Oh, and she can sing. #SNL #SNLAtHome
I’m not sure about those red lights but Miley Cyrus just killed it on @nbcsnl
— Dustin Kalman (@kingofallkings) April 26, 2020
This is such a hodgepodge of cringe and LOL. WISH YOU WERE HERE was a nice try but wtf with the lighting. At least I didn’t wake my neighbors as I sang along. WU was done wrong just give each 3 minutes this is 80′ MTV Where can I find Mint Pringles? All in All a bit bloated #SNL pic.twitter.com/0lzBkAgZMT
— Beatrix Hephalmeyer (@WTFareyouhere) April 26, 2020
It looked like they filmed it at night in her backyard. Super moody lighting, she looked stunning!!! She was wearing all black
— Miley News (@SocialSmiler) April 26, 2020
Okay but where do I get red ambient patio lights like Miley because this is a whole DAMN VIBE! #SNLAtHome pic.twitter.com/h7NyaQNjBI
— Caitlin (@kikabelle) April 26, 2020