‘SNL’: Sara Bareilles Performances Leave Social Media Talking

Sara Bareilles made her Saturday Night Live debut and left many viewers wishing for more.

The singer-songwriter stopped by the NBC variety sketch series on April 6 to perform songs off her album, Amidst the Chaos, which she released one day before the appearance.

Many fans of the singer took to Twitter to praise her return to pop music, many remembering the success of her hit 2007 song “Love Song.”

“Kit Harington said Sara’s name with as much enthusiasm as I would,” one Twitter user wrote.

“If Sara Bareilles isnt performing Love Song then what are we really doing here?” another joked.

“[Sara Bareilles] has the voice of an angel,” a third user commented.

“I hear that voice so much, I can listen to this all night. God bless [Sara Bareilles]!” another fan commented.

Some Saturday Night Live viewers were not as happy with the show’s choice of musical guest, criticizing her style of music and even accused her of lip-syncing.

“This is awful. We want Weird Al!” one Twitter user commented.

“I absolutely love Sara Bareilles but did it look like she was lip syncing? She definitely does not need to do that,” another user commented.

While Bareilles is known for her music, she has made a name for herself with her work in musical theater. The singer starred and wrote the music for the hit Broadway musical, Waitress, based on the Keri Russell film.

The singer paid tribute to her Waitress legacy in a hilarious pre-taped sketch where she sang one of the musical’s hit songs with Kate McKinnon playing Theresa May.

The Jesus Christ Superstar Live star revealed in an interview with Apple Music that she was inspired to write a new album after President Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

“The election was a huge catalyst for me wanting to turn back into making a songwriter record,” she said. “I wanted to talk about what it’s like to be a woman right now in a time when it feels like the world is on fire.”

Bareilles revealed to the streaming service that all the breakup songs on her new album are about Barack Obama.

“When I’m like, ‘Come Back,’ it’s about the Obamas. Both of them. I miss them both to the ends of the earth, so I wrote songs about it,” Bareilles said, when talking about the track “No Such Thing.”

Aside from her music and Broadway work, Bareilles is stepping into the world of television production with an autobiographical half-hour dramedy titled Little Voice for Apple TV+.

The 10-episode series will feature original music from Bareilles and is also being produced by J.J. Abrams and Bareilles’ producing partner Jessie Nelson.

“It’s about a young girl in New York City who’s a fledgling songwriter and singer and has a really special gift and … doesn’t know what to do with it yet,” she recently told Reuters.

Saturday Night Live airs weekly at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The next episode will air April 13 featuring host Emma Stone and musical guest BTS.

Photo credit: Will Heath/NBC