One Direction on Saturday Night Live proves skeptics wrong with talent and goofy humor

One Direction on Saturday Night Live proves skeptics wrong with talent and goofy humor

By Cory Lamz Mon., Apr. 9 2012 at 1:30 PM

Update 4/12/12: Hot on the heels of its appearance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend, One Direction has announced a date at the Pepsi on Tuesday, July, 24. Tickets on sale next Saturday.

Sofia Vergara hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend. Besides Vergara playing up her sex-symbol status -- cleavage, accent and all -- and Kristen Wiig returning to form as evil schoolgirl Gilly, boy-band explosion One Direction delivered a solid appearance in what may have been one of the show's most entertaining episodes this side of 2012.

Admittedly, we were a bit skeptical when we heard One Direction -- or 1D, as the five guys are known by fans -- were going to play Saturday Night Live. Were they ready? Or would they follow in the wake of other premature musical guests in a Lana Del Rey-ian mess of a performance? They had only released their debut album, Up All Night, a few weeks earlier and, though it dropped at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, it was backed only by one single so far and a bit of boy-band charm.

Luckily for fans, especially the ones who waited ever so patiently outside of NBC Studios in New York City hoping for a glimpse of the guys, One Direction didn't disappoint. The fivesome -- Nial Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson -- rocked "What Makes You Beautiful" and "One Thing" in ever-stylish fashion. The choreography was age-appropriate, but nevertheless fun and true to form for a boy band.

The act's more notable appearance on the show, however, was guesting on the skit The Manuel Ortiz Show, an accent-heavy talk show led by Fred Armisen as Manuel Ortiz. The boys, a big musical gamble for Lorne Michaels and crew, proved their worth and sense of humor by appearing as Vergara's five sons in the skit: Carlito, Pepito, Martito, Migrito and Nick.

So good on One Direction for raising the bar as both the musical guest and a guest appearance. The boys follow in the success of Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake as musical guests with a funny bone.

While Saturday Night Live hasn't confirmed any new musical guests yet for the remainder of the season, besides Gotye -- and likely Kimbra, since she is also currently touring with him -- for this Saturday's show, hosted by Josh Brolin. Our predictions for possible guests: Bruce Springsteen or Nicki Minaj,who released a massive new album last week, making her a ripe candidate for guest.

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Tags:

1D, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Styles, Kristen Wiig, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Nial Horran, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, One Thing, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, Saturday Night Live, Sofia Vergara, Up All Night, video One Direction on Saturday Night Live, What Makes You Beautiful, Zayn Malik

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hey i love u guys i just attended this show on saturday these boys really sang very well i must say this...good going guyss carry on......

Payton_vege

Amazing write-up! This could aid plenty of people find out more about this particular issue. Are you keen to integrate video clips coupled with these? It would absolutely help out. Your conclusion was spot on and thanks to you; I probably won’t have to describe everything to my pals. I can simply direct them here!

Jmpmk2

Um, I'm not sure who these people are or why they're supposed to matter, but that is about as live as your local karaoke bar.

It's what we call, in the business, "canned music" or a backing track. This is no more live than Ashlee Simpson, and will go away just as quickly. The only difference is the guy at the soundboard pressed "play" on time.

Holly

*squinting* Not sure if you're sincere or you were just terrified by the amount of 17 year old girls attacking you in the comment section last time.

If sincere then I agree. They were very good music guests if not a bit nervous at first.

Cory_Lamz

Thanks for the skepticism, Holly. I too would be skeptic in reading this post after my prediction post about One Direction on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. However, I was genuinely impressed by the 1D performance on Saturday - they sang live and on-key, a nice surprise for a pop act, and their on-stage energy was contagious. You couldn't ask for anything more from a young boy-band.