“Saturday Night Live” might have just located its next Justin Timberlake.
Drake, who served as the host and musical guest of Saturday’s edition of “SNL,” excelled from start-to-finish, providing the combination of energy, charisma and comedic sensibility rarely offered by celebrity hosts.
While inconsistent writing (and a dreadful edition of “Weekend Update”) might have prevented the episode from reigning as an all-time classic, it was not enough to prevent the “Degrassi” star-turned-rapper from impressing in his first turn as host.
That he was strong in his pair of musical performances–the first a medley of his “Started from the Bottom” and “Trophies,” the second a medley of “Hold On, We’re Going Home” and “From Time” that included a guest spot from Jhene Aiko–added to the raves surrounding the episode.
Buzzworthy due to Drake’s appearance, the episode also featured the “SNL” debut of new featured player Sasheer Zamata. Zamata becomes the first black female cast member since Maya Rudolph’s departure in 2007.
NBC revealed videos from all the sketches, including the music video “Resolution Revolution” (featuring Drake) and digital short “I Know” (not featuring Drake).