Paul Simon was joined by Sabrina Carpenter for a rendition of ‘Homeward Bound’ during the 50th anniversary episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Check it out below.
The duo opened the show last night (February 16) with a duet of the 1966 Simon & Garfunkel song to kick off the evening of celebrations that saw past and present SNL cast members, special guests, and retrospectives celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary.
Introducing the performance, Simon told the audience: “I sang this song with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live in 1976,” to which Carpenter responded: “I was not born then. And neither were my parents.”
The two then delivered the show’s signature introduction: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” Watch their stripped-back rendition below.
Simon’s appearance on the show marked a rare live appearance as he has largely retired from performing live due to his severe hearing loss in 2023. The ‘You Can Call Me Al’ hitmaker has hosted the show four times and has appeared as the musical guest 13 times.
Carpenter returned later on in the show to reprise SNL‘s Domingo series. Ariana Grande and Charli XCX appeared in the two previous iterations that saw a group of bridesmaids expose their friend Kelsey for cheating on her husband-to-be at the bachelorette party, via an out-of-tune spoof of Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’, and then again at her baby shower – with a parody of Chappell Roan‘s ‘Hot To Go’.
This time, Kelsey (Chloe Fineman), her bridesmaids, and her childhood best friend (Carpenter) had taken a trip to New York to see the Broadway production of Wicked before her vow renewal to Andrew Dismukes’ Matthew.
The sketch begins as a parody of ‘Defying Gravity’, then Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong With Me’, and descends into chaos as Domingo (Marcello Hernandez) shows up again, alongside his two brothers played by Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny. Check it out below.
Elsewhere during the show, the likes of Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne and more performed. Paul McCartney closed the weekend of celebrations with a medley performance featuring songs from ‘Abbey Road’, which marked his fifth time performing on the show.
Prior to last night’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special, the weekend began on Friday (February 14) with a 50th-anniversary concert that saw the remaining members of Nirvana reunite with Post Malone on vocal duties.
Elsewhere, David Byrne joined Robyn for a rendition of ‘Dancing On My Own’, Jack White covered Neil Young and Lady Gaga teamed up with Andy Samberg for a surprise medley of Lonely Island hits.
In other news, last week Carpenter shared a new collaborative version of ‘Please Please Please’ featuring Dolly Parton. It comes after the original version was nominated for Song Of The Year at the Grammys 2025, but ultimately lost out to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’.
However, Carpenter did take home two awards on the night: Best Pop Solo Performance (‘Espresso’) and Best Pop Vocal Album (‘Short n’ Sweet’).
Meanwhile, the singer is due to perform at next month’s BRITs 2025 where she will receive the prestigious Global Success award. Additionally, she is in the running for International Artist Of The Year and International Song Of The Year (‘Espresso’).
Carpenter will embark on the UK and European leg of her ‘Short n’ Sweet’ tour next month, before headlining BST Hyde Park in London this summer. Find any remaining tickets here (UK/Ireland).
She’ll also top the bill at Primavera Sound alongside Charli XCX and Chappell Roan in June.
In other news, Carpenter has won the praise of Madonna for her new Vogue magazine cover, after collaborating with the Queen Of Pop’s longtime photographer on the shoot.