SNL performances are always hit or miss, but for the show’s 40th anniversary special, they couldn’t have picked two better musical guests. Sure, Paul McCartney and Paul Simon were great (though not so much together), but the real standouts were surprisingly Miley Cyrus and Kanye West. Miley dug into her country roots for a killer cover of Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover†(I bet this becomes her new “Jolene†moment).
Later, Kanye took the stage (introduced by Christopher Walken, so you knew it’d be good) for a medley of songs, including “Jesus Walks,†“Only One,†and the live debut of “Wolves†with Sia and Vic Mensa. Like all of Kanye’s iconic SNL appearances, he went full-on performance art, wearing gray contact lenses (to look like a wolf, duh) and all three sang while crawling around on the floor. Now just imagine if we’d gotten that long-rumored Kanye and Miley “Black Skinhead†remix as an added bonus.