On last night’s “Saturday Night Live,” musical guest Cee Lo Green didn’t just perform two songs from his 2010 “The Lady Killer.” The rapper/crooner also showed off his acting chops, much to our delight.
After appearing in host Gwyneth Paltrow’s monologue to perform “Islands in the Stream” with Paltrow and “Kenny Rogers,” Cee Lo took a turn in this Bar Mitzvah skit. The sketch, also featuring Paltrow as Taylor Swift and Jay Pharoah doing a spot-on Jay-Z, finds the soul man performing his smash “F**k You” — with an added Jewish twist!
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Video: “SNL” Bar Mitzvah Skit With Cee Lo, “Jay-Z,” “Taylor Swift,” “Katy Perry”
Cee Lo also appeared in a lead-in sketch to his first performance of the night. The skit features Paltrow, Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis as record executives trying to keep FCC meddling with Cee Lo’s hit single to a minimum — though it may surprise you what they claim is the offending word. (Hint: It’ll “forgetting” blow your “forgetting” mind.)
Video: Cee Lo’s “Forget You” Intro on “SNL” (1/15/2011)
Immediately following the sketch, Green performed a censored version of “F**k You” — the radio-friendly “Forget You.” Flanked by an all-female backing band (keep an eye on the guitarist and drummer especially), Cee Lo remained mostly stationary during the performance, though it was his off-handed interjections in between verses and choruses that really added flair.
Video: Cee Lo Performs “Forget You” on “SNL” (1/15/2011)
By all means, one would have expected Cee Lo’s second performance to be of newest single “It’s OK.” Alas, the man threw us for a loop — albeit a welcomed loop — by instead singing “Bright Lights Bigger City.” One of the better songs off “The Lady Killer,” “Bright Lights” has a definite disco-esque feel that was more than evident in the performance, though with some added guitar licks. The tune was Cee Lo’s shining moment of the evening; don’t be surprised if the digital sales for the tune skyrocket after last night.
Video: Cee Lo Performs “Bright Lights Bigger City” on “SNL” (1/15/2011)
Overall, aside from a few brilliant cameos in the Digital Short (no, we’re not going to tell you who — see for yourself!), we’d say Cee Lo stole the show last night!
What do you think? Are you bummed he didn’t sing “Forget You” with Gwyneth? Tell us in the comments!