Will Ferrell may have reached elite Saturday Night Live alumni status as a six-time host tonight, but it was musical guest Paul McCartney who brought the house down and closed out the show — and Season 51 as a whole — with a surprise third performance.
During cast goodnights — and just as eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted Weekend Update co-anchor and Pete Hegseth impersonator Colin Jost popping up on stage, wearing a bald cap — McCartney made his way back toward the band, quickly gathering the musicians for a final encore, performing “Coming Up,” the opening track off his 1980 McCartney II.
As the show, which often cuts out during goodnights due to time, went over, the cast could be seen rocking out and dancing in the foreground.
Seen in the background and having performed alongside him as drummer was Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ own Chad Smith, who appeared earlier in the night when he crashed Ferrell’s monologue, pretending to be the Elf star and delivering the beginnings of his opening lines. McCartney also featured during the opener, as the “cute one” Ferrell called out to when taking questions from the audience.
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The Beatles alum also showed up in a later sketch, alongside Ferrell, Marcello Hernández, Mikey Day and Ashley Padilla, titled “what it feels like talking to a mechanic.” The bit centered around the car mechanics’ (Ferrell, Hernández and McCartney) increasingly nonsensical jargon, which included lines from Flo Rida’s hit “Low” and odd moaning, groaning and screeching. “You’re gonna need a new transperson,” Ferrell said at one point.
McCartney played chief mechanic Nigel, who told the couple (Day and Padilla): “Your tipsy-wipsy’s all dangly-doodly, and the spiggly-wiggly’s gone crumpet. The whole car is knackered.”
“Plus, the steering wheel’s on the wrong bloody side,” the legendary musician added.
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