Cher returns to SNL after forty years, closing out the sketch comedy institution’s final episode of the year with two holiday performances that bridged pop history and present day spectacle.
The singer and actress, now seventy nine, appeared as the musical guest on the Dec. twenty broadcast, marking her first standalone performance on the program since nineteen eighty seven.
Hosted by Ariana Grande, the episode also doubled as a farewell for longtime cast member Bowen Yang and a celebratory moment within Saturday Night Live’s fiftieth anniversary season.
Cher’s relationship with Saturday Night Live stretches back nearly five decades. She has appeared in sketches, special anniversary events and tribute concerts, including the star studded “SNL50” concert earlier this year.
But her last official turn as musical guest came on Nov. twenty one, nineteen eighty seven, weeks before her Academy Award winning role in Moonstruck reached theaters.
Saturday’s appearance placed Cher among a small group of legacy artists invited back to Studio 8H during the show’s milestone season.
The episode aired at a moment of transition for the series, as producers continue to balance veteran stars, newer cast members and evolving audience expectations.
“Cher represents continuity,” said Martin Feldman, a professor of television history at New York University. “When Cher returns to SNL, it is not just a booking decision. It is a reminder of how long running institutions rely on cultural memory to stay relevant.”
Media analysts note that holiday episodes often lean heavily on nostalgia. According to Feldman, Cher’s return fit squarely into that strategy while also showcasing her ongoing recording career.
“She is not presented as a legacy act alone,” he said. “She is still releasing new music and performing it on one of television’s most visible stages.”
Cher returns to SNL at a time when musical guest appearances skew younger. Internal NBC booking data from recent seasons shows that fewer than one in ten musical guests are over the age of sixty.
Her appearance placed her among the oldest musical guests in the show’s history, alongside Paul Simon and Mick Jagger.
Her nineteen eighty seven episode aired during the show’s thirteenth season.
Since then, Saturday Night Live has produced more than eight hundred episodes, cycled through multiple casts and adapted to digital first audiences through streaming clips and social media distribution.
Inside Rockefeller Center, audience members described a sense of occasion.
“It felt historic just seeing her walk out,” said Laura McKenna, a Brooklyn resident who attended the live taping.
“People around me were whispering, like they knew they were watching something rare.”
Cher performed her two thousand twenty three holiday single “DJ Play A Christmas Song” in a blond wig, leather jacket and patterned pants, delivering the vocoder driven track with understated choreography and a troupe of dancers.
She closed the performance with her signature microphone clasp and a hand heart gesture.
Later, she returned in a dark wig and metallic outfit to sing Chuck Berry’s nineteen fifty eight classic “Run, Run Rudolph,” backed by a live band and falling artificial snow.
Cher returns to SNL amid renewed attention to her holiday releases, including “Christmas Is Here,” released earlier this month.
Industry observers say the appearance could introduce her seasonal catalog to younger listeners through streaming platforms.
NBC has not announced whether Cher will return again during the anniversary year, though producers have hinted that additional surprise appearances are planned before the season concludes.
Meanwhile, the show continues to navigate cast changes. Bowen Yang’s departure after nearly seven years adds to a period of transition, one that made Cher’s appearance feel both celebratory and reflective.
Cher returns to SNL not as a retrospective gesture but as part of the show’s ongoing effort to link its past with its present.
Her performances, woven into sketches that referenced her music and persona, underscored her enduring place in American pop culture.
As Saturday Night Live moves forward in its fiftieth season, the episode served as a reminder of how legacy artists continue to shape the program’s identity.
