Surprise cameo, musical guest, host … Taylor Swift knows all of those roles all too well on Saturday Night Live. Since first making her debut as a musical guest while still in her teens, the pop superstar has dazzled Studio 8H’s midnights on numerous occasions.
Who can forget her most recent appearance, when she turned up unexpectedly to announce “Karma” collaborator Ice Spice’s second song of the evening during season 49’s premiere hosted by Pete Davidson on Oct. 14? (During that same episode, new beau Travis Kelce also made a surprise cameo in a sketch poking fun at the NFL’s new obsession with the 12-time Grammy winner, who had shown up to several games to cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. Then post show, the pair — who had previously not confirmed rumors of their romance — attended SNL‘s afterparty hand in hand.)
Then there was that time in 2021, when Billboard‘s Woman of the Decade honoree was the musical guest and performed all 10 minutes of “All Too Well” to promote her then newly re-recorded Red (Taylor’s Version). But the ever-versatile star didn’t just show up that night to perform her lengthy Billboard Hot 100 hit. No, she also found time to appear in a sketch. Swift joined then SNL star Davidson in a Please Don’t Destroy video to roast Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, sharing her lyrical expertise to poke fun at the “three sad virgins.”
These are just some of the more recent appearances by Swift on NBC’s long-running late-night sketch show. While 13 may be Swift’s favorite number, the pop superstar is not quite there yet as far as appearances on SNL go, but there are still plenty to enjoy … and opportunities to add to the list.
Revisit all the times she’s appeared on Saturday Night Live below.
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January 2009: 'SNL' Debut
Image Credit: Courtesy photo Less than a year before hosting the show for the first time, 19-year-old Swift appeared on Saturday Night Live for the first time as the musical guest. She performed her hit Romeo and Juliet fantasy, “Love Story,” as well as “Forever & Always,” known as a jab toward Joe Jonas, who “broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds.”
Swift also appeared in the “Save Broadway” skit that same episode, in which she played orphan Annie and sang the musical’s classic, “Tomorrow.”
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November 2009: First Time Hosting
Image Credit: Courtesy photo By the end of the same year, the young singer-songwriter headed back to SNL a second time as host and be musical guest. This time, she performed “You Belong With Me” and “Untouchable.”
Her opening monologue was complete with what she does best, singing. In her “Monologue Song,” she joked about rumors surrounding her life at the time, mentioning that she likes “glitter and sparkly dresses” and writes “songs about douchebags that cheat on me.”
She mentioned the failed Jonas relationship, singing, “You might think I’d bring up Joe, that guy that broke up with me on the phone, but I’m not going to mention that in my monologue,” before adding, “Hey Joe, I’m doing well.” She also cheekily mentioned reports about her former relationship with Twilight actor Taylor Lautner, which wasn’t yet confirmed at the time.
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February 2015: 40th Anniversary Special
Image Credit: Courtesy photo Swift made a brief appearance in the show’s 40th anniversary special in the series’ popular “Californians” sketch, a soap-opera parody that pokes fun at the accents, life of luxury (and driving on highways) those in the Golden State live. Also starring Bradley Cooper and Kerry Washington, Swift appeared as cousin Alison, who “just got a small role in a Hollywood space movie.”
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November 2017: 'Reputation' Era
Two years later, Swift returned to the SNL stage before the release of her album, where she performed “…Ready for It?” and an acoustic version of “Call It What You Want.”
Watch the two performances on YouTube.
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October 2019: Stripped-Down Sets
The singer-songwriter kept it simple but effective during her fifth appearance on the comedy show. She was the musical guest on the Phoebe Waller-Bridge helmed episode, performing stripped-down versions of “Lover” and “False God.”
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November 2021: It's Going "All Too Well"
Image Credit: Courtesy photo Swift delivered the TV premiere of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” on Nov. 13, performing all 10 minutes of the extended version of the track. But that wasn’t the only singing she did that episode, which was hosted by Pete Davidson. The superstar also lent her vocals to the “Three Sad Virgins” sketch, in which she roasted the trio of Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, singing that Marshall was a “sad Ron Weasley,” Herlihy’s “sex appeal of a scarecrow” and Higgins’ “big-a** bowling ball head.” (Watch the sketch here.)
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October 2023: Ice Spice Introduction
Image Credit: Courtesy photo The Grammy winner made a surprise appearance to support her “Karma” collaborator Ice Spice, who was making her debut as a Saturday Night Live musical guest on Oct. 14. Just ahead of the rapper’s second song of the night, Swift introduced the performance of “Pretty Girl.”