Lady Gaga Gave Bowen Yang the Energy Shift He Needed After Shane Gillis' 'SNL'

The Shane Gillis-hosted episode of SNL nine days ago was mostly lousy, and it was hard not to notice that Bowen Yang—one of the show’s biggest players—was almost entirely absent. After his brief appearance as J.D. Vance in the cold open, Yang disappeared (aside from Michael Longfellow, who didn’t appear at all, and Chloe Fineman, who had COVID, Yang had the least amount of screentime last week). I’m not suggesting in any way that this had to do with the Internet-fueled feud between Yang and Gillis, one that Yang himself has debunked.

That said, the host plays a huge role not just in their own performance but in setting the overall energy of the show. Putting aside the online noise, it’s not hard to imagine that, given their wildly different comedic sensibilities, Yang may not have felt particularly inspired to write sketches for Gillis. And that’s fine! Instead, Sarah Sherman, Heidi Gardner, and Mikey Day took center stage that week.

But wow, what a difference a week (and a new host) makes. Cast members rarely get the chance to introduce musical guests since that duty typically falls to the host. But because Lady Gaga pulled double duty, Bowen Yang got to introduce her first song. You can practically feel the energy radiating off of him. I’ve rewatched his intro at least six times now, and while I wouldn’t call myself a huge Lady Gaga fan, Yang’s enthusiasm is infectious. I have no idea how he actually feels about Gaga (I mean, I can guess based on the t-shirt), but if I had to judge from those five seconds alone, I’d assume he’s been running her fan club since he was 13.

And it wasn’t just that moment (though, for the record, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, and Sarah Sherman were also effusive when introducing Gaga later in the show). Yang performed two songs with Gaga during sketches, “Wonderful Tonight” and “No More Slay,” and looked like he was having the time of his life. I don’t think I’ve seen him this genuinely thrilled in a sketch since … well, since he made out with Ariana Grande last year.

It also seems pretty clear that Yang co-wrote both sketches with Gaga. How do we know? Because not only did he give himself a lead role, singing with Lady Gaga—but both sketches fit his comedic style perfectly (and also, because he did write those sketches).

The difference between the Gillis episode and the Gaga episode wasn’t just about screentime; it was about energy, enthusiasm, and who gets to shine when the right comedic chemistry is in play. Yang didn’t just show up for work this week; thanks to Gaga, he owned the night.