By Kevin Rutherford
Iggy Azalea made good on her promise of new music Saturday night.
The rapper made her debut appearance as the musical guest of Saturday Night Live and didn’t disappoint, performing new single “Beg for It” from upcoming New Classic reissue Reclassified, as well as hits from her debut best-seller from earlier this year.
Related: We Can Survive Recap: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea Dazzle the Hollywood Bowl
First came “Fancy,” her song of the summer candidate for 2014. Charli XCX may have been absent for the hook, but Azalea still rose to the occasion, continuing the video’s Clueless-esque theme, dressed up in a varsity jacket as she and her backup dancers swayed ahead of a schoolyard fence.
About halfway through, the song shifted into current hit “Black Widow” – and this time, the featured artist showed up to help out, with Rita Ora appearing to croon the hook in a short black dress, Azalea performing a quick outfit change for the occasion. It was a mere taste of the two songs that helped put the Australian on the map, but as a primer for those who might have evaded Azalea before now, it was a fairly telling performance.
“Beg for It,” meanwhile, was the more revelatory performance, giving a glimpse into post-New Classic Azalea music after her rise to superstardom. Flanked by Danish singer MØ, Azalea gyrated across the stage after starting off seated in a chair surrounded by replicas of giant panthers. It marked the song’s live TV debut following its premiere on the Internet the day before.
But Azalea didn’t just appear in the musical segments of the show, and her performances weren’t the only aspect of the current Top 40 radio playlists that seeped into the show. Host Jim Carrey appeared in a sketch toward the end of the show during which the cast members attended a Halloween costume party. Kate McKinnon came out dressed as the dancer Maddie Ziegler from Sia‘s “Chandelier” video – and then came Carrey, who just so happened to have the exact same costume. What followed was a danceoff throughout the entire Studio 8H, starting on the party set, flowing out into the audience and even ending up on the nearby stage on which Azalea was preparing to perform – and wouldn’t you know it, even she was dressed as Ziegler, mimicking the teeth-brushing motion from the hit clip.
Azalea’s appearance on the show followed a trip all the way across the country after a performance the night before at We Can Survive in Hollywood, Calif., with Ariana Grande, Sia, Taylor Swift and many more.
SNL returns live next week with host Chris Rock and musical guest Prince.
