not ready for primetime

BTS Is One of S.N.L.’s Biggest Musical Guests Ever—And S.N.L. Knows It

Fans have been camped outside 30 Rock for days, hoping to see the blockbuster South Korean boy band in Studio 8H—and the sketch show is happily playing into their star power.

BTS Is One of S.N.L.s Biggest Musical Guests EverAnd S.N.L. Knows It
From Getty Images.

Mention BTS to someone who was around to watch Saturday Night Live in its early days, and you might get a blank stare. But make no mistake: the dreamy South Korean boy band is a global mega-sensation, inspiring a legion of die-hard fans (who call themselves the Army) to camp out for days on end just to have a chance at seeing them live. Case in point? The band will perform as S.N.L.’s musical guest this weekend—and since Monday, fans have been hunkering down on the sidewalks outside 30 Rockefeller Center. According to one fan among the campers, nearly 100 of them were weathering the unseasonable cold as of Wednesday night in the hopes of snagging standby tickets for the show this weekend—though they have no idea how many of them will actually get into the studio.

S.N.L. has seen its share of superstar musicians over the years, from Mick Jagger to Beyoncé. Even just this season, it’s booked huge names like Kanye West, Paul Simon, and Miley Cyrus. But as this week’s urban camp-out proves, BTS is among the greats when it comes to star power. Need further proof? Just look at this week’s S.N.L. promo, starring host Emma Stone as a rabid BTS fan—and Beck Bennett as the clueless dummy who has no idea who the boys are.

It takes a certain level of influence for the show to promote an entire episode simply by centering its musical act, especially if that act isn’t doubling as the episode’s host. That’s not to say this has never happened before; though Beyoncé, for instance, has never hosted the show herself, she has inspired entire sketches during her visits as a musical guest. Most famously, fans likely remember the “Single Ladies” sketch, which starred the singer as she tried to film her unforgettable music video with Justin Timberlake, Bobby Moynihan, and Andy Samberg as backup dancers. And speaking of Timberlake, let’s not even get started on the long list of sketches he’s performed during visits as both host and musical guest.

On that note, one question remains going into Saturday night: will S.N.L. find a way to work BTS into a sketch or two? Such a move would definitely please the band’s rabid fans—especially sating the appetites of the haggard campers who might manage to get in for the taping. As appearances on American TV shows like Ellen prove, the entire group has an extremely charming stage presence—and their leader, RM, speaks excellent English, thanks to a lot of time spent watching Friends. So the possibility is there, should S.N.L. choose to seize it. As previous South Korean surprise guest and musical sensation Psy can tell you, even a well-placed S.N.L. cameo can go a long way, when deployed correctly.

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The one potential hitch in all of this? That Ellen appearance also showed how fan enthusiasm can sometimes—read: often—lead to screams that drown out what they’re actually saying on camera. (S.N.L. has faced the challenge of screaming, crazed fans before, with guests including Justin Bieber.) Ear-shattering shrieks could make it especially hard for the cast and singers to land many punch lines. Thankfully, some considerate fans are on the case—asking, as one fan put it, for their fellow BTS lovers in the audience to “keep the screaming to the minimal and when necessary.”

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