Because Miley Cyrus has been a staple on "Saturday Night Live" this season thanks to newbie Vanessa Bayer's hilarious take on her exaggerated Southern drawl, one could argue there was no need for the real pop star to grace the stage at Studio 8H. But the prospect of Miley meeting Miley was simply too good for Lorne Michaels and Co. to pass up, and while some stars fall flat when faced with the challenge of live TV, Miley exceeded expectations, and was, shall we say, pretty cool.
It's been a wild week for celebrities, so there was no way "Saturday Night Live" would let the public missteps of A-listers like Charlie Sheen, Christina Aguilera and Lindsay Lohan go unnoticed...or unmocked. The show's opening skit, "Duh! Winning! With Charlie Sheen" featured the embattled CBS star, played by Bill Hader, hosting a round table of other controversial celebs. The skit made light of the antics of these "highly evolved warlocks," all of whom made headlines this week. Miley had a minimal role as Lindsay Lohan, and although she was significantly overshadowed by Bill's spot-on Sheen (Tiger blood!) and Taran Killam's take on recently fired designer John Galliano ("I've got no ugly friends, I dress like a methed-out musketeer, and I've got a mustache that says: 'I'm a bad person'"), the only thing about her that really screamed Lilo were her faux blond locks and over-sized handbag.
Given all of the news this week, Miley could have easily been relegated to the background in favor of the more skilled "SNL" impersonators, but instead she held her own, tackling not only her peers (Lindsay, Fergie), but making fun of herself as well. Her cutesy opening monologue (in song, natch) pleaded with the public to forgive her for her past mistakes. "I'm sorry I'm not that perfect," she sang, while inserting rhymes about other celebrity scandals, as Kristen Wiig and Bobby Moynihan used their best jazz hands to back her up. Despite a certain 18th birthday video, the trio pleaded that when put in perspective, Miley's still a pretty cool chick. "Don't all of these things seem worse than a bong?" she crooned to the audience.
Of course that wasn't the only time Miley used her vocal skills. In a hilarious sketch featuring the lesser-known members of The Black Eyed Peas, Apl.de.ap and Taboo (be honest, Crushers. How many of you knew their names?), Miley stepped into Fergie's stilettos, and upstaged her fellow bandmates by wailing lines from "Boom Boom Pow" as she strut her stuff across the stage in a skin-tight mini dress. She quickly took a 180-degree turn to play Liesel from "The Sound of Music," singing her signature tune "Sixteen Going On Seventeen," in a Turner Classic Movies sketch that was made by Fred Armisen's quirky comedian cut from the original version of the beloved film.
In the much anticipated "The Miley Cyrus Show" sketch, Vanessa and Jason Sudeikis assumed their roles as Miley and papa Billy Ray Cyrus, while the Disney diva played none other than... Justin Bieber! The 18-year-old did her best impersonation of the Bieb, getting laughs over his "image changes" ("I do the middle finger now"), and mimicking his speech patterns, tough guy mannerisms and hair flips to perfection, making you think she may actually be Canadian herself.
But it was her spoof on the job that made her a household name that got the most laughs. In a mock commercial for The Disney Channel School of Acting, Miley and Raven-Symone (Kenan Thompson) taught aspiring stars all essential skills necessary in becoming a star on the House of Mouse, including loudness, reacting to stinky feet and spying through the doorway (so true!). It was fun to see Cyrus poke fun at her beginnings, and former wardrobe, in a light-hearted way.
Sadly there was no digital short, which could have been an opportunity for Miley to do something drastically different from her usual routine (think Natalie Portman's rap video). A surprise guest could have added something fun, and there was no interaction between Miley and rockers The Strokes, but even though she kept things pretty tame, overall, Miley proved she's graduated from The Disney Channel and is ready to perform alongside some of the best comedians and performers in the business.
What did you think, Crushers? Was Miley pretty cool on "Saturday Night Live"? Let us know in the comments and on Twiter!
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