White-hot singer/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers made her Studio 8H debut on last night’s (Feb. 6) episode of Saturday Night Live, performing two standout tracks from her acclaimed 2020 album Punisher. “The amazing Phoebe Bridgers,” as host Dan Levy introduced her, played “Kyoto” and “I Know the End” before smashing her guitar during the latter track’s climax, a move that annoyed some of the internet’s worst people and was therefore a net good. (She’s not the first artist to do this—Win Butler wrecked his acoustic during Arcade Fire’s SNL debut in 2007.)
Bridgers’ sophomore album after 2017’s Stranger in the Alps, Punisher ranked among the best albums of 2020, according to Paste (and just about everyone). Both “Kyoto” and “I Know the End” received similarly near-universal acclaim—we highlighted the former among last year’s best songs, but the latter was also in the running. The Recording Academy proved very much onboard with Bridgers’ album, as well, nominating her in the Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance and Song (both for “Kyoto”), and Best Alternative Music Album categories in November.
Watch Bridgers’ SNL performances below, and revisit her 2017 Paste Studio session further down.
