{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
A musical guest is a singer, band, or other musician who makes a brief musical appearance on a television program of a non-musical nature.
While some shows have a format that traditionally includes numerous performances by musical guests (such as ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
''), other shows include popular musicians to boost ratings for particular episodes (such as on cartoons or sitcoms) or to help new artists gain exposure (such as ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' or ''
The Late Show The Late Show may refer to:
Books
* ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly
Film
* ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film
* ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl
Music
* ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...
'').
While many shows employ their own live band, this regular band is not considered a musical "guest". Additionally, if the theme of a program revolves completely around live music (such as ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' or ''
Star Search
''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...
''), the musicians who appear are generally not considered musical guests, as they are either contestants or are performing a different, non-musical function (such as judging the competition).
Depending on the format of the show, musical guests may simply perform a song and leave the stage, while other shows include interviews with the musicians following their performance. On ''Saturday Night Live'', some musical guests have participated in
comedy sketches
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...
with the stars of the show.
Partial list of programs with musical guests
*''
All That
''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Michael Tollin, Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by ...
''
*''
The Dick Cavett Show
''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including:
* ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning''
* ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...
''
*''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...
''
*''The Tonight Show''
*''Late Show with David Letterman''
*'' The Late Late Show''
*''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
''
*''
Last Call with Carson Daly
''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''T ...
''
*''Saturday Night Live''
*''
Mad TV
''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentie ...
''
*''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...
''
*''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
''
*''
Gilmore Girls
''Gilmore Girls'' is an American Comedy drama, comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and beca ...
''
*''
Beverly Hills, 90210
''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...
''
*''
Chappelle's Show
''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were ...
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on May 22, 2002.
This talk sh ...
''
*''
The Arsenio Hall Show
''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall.
There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...