SNL: A$AP Rocky Performs, Joins Sabrina Carpenter & Finn Wolfhard In Snackhomiez

Actor/musicians Finn Wolfhard and A$AP Rocky were the stars of the first Saturday Night Live of 2026. It was host Wolfhard’s SNL debut, though the Stranger Things star and indie rocker did once play an NBC page in the 2024 movie Saturday Night. He was also referenced in a Stranger Things song by cast member Jane Wickline during Weekend Update last month (she sang, "Finn Wolfhard is the devil to me" in that). A$AP Rocky had never performed on SNL before tonight, but he did cameo in the Migos parody "Friendos" with host Donald Glover in 2018.

Rocky's appearances saw him performing some Don't Be Dumb songs live for the first time. First up was lead single "Punk Rocky," for which he was joined by some of the people in that song's music video: Thundercat, Danny Elfman, and Mark Harley (but not Wolfhard's Stranger Things costar Winona Ryder).

Rocky's second performance had "Don't Be Dumb"/"Trip Baby" (the one with the Clairo sample) and "Helicopter." Fun fact: Sunday (Jan. 18) marks exactly 40 years since the Replacements' infamous performance on SNL and since Wolfhard is making a biopic about the band (they were mentioned on Stranger Things too), he honored them by wearing their 1991 Welcome Funeral Directors t-shirt when introducing that.

Stranger Things' Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) showed up at the end of Wolfhard's monologue and in a digital short imagining various spinoffs of the series. They were just two of the show's surprise guests. Recent host Sabrina Carpenter reprised her role as a 12-year-old boy on the Snackhomiez podcast, a parody of MD Foodie Boyz, and Rocky appared in that. Jason Momoa played Hagrid in a trailer for Heated Wizardry, a Harry Potter x Heated Rivalry mashup. Natalia Dyer (Nancy) and Joe Keery (Steve), who were played by Chloe Fineman and Andrew Dismukes in the aforementioned Stranger Things spinoffs pre-tape, were in attendance along with Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) and the show's creators, Matt and Ross Duffer. And so was Rocky's partner Rihanna. So it should be an interesting afterparty. (Djo SNL debut soon?)

Before goodnights, there was a bumper honoring Grateful Dead singer/guitarist Bob Weir, who died a week ago. The Dead performed on SNL in 1978 and 1980.

Other music-related moments included a joke about Harry Styles' new album title in Weekend Update and a sketch featuring Wolfhard as a teenager whose indie rock ambitions disappoint his father (James Austin Johnson), a boy band member. That one had a Pixies joke.

Speaking of indie musicians, next week's show will have Best Album Of 2025 winners Geese making their musical guest debut with Golden Globe winner Teyana Taylor making her hosting debut.

If you liked Rocky's hair you can buy a $100 beanie with rollers attached on his website.