March 02, 2025
Saturday Night Live/Youtube
Shane Gillis portrays a singer who wants the judges of a competition to give him a chance despite his odd looks and personality during a new 'SNL' sketch.
Shane Gillis plays a singer who wows the judges of a singing competition — until they turn around and take a look at him — during a sketch on the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live."
The Mechanicsburg native comedian hosted "SNL" Saturday in an episode that also featured musical guest Tate McRae. A highlight of Gillis' lineup of sketches on the show was "The Sound," which was a parody of the "blind auditions" on NBC reality competition "The Voice."
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The sketch, created by and starring comedy group Please Don't Destroy, begins with four celebrity judges (played by Ben Marshall, John Higgins, Martin Herlihy and Ego Nwodim) facing backward, away from the stage, as a contestant offers a breathtaking rendition of "Amazing Grace."
All four judges are impressed and press the button to turn around their chairs, which on "The Voice" indicates that they're interested in having the contestant join their team of singers for the season. The judges' admiration quickly changes to shock and confusion once they glimpse the person onstage for the first time.
The singer is Reggie T. (Gillis) in an odd wig, oversized glasses, a graphic T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops and an ankle bracelet, sitting in a scooter.
"Let the bidding war begin," Reggie says to the judges, despite their appalled expressions. "Who wants me?"
In a first for the faux reality show, the judges quickly turn their chairs back around, revoking their interest in Reggie.
"You can't bail on me because of my looks or my vibe," Reggie tells them.
The judges halfheartedly turn back around to face Reggie. He goes on to tell them more about himself, including that his greatest influence is Chris Brown. The confused judges' chairs are on a swivel as Reggie reels them back in and then scares them off by revealing details about his life. He shocks them by standing up from the scooter, and tells them he only uses it because it's "cool" and helps him get women. He also says it's his birthday, and that he's 14 years old because he has a "leap year birthday." He's actually 56.
In the end, the judges turn Reggie away, saying there's "no way in hell" he'll ever make it as a singer. One judge even drives off in her chair to escape Reggie's uncanny audition. But, Reggie seems to have the last laugh after all when he appears in a music video with McRae.
Saturday marked Gillis' second time hosting "SNL." He was previously hired as a cast member on the sketch show in 2019 before being quickly fired due to resurfaced clips that included racist and homophobic remarks he made in the past. Despite facing heavy backlash at the time, his comedy career has since been on the rise, with a Netflix comedy special and series called "Tires" and a stand-up tour. The West Chester University alum showed off his Philly sports fandom by wearing an Eagles hat during "SNL" promos.
Along with a seven-minute stand-up monologue, Gillis also appeared in sketches about a couples' photo op at a winery, a mid-day news segment that turns into a competition of sorts, a divorced dad hosting his kids for the weekend, the "CouplaBeers" medication, an interruption at a wedding, and a doctor's visit gone awry. The cold open centered on a heated meeting between President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Mikey Day), and featured an appearance by Mike Myers as Elon Musk.
Gillis' "SNL" episode can be streamed on Peacock. The next episode, airing March 8, will feature Lady Gaga as host and musical guest.
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