Live from New York, it's Canucks that have played Saturday Night Live
From Arcade Fire to Justin Bieber, here are some of the Canadian musicians that have graced the SNL stage
Drake returns to the Saturday Night Live stage tonight, pulling double duty as the show's host and musical guest. It's his third stint on the program — he first appeared as musical guest back in 2011 and was the host/musical guest in 2014.
The rapper is sure to show some love for the 6ix, but he's far from the first Canuck musician to bring national pride to 30 Rock. From Anne Murray to Neil Young, Canadian artists have been gracing the SNL stage since the comedy show began back in 1975.
Here is a look at some memorable Canadian musical moments from the last two decades.
Arcade Fire
The Grammy-winning Montreal band have a long history with the show — performing on four separate occasions and taking part in sketches and digital shorts. They even hosted their own half-hour concert special, following their 2013 musical appearance, to promote their album Reflektor.
When one of frontman Win Butler's guitar strings broke during their 2007 performance of their song Intervention, he decided to finish the song by ripping the strings from his guitar and smashing it on stage.
SNL appearances: 2007, 2010, 2012 (collaboration with Mick Jagger), 2013. Note: Butler made a brief appearance on the show's 40th anniversary special.
Michael Bublé
The B.C. crooner is a two-time SNL musical guest, where he has performed his own music and Christmas covers on a holiday-themed episode.
Most notably, he appeared in a sketch alongside show host Jon Hamm where they posed as co-owners of "Hamm and Bublé," a restaurant specializing in "pork dishes and fine champagne."
SNL appearances: 2010, 2011
Avril Lavigne
Though Lavigne has never hosted SNL, she's played the show three times and starred in a skit as Dakota Fanning's younger sister, Elle. During her first performance in 2003, she sported her infamous red Napanee Home Hardware T-shirt, spawning a frenzy of phone calls to the hardware store's manager with requests for the shirt.
SNL appearances: 2003, 2004, 2007
The Tragically Hip
The Hip were little known outside of Canada when they played SNL back in 1995, performing Grace Too and Nautical Disaster. Fellow Ontario native Dan Aykroyd helped acquaint Americans with the band, taking the stage before their performance (in a retro Canada T-shirt) and introducing the band as his "friends."
Frontman Gord Downie went on to mesmerize the audience with his signature boisterous stage presence.
SNL appearance: 1995
Justin Bieber
The list would be amiss if Bieber didn't get a mention. Bieber's not only been on the show thrice — including a stint as a host/musical guest — but has been repeatedly mimicked on the show. SNL star Kate McKinnon has crafted an eerily accurate impression of Bieber, aping his movements and his bad boy image.
Bieber's been a good sport about it though, appearing in sketches and guest starring in the 100th digital short.
SNL appearances: 2010, 2012 (in a SNL Digital Short), 2013
Other Canadian musicians who have appeared on the show include: Feist, Nelly Furtado, Robbie Robertson, Sum 41, The Weeknd, Rick Danko and Paul Butterfield, Anne Murray, Barenaked Ladies, Alanis Morissette, Leon Redbone, Bryan Adams, Loverboy, Sarah McLachlan, Crash Test Dummies, Cowboy Junkies, Gordon Lightfoot, k.d. lang and the Reclines, The Band, Neil Young, All Saints (half of the group is Canadian) and Carly Rae Jepsen, among others.