On the season finale of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, Lil Nas X appeared as the musical guest and of course, he left a jaw-dropping performance on the floor. In a provocative routine, X — marked by his nonconformity — gyrated around a pole to his controversial smash hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” in a flame-emblazoned leather ensemble (a nod to his hellish video where he gave the devil a lap dance). Aside from the set landing as one of the most lascivious performances in SNL history or even the pants-splitting malfunction that X comically endured, what really should leave the audience in awe is how the performance was arranged in just one day.
a sign of the times every time that i speak 👁 pic.twitter.com/alOXsERwbf
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) May 23, 2021
Sean Bankhead, the renowned choreographer whose stellar moves have graced stages with Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and more, took to Instagram following the broadcast to reveal the trials and tribulations that brought the entire grand finale performance together. After casting the background dancers and rehearsing for two weeks, one person from the artist’s camp tested positive for COVID-19 — leaving Bankhead with a choreographer’s wildest “nightmare.” He wrote, “I had to recast all 6 dancers and 2 background vocalists the DAY BEFORE WE WENT LIVE.” Commending the dancers who learned two weeks’ worth of craftsmanship over Zoom in a night-before crunch, he continued, “You guys never know what’s going on behind scenes and all I can say is I was beyond stressed as f*ck and couldn’t even go to rehearsal with the new dancers or NAS because we all were in close contact and had to quarantine.”
Despite the behind-the-scenes hiccups, viewers raved over X’s ability to boldly place queerness in the spotlight regardless of industry pushback. One user tweeted, “keep thinking what an amazing example of representation this is. lil nas x is really doing THAT.” Another user tweeted, “Lil Nas X is doing wonders for dismantling apologetic queer culture that has been told ‘your queerness is acceptable so long as you are straight passing/remain silent.’” Bankhead also applauded the Old Town Road singer’s resilience saying, “I have to say a big thanks and congrats to you Nas. You worked your a*s off for this performance and was down for every stunt with a smile on your face.”
