Cher will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for the first time in 38 years

Cher is set to take the Saturday Night Live stage as the musical guest on the December 20, 2025, episode with Ariana Grande serving as host.

posted by Rakshanda Noor Khan
Tuesday 11/18/2025 at 2:00PM EST

Cher would be the musical guest on the December 20, 2025, episode of Saturday Night Live 2025 (Image via Getty)

Saturday Night Live season 51 is going to feature legendary singer and actor Cher, who will head back to Studio 8H for her first musical guest appearance on NBC's longest-running show in nearly four decades.

The December 20, 2025, episode would be a return of the Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning performer to the show’s live-audience, late-night chaos for the first time in 38 years after first appearing on Saturday Night Live on November 21, 1987.

Saturday Night Live's 51st season wraps the year with Cher's appearance, hosted by Wicked: For Good star Ariana Grande, along with a packed December lineup that also includes Melissa McCarthy and Josh O’Connor as hosts in earlier December episodes.

Kicking off on October 4, 2025, Saturday Night Live's season 51 has already featured performers from Bad Bunny to Doja Cat and Brandi Carlile. In recent weeks, NBC published the final December lineup:

Melissa McCarthy will host the December 6 episode with Dijon as musical guest, followed by “Challengers” actor Josh O’Connor hosting on December 13. Singer-songwriter Lily Allen, whose album “West End Girl” has been drawing renewed attention, will perform on that same night.

Cher's earlier appearances on Saturday Night Live explored

Cher is returning to Saturday Night Live this December as the official musical guest for the first time, just before Thanksgiving in 1987, but her connection with the show didn’t end there.

After her powerful performance on the November 21, 1987, episode where she delivered “We All Sleep Alone” and “I Found Someone,” the Goddess of Pop returned to Studio 8H twice more in memorable, though less traditional, appearances.

Her first comeback happened on September 26, 1992, when she made a brief but standout cameo during the “Weekend Update” segment.

Years later, Cher stepped back into the Saturday Night Live stage for one of the biggest nights in the show’s history: the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special.

During the star-packed celebration, she performed her iconic hit “If I Could Turn Back Time,” and the moment became an instant fan-favorite. Cast member Sarah Sherman was even seen in the audience sobbing during the performance that went viral.

Drew Barrymore, Blake Lively, Sarah Silverman, and several cast members over the years have imitated her voice and style on the SNL stage, keeping her alive and relevant to the show.

Ariana Grande will step in as host for the third time on December 20, 2025, with the 79-year-old iconic singer, while the rest of December is piled too.

Josh O’Connor will also make his hosting debut on December 13, 2025, currently starring in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, making the timing perfect for his first turn behind the Saturday Night Live monologue.

He’ll be joined by musical guest Lily Allen, who is returning for her second appearance, having just released her fifth studio album, West End Girl.

Comedy queen Melissa McCarthy is returning to host for the sixth time on December 6, 2025. Musical guest that night will be Dijon, who’s making his Saturday Night Live debut with two Grammy awards for his album Baby.

Saturday Night Live new episodes stream on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Stay tuned for more updates.

TOPICS: Saturday Night Live, NBC, Saturday Night Live Season 51, Cher, Reality TV, SNL season 51 | Saturday Night Live

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Cher will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for the first time in 38 years

Cher's earlier appearances on Saturday Night Live explored