Questlove on Why His ‘SNL' Music Doc Couldn't Get a Clearance From Pavarotti, but How Eminem Saved the Day
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
Since its beginning in 1975, 'Saturday Night Live' made a point of showcasing as many music superstars and rising talents as possible made it inside Studio 8H.
The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Tupac, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Jack White, Radiohead, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Waits, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Mary J. Blige, Donald Glover, U2, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Billy Joel, No Doubt, Tom Petty, Elton John, Olivia Rodrigo, Bruno Mars and Prince are just a few of the artists who have appeared on the show. And that's why they're all also seen at some point in the three-hour music doc 'Ladies & Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music.'
More from Variety
'The Roots' superstar Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson, who in recent years has also become a prolific and award-winning documentarian, was the co-director mastermind behind the three-hour documentary. The special will perhaps be best remembered for an epic intro montage mixing in performances from the show's 50-year history.
He and music montage editor John MacDonald put together a master list of every song that had ever been on 'Saturday Night Live.' Says Questlove: 'We watched every episode and compartmentalized it.'
He pulls out his phone to show that list: fast songs, slow songs, jazz songs, gospel songs. The list goes on, as does the scroll – it's long and comprehensive. 'We were like a Michelin star restaurant, and we just analyzed each song,' he tells Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast. 'This is in E minor, and the bridge is in G. So then that could connect to this song.' Their vision board looked like an episode of 'CSI' breaking down how a Hanson song could fit into eight other songs.
His other challenge was clearing songs. Sometimes it was a matter of making a call, but there was one he couldn't get. 'It was the end of Mariah Carey's 'Vision of Love,' with Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful' with [Luciano] Pavarotti doing the same thing, all these singers hitting the same note. I couldn't clear the Pavarotti song because I would have to physically go over there [to Italy] just to beg for two seconds of a clearance and show them like what I'm trying to do, and it just wasn't worth the fight. So I had to lose the Pavarotti moment.'
His challenge didn't end there, at the last minute, he got clearance from Marshall Mathers and Paul Rosenberg to include Eminem's 'Stan.' That clearance allowed him to seamlessly connect 'Stan' to Destiny Child's 'Survivor' and *NSYNC's 'Bye Bye Bye.' He laughs as he recalls the challenge: 'You don't know how hard and how difficult those 12 seconds were!' Ultimately, that whole montage took 11 months to put together.
Questlove could find himself landing two Emmy nominations; his other show, 'Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius),' also earned a Gotham TV nomination.
He recalls a moment shortly after winning his BAFTA for 2021's 'Summer of Soul' when he went back to North London, and the Kentish Town apartment he lived in as a starving artist decades earlier, to look around and reflect. 'I made my driver go so that 50-year-old me could look at the 24-year-old disparaged, very discouraged version of myself in his apartment window, wondering if he had a future or not.' That younger version of himself was broke, but full of dreams. He wanted to show himself symbolically that he had made it.
Ironically, the cops pulled up and wondered why this person was loitering outside an apartment. But dressed in a tux, holding a BAFTA, Questlove explained himself and the officer told him it was a nice story and went about their way.
It's a great story. It's one he's proud to tell this fellow Londoner. Questlove has indeed made it. He won an Oscar and that BAFTA award for the 2022 documentary,
Later, Questlove talks about how Spike Lee got him where he is today. The two have a mutual admiration for one another, but if it weren't for Lee's commercial, he might not be here. 'My best friend in high school saw a commercial one day by Spike Lee with a busking drummer on the street corner, and we looked at each other like, 'Hey, let's do that.'' Sure enough, they grabbed a white bucket and some drumsticks. The pact was to make at least $110 in three hours – and as cliched as it sounds, they did, and the rest is history. 'That led to a record deal, it led to living in London and it led to his first Grammy, and it led to this moment,' he says.
So, what's next for the star? 'I'm a walking example of not knowing what's going to happen next. But I'm going to just take this next step.'
Questlove is working on two undisclosed projects, and he says he's 80% done on his Earth, Wind and Fire documentary. 'I'm not making promises, but if this film does not come out on the 21st day of September, then I don't know what I'm doing,' he chuckles.
On the roundtable, the new Oscar rules are discussed. And the lead actress drama race is examined.
Variety's 'Awards Circuit' podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, 'Awards Circuit' features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'Ask Amy & T.J.': Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes respond to your relationship questions in this advice column
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are now taking your wildest, messiest, thorniest relationship questions, in a new Yahoo advice column: Ask Amy & T.J. (Photo illustration: Yahoo, photo: Getty Images) Longtime journalists Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes have firsthand experience with the messiness of modern relationships and the complexity of combining family, finances and more when you're starting over with a new person. 'We're here to be the face of life is messy,' Robach says. 'Love is messy.' Robach and Holme's own relationship has unfolded, in all its complexity, in the public eye — a challenge the couple has turned into a strength. 'What it boils down to is that ours is a story people can relate to,' says Holmes. 'I think it's a more attainable goal for people in relationships to get where we got: We went through hell and then realized on the other side, I'm gonna be OK, and this relationship is worth fighting for.' Who better to tackle your trickiest problems than two people with hard-earned wisdom of their own? 'I feel like we've become experienced relationship veterans because we've had a lot of trial and error,' Robach explains (Holmes chimes in, with a laugh: 'a lot of errors'). And that's why the couple is so well-suited to be relationship advice columnists for Yahoo's Ask Amy & T.J. 'I think you really, truly learn when you make mistakes; when there are problems, even failures,' Robach admits. 'And we have learned significantly." In this weekly series, the celebrity pair will take on your questions, however complicated, bizarre or intimate — there are no taboos here — with humor and humility. Scroll to check out their latest column and check back every Monday morning for their latest advice to readers' juiciest relationship questions. Advertisement To get advice directly from Amy and T.J., send whatever relationship question is keeping you up at night — whether it's about friends, family, your love life or beyond — to askamyandtj@ Lisa W. wrote to Amy and T.J. to ask what to do about the socialite who's after her man. Should she forgive him for confiding in another woman or jump ship from this love triangle? (Photo illustration: Yahoo, photo: Getty Images) Friends are great, but what happens when the friend your partner is confiding in has designs on your significant other? In their first column, Robach and Holmes take on Lisa W.'s love triangle with her boyfriend and a meddling socialite. The couple gets real about what trust can — and can't — look like, and who you confront when three's company.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'Ask Amy & T.J.': Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes respond to your relationship questions in this advice column
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are now taking your wildest, messiest, thorniest relationship questions, in a new Yahoo advice column: Ask Amy & T.J. (Photo illustration: Yahoo, photo: Getty Images) Longtime journalists Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes have firsthand experience with the messiness of modern relationships and the complexity of combining family, finances and more when you're starting over with a new person. 'We're here to be the face of life is messy,' Robach says. 'Love is messy.' Robach and Holme's own relationship has unfolded, in all its complexity, in the public eye — a challenge the couple has turned into a strength. 'What it boils down to is that ours is a story people can relate to,' says Holmes. 'I think it's a more attainable goal for people in relationships to get where we got: We went through hell and then realized on the other side, I'm gonna be OK, and this relationship is worth fighting for.' Who better to tackle your trickiest problems than two people with hard-earned wisdom of their own? 'I feel like we've become experienced relationship veterans because we've had a lot of trial and error,' Robach explains (Holmes chimes in, with a laugh: 'a lot of errors'). And that's why the couple is so well-suited to be relationship advice columnists for Yahoo's Ask Amy & T.J. 'I think you really, truly learn when you make mistakes; when there are problems, even failures,' Robach admits. 'And we have learned significantly." In this weekly series, the celebrity pair will take on your questions, however complicated, bizarre or intimate — there are no taboos here — with humor and humility. Scroll to check out their latest column and check back every Monday morning for their latest advice to readers' juiciest relationship questions. Advertisement To get advice directly from Amy and T.J., send whatever relationship question is keeping you up at night — whether it's about friends, family, your love life or beyond — to askamyandtj@ Lisa W. wrote to Amy and T.J. to ask what to do about the socialite who's after her man. Should she forgive him for confiding in another woman or jump ship from this love triangle? (Photo illustration: Yahoo, photo: Getty Images) Friends are great, but what happens when the friend your partner is confiding in has designs on your significant other? In their first column, Robach and Holmes take on Lisa W.'s love triangle with her boyfriend and a meddling socialite. The couple gets real about what trust can — and can't — look like, and who you confront when three's company.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Chipotle is releasing its first dip in five years. Can you guess the flavor?
USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. For the first time in five years, Tex-Mex chain Chipotle is releasing a new dip called Adobo Ranch. According to the company, Adobo Ranch is Chipotle's first new dip since Queso Blanco, which was released in February 2020. The dip is made with all real ingredients. The dip will be available at all Chipotle locations in the U.S. and Canada starting on June 17. Chipotle Rewards members will get to try a free side of Adobo Ranch on June 17, the company said in a news release. In order to try the dip for free, customers must enroll in Chipotle Rewards by 11 p.m. local time on Monday, June 16. New Chipotle Rewards members can also get a free guac. Here's what to know about Chiptle's latest release. According to the company, ranch dips and dressings have become popular among customers; ranch dips and dressings have even become a more popular condiment than ketchup, America's favorite condiment in 2024. The company said in its news release that ranch is 'a cultural phenomenon,' especially among Gen Z. When asked what led to the release of the Adobo Ranch, Chris Brandt, President and Chief Brand Officer at Chipotle, said Chipotle customers are finding new ways to enjoy the restaurant's food. 'Adobo Ranch gives our guests even more ways to customize their meals and explore bold new flavor combinations with our real ingredients,' Brandt said in a statement to USA TODAY on June 9. More food news: Selena Gomez Oreo cookies are available starting June 9: Where to get them Chipotle said Adobo Ranch tastes puts a 'smoky, spicy twist" on ranch. It contains adobo pepper, sour cream, and herbs and spices. The company said the sauce will make a good addition to the restaurant's burritos, bowls, salads, tacos and quesadillas. In the company's news release, Vice President of Culinary at Chipotle Nevielle Panthaky suggested a few ways for customers to try the dip: Dip a quesadilla in Adobo Ranch. Dip salt and lime seasoned tortilla chips in Adobo Ranch before taking a bite out of a burrito bowl. To take advantage of the free dip or guac offers, Chipotle said: For a free side of Adobo Ranch, customers must enroll in Chipotle Rewards by 11 p.m. local time on Monday, June 16, and buy a regular-priced entrée on June 17. Valid only on June 17. For free guac, new Chipotle Rewards members must sign up in time and make a $5 minimum purchase. The deal expires if it is not used within seven days after it has been issued. Visit for more information on Chipotle Rewards, or for information on the free guac deal. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chipotle unveils new dip: Adobo Ranch