After a brief hiatus from the holiday season, Saturday Night Live (SNL) returned to the screen on Jan. 20, making it the first episode of 2024. It was confirmed that this episode would be hosted by Australian actor Jacob Elordi, joined by musical guest Renee Rapp. Both hosts made their SNL debut with the recent installment, according to lastnighton.com.

Elordi first rose to fame with his roles of Noah Flynn in “The Kissing Booth” trilogy, but has gained new traction following the release of “Priscilla,” for which he received a nomination for the People’s Choice Awards (PCA) in the category “The Drama Movie Star,” according to nbc.com.

Rapp starred as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls” at 19 years old and reprised her role in the movie musical that came out on Jan. 12, 2024. Her debut album, “Snow Angel,” came out on Aug. 18, 2023, receiving much praise from fans. In October 2023, Rapp performed her single from the album, “Tummy Hurts,” on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” according to nbc.com.

“My favorite song is ‘In the Kitchen,’ but ‘Tummy Hurts’ is a close second,” junior Luke Schmidtberger said. “I just think they sound really good.”

On Jan. 17, SNL released a teaser trailer on their official YouTube channel, which featured Elordi attempting to walk down the stairs on the set of SNL. The PCA nominee is shown tumbling down the stairs, contrasted by clips of previous hosts such as Megan Thee Stallion and Zac Efron making grand entrances on the show. Two SNL cast members try to assist Elordi in making his entrance, only for him to fall flat on his face, according to billboard.com.

After the SNL episode’s premiere, people across all social media platforms raved about Rapp’s performance of her song “Snow Angel,” praising the power of her vocals while live on stage. Later on, Rapp was joined by Stallion as they performed their song “Not My Fault,” which they collaborated on for the end credit song of the new “Mean Girls” movie. Fans of the show were also enthralled by the surprise appearance of Rachel McAdams, who played the role of Regina George in the original 2004 “Mean Girls” film.