The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Show comes to Saturday Night Live

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce live at the center of the pop culture universe at the moment. And for its season 49 premiere, Saturday Night Live pulled into the celebrity couple’s orbit.

Swift and Kelce seemed like an unlikely pair, yet their brief history together has already captured the attention of millions. The biggest name in music and an NFL superstar create the sort of crossover appeal that doesn’t come around too often.

For 49 years, Saturday Night Live has kept its finger on the pulse of pop culture. It was all but guaranteed that SNL would make a reference to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce during the season premiere hosted by Pete Davidson.

But in typical Taylor Swift fashion, she had a surprise for her fans. The Eras Tour singer and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end had cameos on Saturday Night Live.

Travis Kelce’s  cameos in Taylor Swift Saturday Night Live sketch

Saturday Night Live didn’t waste any time mentioning Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The first sketch of the night was a Fox NFL Sunday bit. Pete Davidson played a Swift-obsessed sideline reporter, parodying how Swift’s popularity has loomed over the NFL this season.

Travis Kelce appears in the final moments, introduced as someone who “actually wants to talk about football.” It’s an unexpected twist as Kelce returns to Saturday Night Live after hosting last season.

The massive applause when Kelce appears proves the Taylor Swift Effect. The SNL audience gave the football star the type of welcome typically reserved for former cast members. And Kelce’s cameo increased anticipation that Swift was also in the building.

Taylor Swift follows Travis Kelce on Saturday Night Live

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce had one more surprise toward the end of Saturday Night Live. Swift appeared to introduce Ice Spice for the rapper’s second performance.

The reception for Swift wasn’t exactly earth-shattering. But that probably had something to do with the audience seeing her get into place before SNL returned from commercial.

Swift and Ice Spice have their own history, making Swift a fitting choice to introduce the rapper. Ice Spice appears on the remix of Swift’s song “Karma” and the two sat side-by-side during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

However, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce did not join Pete Davidson, Ice Spice, and the SNL cast on stage for the traditional goodnights. But photographers did spot the couple arriving at the afterparty hand-in-hand.

Saturday Night Live set the bar pretty high for cameos this season. It’s hard to imagine anyone topping Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, but SNL has plenty of chances to try as the season continues starting next week.