All-female groups have occupied a surprisingly small corner of Saturday Night Live’s musical history. From The Go-Go’s and The Bangles in the 1980s to Destiny’s Child, HAIM, boygenius and KATSEYE, the groups that have taken the Studio 8H stage as official musical guests represent a mix of pop, R&B, rock and indie.
The list becomes even more notable when the show’s more than five-decade history is considered. Traditional girl groups have appeared far less frequently than solo female artists and mixed-gender bands, making each new booking a distinct moment in SNL history.
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1980s: The Go-Go’s and The Bangles
The Go-Go’s were among the earliest major all-female bands to perform as SNL musical guests, appearing on November 14, 1981. The Los Angeles group performed two of its defining songs, “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat,” during an era when all-female rock bands were still fighting for space on mainstream stages.
Their SNL appearance came during the commercial breakthrough surrounding Beauty and the Beat, the group’s 1981 debut album. The record eventually reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making The Go-Go’s the first all-female band who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the chart.
Seven years later, The Bangles continued the tradition. The Los Angeles band appeared on the December 3, 1988, episode hosted by Danny DeVito, performing “In Your Room” and “Hazy Shade of Winter.”
By then, The Bangles had already established themselves as one of the biggest female rock acts of the decade. “Hazy Shade of Winter,” their cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song, had become one of their signature recordings, while their 1986 album Different Light had produced the global hit “Walk Like an Egyptian.”
1990s: R&B and Pop Girl Groups Take Over
The 1990s brought a significant shift in the type of all-female groups appearing on SNL. R&B and pop groups became increasingly prominent, with En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa, TLC and the Spice Girls bringing some of the decade’s biggest sounds to Studio 8H.
En Vogue appeared twice. Their first performance came March 21, 1992, on an episode hosted by Mary Stuart Masterson, where they performed “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” and “Free Your Mind.” The group returned May 17, 1997, hosted by Jeff Goldblum, to perform “Don’t Let Go (Love).”
Salt-N-Pepa followed in 1994. The pioneering hip-hop trio appeared on the February 5 episode hosted by Patrick Stewart and performed material including “Shoop,” one of the group’s most recognizable hits from the previous year.
TLC arrived the following year, appearing May 6, 1995, with Bob Saget as host. The group performed “Creep” and “Red Light Special,” both taken from its landmark second album CrazySexyCool. That record would eventually become one of the best-selling albums by a female group, while “Waterfalls” would become another defining moment in the trio’s career.
The decade closed with one of the most internationally recognizable girl groups of all time. The Spice Girls made their SNL debut April 12, 1997, performing “Wannabe” and “Say You’ll Be There” as their global takeover continued.
2000s: Destiny’s Child Sets the Standard
Destiny’s Child became one of the defining all-female groups of the early 2000s, and their SNL appearances reflected their enormous commercial momentum.
The group first appeared May 5, 2001, performing “Survivor” and “Emotion.” “Survivor” had arrived earlier that year as the title track to their third studio album and quickly became one of the group’s signature songs.
Destiny’s Child returned to SNL on December 18, 2004, performing “Soldier” and “Cater 2 U.” By then, the group was operating at the height of its commercial power, with Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams forming one of the most recognizable lineups in contemporary pop.
2010s: HAIM Brings the Band Back
HAIM became the next major all-female group to perform as SNL musical guests when the three sisters appeared November 23, 2013.
Este, Danielle and Alana Haim brought a different dynamic to the show. Rather than a choreography-driven pop group, HAIM represented the modern evolution of the all-female rock band, combining live instrumentation with pop songwriting and contemporary production.
The group returned to SNL on May 13, 2017. The second appearance reinforced their position as one of the most prominent all-female bands of the 2010s and made HAIM one of the few groups on this list to receive multiple musical-guest bookings outside the classic girl-group era.
2020s: boygenius and KATSEYE
The 2020s brought two very different additions to the SNL history of all-female groups.
boygenius — Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus — performed November 11, 2023, during the episode hosted by Timothée Chalamet. The indie-rock supergroup performed as a trio during a period when their debut studio album, the record, had become one of the most acclaimed releases of the year.
KATSEYE became the latest addition on September 26, 2026, when the global girl group made its SNL debut during the Season 52 premiere hosted by Jalen Brunson. Lara Raj, Yoonchae Jeung, Daniela Avanzini and Megan Skiendiel performed “Animal” and “Hottie Frutti” from their third EP, Wild.
The appearance arrived at a particularly important point in KATSEYE’s rapid rise. Wild had debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 170,000 equivalent album units, while “Animal” had reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The SNL booking also made KATSEYE the first all-female group to serve as the musical guest for a season-opening episode.
Photo: SNL/YouTube
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