“I'm Freaking Out”: Noah Kahan Reacts to Being Name-Checked in Paul Mescal's ‘Spotify Wrapped’ SNL Skit

During this weekend's Saturday Night Live episode, which aired on December 7th via NBC, Paul Mescal took the helm as the guest host, while Shaboozey provided a double-dose of country music by performing ‘Good News’ and ’A Bar Song (Tipsy)’.

While Shaboozey's electrifying live offerings undoubtedly served as two of the stand-out moments from the show, there was a particularly amusing skit that also caught fans’ attention.

Titled ‘Spotify Wrapped’, the sketch revolves around Paul Mescal, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman and Andrew Dismukes, who play four friends jovially looking back on the year.

When Dismukes brings up the subject of Spotify Wrapped, hilariously, Sherman responds, “Yeah, I don't want to talk about mine. It's so much Noah Kahan, it's literally a cry for help”.

Noah Kahan - who performed on SNL almost a year to the day back in December 2023 - has taken to his Instagram Stories to jokingly react to the playful name-check.

The ‘Stick Season’ hitmaker teased, “Hearing reports that SNL used my music as a joke in one of their skits and I'm freaking out”. Noah Kahan has always been one of the more self-effacing artists in today's pantheon of greats, with the Vermont native always keen to poke fun at himself and the often-forlorn ambience of his catalogue.

For instance, for his 2024 Spotify Wrapped fan video, Noah Kahan provided a typically tongue-in-cheek message, “If you're listening to this message, it's because you went through something traumatic this year and decided to listen to my music. I really appreciate it. [I'm] obviously sorry for whatever it is you're going through”.

Kahan expanded, “If you're an emotionally stable person and you're listening, I would consider listening to something else. But it means the world every year to see so many people listen to my music, and in all seriousness, my music is for everybody and I appreciate everybody listening to it. It means the world. I'm always blown away”.

Later in SNL's ‘Spotify Wrapped’ skit, Paul Mescal steps into the shoes of someone with very niche listening tastes, finding himself in the top 0.05% of a made-up artist from Dundalk, Maryland called Satoshi Gutman, played by Bowen Yang. Gutman was joined by US media personality, Trisha Paytas, as the duo appeared in Mescal and his friends’ living room for the climax of the light-hearted skit.

The decision to reference Noah Kahan likely stems from the fact that the ‘Northern Attitude’ crooner was a prominent figure on many listeners’ Spotify Wrapped round-ups, with ‘Stick Season’ being crowned the UK's most-streamed song of the year.

For more on Noah Kahan, see below: