Summary
- SNL has featured many brilliant actors during its five decades on the air.
- One of the current SNL stars used Kelly Clarkson's song in her audition.
- The song was a critical success and received a Grammy nomination.
When it premiered in 1975, Saturday Night Live quickly caught on with audiences and became one of the most popular shows on television. Since then, the fan-favorite sketch show has spanned a whopping forty-nine seasons, making it one of the longest-running programs on TV.
Naturally, SNL has seen many notable actors during its extensive run, many of whom have gone on to become the ultimate movie and TV stars. For example, Bill Murray, Maya Rudolph, Robert Downey Jr, Tracy Morgan, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, and Tina Fey have all worked on the show at various times in its long history.
Currently, SNL also features many talented actors – from Ego Nwodim to Marcello Hernandez to Chloe Troast – many of whom have recently joined the cast.
Although she has been on the show longer than some of her co-stars, Heidi Gardner is also a fairly recent addition to the show. And apparently Kelly Clarkson, unbeknownst to herself, played a role in the casting of the actress.
Background Support
Heidi Gardner joined Saturday Night Live during Season 43 in 2017. Unlike many other SNL cast members, she didn't have a lot of acting experience, having never received any formal training in the field. Before SNL, Gardner had done some voiceover work for the animated sitcom SuperMansion and worked as a hairstylist for nine years, so her casting on the popular sketch show was a real breakthrough. And according to Gardner, Kelly Clarkson had something to do with it.
'I have to thank you because you are actually part of why, I believe, I'm on SNL. I was actually playing one of your songs during my audition,' Heidi Gardner told the singer in a recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. 'I was playing this crazed Mary Kay executive makeup woman giving a seminar, and every time I would hit a point, I would then make eye contact with the audience, start tracking across the stage while Heartbeat Song was playing.'
The Hymn of Confidence
Considering that Heidi Gardner has been an indispensable member of the SNL cast since 2017, her audition was a success, and while it's an exaggeration to credit Kelly Clarkson's hit song for that, it definitely played its part.
Heartbeat Song was released in early 2015 as the single from Clarkson's seventh studio album, Piece by Piece. The track was an instant hit with audiences and critics thanks to its upbeat tempo and life-affirming lyrics, leading to a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. No wonder Heidi Gardner chose it for her SNL audition.
Source: YouTube.