- 2025-11-03
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MUSIC
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Brandi Carlile Performs “Church & State” & “Human” on Saturday Night Live
American singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile appeared on Saturday Night Live to perform “Church & State” and “Human”.
This marks the fourth time Brandi Carlile has performed on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest, following her appearance with British singer-songwriter Elton John back in April.
“Church & State” and “Human” are featured on her latest album “Returning To Myself”, which was released on October 23, 2025.
Both songs were written by Andrew Watt, Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, and Tim Hanseroth.
The album “Returning To Myself” is her first solo record in four years since the 2021 album “In These Silent Days”.
She recorded an co-produced it with The American rock band The National's Aaron Dessner, Andrew Watt, and American indie folk band Bon Iver's Justin Vernon at Long Pond Studio in New York.- Brandi Carlile told Apple Music about “Church & State”, “We were set up to jam and that song was really carnal. We were in a circle. It was like rock ’n’ roll time, and it was November 5th, the night of the [2024] election. I went into the studio, laptop open, spiraling, just not doing great emotionally. I mean, I knew what was coming. I had written ‘Human’ the night before, and it was like a primal cry for self-preservation in a way, and not just for me, for everybody.”
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She said of “Human” via Apple Music, “I do feel that every generation since recorded history believes that their generation is the one living through the end of the world. I think that’s really comforting. And we do. We all see our conflicts and our wars and our political upheavals and tyranny and democracy in constant balance. We are in a loop, and the loop is the loop of humanity. And don’t be apathetic. Don’t ignore it. Don’t look away. Do fight. Do be an activist. Do get out of bed every morning and think about how you can serve humanity. But also touch grass. Also realize that you’re here for a split second and that you don’t want to look back and realize you missed the whole thing because you believed you were living through the end of the world.” - source : NBC
