Machine Gun Kelly made his Saturday Night Live debut in the long-running series’ first show of 2021.

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The 30-year-old rapper and singer opened with a solo rendition of ‘My Ex’s Best Friend’ last night (January 30), before closing with an emotional performance of ‘Lonely’, written about his late father who died in July 2020.

“I remember when I was a kid watching [SNL] every weekend with my aunt and my dad, since they aren’t here to see this moment, I’m going to perform the song I wrote for them on the show,” Kelly tweeted earlier this week. “Hopefully, I’ll feel them there.”

Both songs are from his fifth album ‘Tickets to My Downfall’, which was released last September. Watch both performances below.

Actor and director John Krasinski, who was originally scheduled to make his hosting debut last March before his appearance was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, also made a debut appearance on the show as host.

Machine Gun Kelly has had a busy start to 2021, including a recent zombie-inspired video for ‘Acting Like That’, his latest collaboration with Yungblud.

Earlier this month, Kelly released his “pop-punk musical” Downfalls High, a 50-minute film  that was recently compared to Pink Floyd‘s ‘The Wall’ by Kelly himself, who also wrote and directed the piece.

In a four-star review, NME wrote: “In a world of content for content’s sake – films have often been used by artists try and extend the lifespan of an album – Downfalls High feels driven by purpose.”