Last time Kanye did Saturday Night Live he ended “Champion” with a clumsy freestyle that left some viewers convinced he bombed. Tonight’s performance on the Hugh Laurie-hosted Christmas episode likely garnered similar reactions. We’ve already heard how, despite the assistance of live Auto-Tune, Kanye’s vocals on “Love Lockdown” literally fall flat on TV (see Ellen, Kimmel). But because this show was live, KW didn’t attempt the high notes, instead going silent while they piped in a female backup singer. Awkward. “Heartless” brought less strain on his voice, and benefited from the cool rotoscoped video behind him, but halfway through morphed into “Pinocchio Story,” the laughable live track that closes out 808s. “There is no Gucci I could buy/ There is no Louis Vuitton to put on/ There is no YSL that they could sell/ To get my mind out of this hell.” To quote the departing Amy Poehler … REALLY!?!
