‘Saturday Night Live’: Jennifer Lawrence to host, The Lumineers perform January 19

On the final episode of “Saturday Night Live” this year, the show made a rather huge announcement: a certain woman from “The Hunger Games” would be making her first appearance on the show as host on January 19. In addition to that, “Ho Hey” singers The Lumineers” will also be stopping by for their first performance as a musical guest.

When it comes to ratings grabs, “SNL” could not have gotten it more right than they did here. Lawrence has become an overnight star, but she also has an Oscar nomination to her name (“Winter’s Bone”) and could have another with “Silver Linings Playbook.” Therefore, she will be bringing a touch of buzz to go along with the acting chops necessary to carry a show that is as challenging as this one. There’s nothing harder than making a cynical audience laugh, especially one that is also watching live, where anything can happen.

The other thing that is exciting here is that this is clearly something that Lawrence did not have to do at all. She’s already plenty famous, and she does not really have anything substantial to promote early next year. Therefore, she seems to be doing this more for the sake of the art rather than for anything else. You have to love that. Meanwhile, The Lumineers are a return to the sort of indie-rock roots that “SNL” loves, especially when it comes to helping young stars break out. Such past recent guests include fun., Gotye, and Karmin, who have all had enormous hit singles within the past year.

What do you think about the booking of Lawrence, and do you think that she is a perfect fit for the “SNL” stage? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below! If you want to watch a video preview for Martin Short’s show, you can do so here.

Photo: NBC