Just 17 Musician Cameos On TV Shows That Are Memorable For ~Very~ Different Reasons

"I threw up, passed out and then remembered long distance is expensive."

We all love a good cameo in a TV show, particularly ones that ~actually~ work. Musicians aren't always the best actors, and cameos by musical artists can range from fun and interesting to frankly quite out-of-place.

Netflix

From Game of Thrones to Friends, let's take look at 17 memorable times musicians cameoed in TV shows:

1. Prince in New Girl

Fox

How did New Girl manage to land a cameo from one of the biggest pop stars of all time? It's simple, he was a big fan of the show and offered to come on. Zooey Deschanel talked about not believing it when she first received an email from the star's agent, saying:

"it was like the most on-brand Prince email ever — like too on-brand. It was like, 'Hello, I am manager to legendary artist Prince. He is loving the show New Girl. He would like 2 B' — you know, like, 2 B — 'on the show'. And I'm like, this has to be a prank. There's no way".

Prince played himself in an episode where Jess and Nick are having trouble communicating. Jess and Cece are invited to the star's house, and Jess gets the unbelievable opportunity to talk out her relationship drama with The Purple One himself. Overall this cameo definitely worked. Not only were the scenes fantastic, the number of viewers for the episode rose from an average of three or four million, to over 26 million! 

Check out the scene here:

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2. Ed Sheeran in Game of Thrones

HBO

Ed's cameo in Game of Thrones certainly ruffled some feathers, and its poor reception gave season seven a disappointing start that it arguably never recovered from. The cameo didn't work because there was frankly no need for it – particularly from someone as famous and recognisable as Ed! Part of the show's (and the book's) excellence stemmed from the immersive atmosphere it created, and that was totally collapsed by Ed's face and voice.

The early seasons had spent so much time creating a world for us to step into, a world full of characters we were invested in and storylines we were eager to follow. More than this, that world was fundamentally separate from the real world we know! So the introduction of one of the most famous singers in the world – who also isn't an actor – was incredibly jarring, and took a lot of people out of it.

Take a look at the cameo:

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3. Billie Eilish in Swarm

Amazon Prime Video

Billie made her (major) acting debut recently in the hit show, Swarm. The star has the renowned casting director Carmen Cuba to thank for her involvement, as co-showrunner Janine Nabers revealed to Teen Vogue: "We were looking to cast the episode and she suggested Billie, and I said, 'Does she act?' And she said, 'Yeah.' And I said, 'What has she been in?' And she said, 'Nothing.'" 

Thankfully, producers were instantly keen on the idea. The award-winning singer really showed off her talents and earned high praise for her performance. She plays cult leader, Eva, the head of a group loosely based on the NXIVM cult, which was prominent around the same time the show is set (2016-2018). 

Watch her scene pack here (spoilers):

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4. Katy Perry in How I Met Your Mother

CBS

Katy isn't a prolific cameo star, but she did appear on our screens for an episode of HIMYM where she played the naive and fairly simple-minded cousin of Zoe, who they called "Honey." While there wasn't too much wrong with Katy's performance, there was a certain tiredness to the character that used the 'naive, gullible girl' trope, which made the cameo somewhat less enjoyable.

Have a look at her cameo here:

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5. Snoop Dogg in Weeds

Showtime

This was the cameo that all Weeds fans were waiting for, and it absolutely did not disappoint. Snoop enters the show as himself and Nancy makes her first sale to him; he subsequently writes the "Milf Weed song" about her high-grade product. 

Snoop talked about how he prepared for the role by "[staying] up all night watching Cheech and Chong," which is frankly amazing. He also added that he was literally playing himself, so he didn't have to do too much work. I think it's fair to say Snoop fitted in absolutely fine.

Take a look here:

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6. Britney Spears in Glee

Fox

Britney's appearance in the "Britney/Brittany" episode was a nice touch for her fans and, of course, for Heather Morris. The princess of pop starred in a few scenes in the episode, but her biggest impact seemed to be on the set itself. 

Creator Ryan Murphy said her appearance was "like the president had come", referring to all the increased security that the singer brought with her. "We all had to wear wristbands", Ryan told E! Online: "I couldn't get into my own sets at one point, which I thought was hilarious."

Of her experience on the show, Britney said, "I loved it! Thank you guys so much for making this happen!" Glee has had a lot of cameos, and so has Britney, but I find this one the most interesting. Not that she doesn't belong on Glee, but she only appeared in dream sequences for a few seconds, which was a super interesting way to use her.

Check out Britney (and Brittany) on Glee:

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7. Britney (again) on Jane The Virgin

The CW

Britney's appearance on Jane was, probably, a far better use of the star's talents. She appeared in season five, episode two, and her appearance revolved around her feuding with Rogelio. The pop icon was flanked by a troop of backup dancers for the majority of her scenes, and felt more Britney-like somehow.

Ms Spears was happy to join the cast for an episode, sharing that it was one of her favourite shows ever! She joined an impressive list of pop royalty who have all graced the show, including Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Bruno Mars. 

NGL, Britney is perhaps the queen of cameos, with other excellent appearances on How I Met Your Mother, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Will & Grace, to name a few.

Take a look at her episode here:

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8. Kesha in Jane the Virgin

The CW

Fans were shocked when Kesha appeared on season two, episode two of the hit show – mainly that she wasn't even playing herself! She singer came in as Jane's new neighbour, Annabelle, an aspiring rock artist... Not too far a stretch for Kesha to pull off.

Executive producer, Jennie Snyder Urman, said on the appearance: "We are so thrilled Kesha will be appearing on Jane. We are all huge fans of hers, and we are so excited to welcome her to the Jane the Virgin family."  

Props to Kesha for coming in and actually playing a character rather than herself, (which many have on Jane). I think she did great!

Here's a clip:

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9. Paris Hilton in Supernatural

The WB / The CW

Paris made a surprise appearance in a season five episode called "Fallen Idols," where she portrays a shape-shifting forest god called Leshi. The god took the form of their celebrity idols, and when Paris emerged as one of them, the Winchester brothers managed to behead it.  

Creator, Eric Kripke, spoke about landing Paris for the role: "we never expected in a million years that she would do it, but I spoke to her and she got the joke immediately and signed on quickly. I give her a lot of credit for being a hell of a good sport. The fact that she was game to play the part speaks volumes about her sense of humour."

While this was a bit of a strange cameo, at least it showed a certain level of self-awareness in Paris!

Here'ssssssssss Paris:

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10. Chrissie Hynde in Friends

NBC

Friends, of course, boasts a long list of celebrity cameos, and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders did NOT disappoint. Her appearance as Stephanie on the show made for a great episode, in which she begins performing at Central Perk and somewhat upstages Phoebe.

Phoebe ends up protesting outside the coffee shop before the two meet and eventually reconcile (although not before Phoebe ridicules Stephanie for "knowing the chords"). In the end, Phoebe teaches Stephanie "Smelly Cat", which as it turns out, Chrissie actually co-wrote with Lisa Kudrow!!!

Here's her performance:

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11. Stevie Nicks in American Horror Story: Coven

FX

Stevie's appearance on American Horror Story wasn't even really intended. Misty Day, a witch in the series, is obsessed with Stevie's music, so the creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk reached out to the star, asking to use some of her music for the show.

Well, Ryan and Brad lucked out, as after seeing the first episode, Stevie was hooked! She soon contacted Ryan to offer to do a walk-through in an episode. When she saw the script, however, she realised that her role was far greater than she'd imagined, and was apparently incredibly nervous – not seeing herself as much of an actor at all.

In the end, she had a wonderful experience on set, and her appearance on the show was iconic.

Take a look here:

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12. Cher in WIll & Grace

NBC

The legendary singer joined the show twice during its first fun – initially in season three, during which Cher meets Jack, a super fan who is out to lunch with his Cher doll. In the funny exchange, Jack believes the singer to be a drag queen and boasts that he can do a better Cher impression than her. (For better or worse, it's probably one of the most enduring Cher impressions in all of cinematic history).

She also made another quick cameo in season four, when Jack dreams about god who, of course, takes the physical form of Cher. Naturally, both of Cher's cameos were flawless. Sean Hayes was absolutely made up with the appearance, telling People that "She's super cool, super down to earth, really fun and funny and got a big heart".

Eric McCormack (Will) similarly recounted the experience, revealing that "[Cher] came in that day, she didn't rehearse up until the day of the show, she walked in just to rehearse the scene with Sean, and she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup and she was gorgeous."

Take a look at the ICONIC Cher-off scene here:

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13. Boyz II Men in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

NBC

The group made an appearance on Fresh Prince during an episode where Will puts his foot in his mouth and announces that he's booked them to sing at Nicky's christening. Though Will manages to sneak into a radio station where the band are making an appearance on a show, he gets thrown out.

In the end, just when Will is about to announce his failure to secure the group for the Christening, they come out and perform. The quartet fit seamlessly into the show, and this was deffo a cameo that worked. 

Of their appearance, Shawn Stockman said, "We're Philly boys and we have a history growing up in the same neighbourhoods and being in the business. It was like hanging with homies. We were extremely proud of Will and seeing his success grow."

Have a look at them in action:

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14. Dolly Parton in Hannah Montana

Disney Channel

It probably didn't take much convincing to get Dolly on the show, seeing as she's Miley Cyrus's real-life godmother. Dolly came in for the episode "Good Golly Miss Dolly", in which Aunt Dolly comes to stay with Miley in order to help with her fixation with her crush, Jake. 

Dolly would feature a few more times throughout the show, notably in season two when she and Mamaw Ruthie are feuding over past issues while attending an award ceremony with Miley. Of course, Dolly was excellent on the show, and you could really perceive her real life love for Miley, which was lovely!

Have a look here:

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15. David Bowie in Extras

BBC One

Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais – the creators of Extras – must've been absolutely ~thrilled~ when the legendary singer agreed to come on the show. It all began when Ricky met David at an event, and the two became friends – a huge deal for Ricky who is a lifelong fan! After the singer emailed to say he thoroughly enjoyed watching Gervais's show, The Office, things went from there and the star agreed to make an appearance on Extras.

David was, of course, fantastic on the show. He appears when Andy (Gervais) bumps into him at a bar and shares with the singer his worry that he's lost his integrity as an actor. David proceeds to mock Andy with an improvised ditty that is hella cruel, but unbelievably funny.

Here's a look at David in Extras (and I do highly recommend you pause to watch this):

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"Pug, pug! Pug, pug!"

16. Pete Wentz in One Tree Hill

The WB / The CW

This three-episode-long stint has to be one of the worst cameos ever. That's nothing against Pete, it's more to do with the awkward and frankly quite bizarre storyline that was written for him.

The Fall Out Boy star came into the show as himself, when high school senior Peyton Sawyer booked the band to play at an all-ages club. Pete and Peyton then proceeded to have a sort of fling, despite the fact that Pete was in his twenties and Peyton was supposed to be in high school. Hilarie Burton, who played Peyton, felt bad about the cameo after, saying: 

"I don't think he realized our characters were in high school because we were all in our 20s in real life. So it wasn't until even I watched it back that I was like, 'Oh, there's a lot of insinuation in here. I thought we were just kissing buddies, but this looks bad in the edit.'"

Here's a look at the appearance:

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17. Carole King in Gilmore Girls

The WB / The CW

Not only did Carole re-write and sing the theme song, "Where You Lead", for the show, she also appeared in both the original run and revival of Gilmore Girls. Carole played surly store owner Sophie Bloom, who had a lot of interaction with Lane (Keiko Agena) and Zach (Todd Lowe).

Creator, Amy Sherman, was shocked that Carole was keen to do the song, and recounted their conversation in an article for the LA Times: 

"She said she wanted to remake the song into a mother/daughter valentine, changing the original theme from the journey of a woman following a man to two women devoted to each other. Was I cool with that? I threw up, passed out and then remembered long distance is expensive. Cool. Yes. Very cool. The coolest."

Check out Carole in all her glory here:

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What are some of your fave celeb cameos in TV shows? Let us know in the comments below!