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Scarlett Johansson Sings in This Wild Jam Session of an SNL Sketch

The Five-Timers Club member's SNL debut featured a musical sketch co-starring Will Forte, Fred Armisen, and Kristen Wiig.

By Samantha Vincenty

Scarlett Johansson is a multi-talented entertainer. The Academy Award nominee and star of the next Jurassic World movie is also a singer with two albums under her belt — and on January 14, 2006, the future Saturday Night Live Five-Timers Club member showcased her comedic talent in an SNL debut that drew on her vocal talents. Following a monologue duet with Amy Poehler, Johansson joined forces with Season 31 cast members Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, Rachel Dratch, and Andy Samberg in a hilariously unhinged musical sketch called "Fly High Duluth."

How to Watch

Watch Saturday Night Live Saturdays at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and next day on Peacock.  

In "Fly High Duluth," the hosts of a local Minnesota morning show (Jason Sudeikis and Amy Poehler) get way more than they bargained for when a local band performs the show's special new theme song.

The sketch let Johansson have fun with her vocal talents — and boasts a legitimately excellent drum solo from Fred Armisen. 

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Kristen Wiig, Scarlett Johansson as Char Hamrlik, Will Forte, and Horatio Sanz during "Duluth Live" skit on Saturday Night Live on January 14, 2005.

Scarlett Johansson and Will Forte rock out in SNL's "Fly High Duluth" 

"Fly high, Duluth, your spirit has no measure," Forte's ponytailed vocalist, Wally Hamrlik, sings. 

"Fly high, Duluth, the northland is your treasure," coos Wally's "she-tiger mate for life," Char (Johansson), sharing vocals. As the band continues to play, the show's hosts thank them for the "catchy new theme."

But they soon learn that the band's not even close to wrapping up their number.

The hosts are confused when the jazzy tune turns into a blues rock jam about Duluth's cheap booze and loose women, as Wally and Char duet on the chorus (and Wiig and Dratch do some very funny loose-limbed dancing in matching hats and vests). 

Poehler and Sudeikis's hosts look progressively more annoyed as they sit through a guitar solo and Wally chugs a bottle of Jack Daniels, before he launches into a Jim Morrison-esque spoken word performance. It's honestly some of Forte's best work on the show, and Sudeikis looks genuinely impressed for a brief second at the 4:09 mark.

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By the time Armisen delivers his sick drum solo, Duluth Live's hosts have totally given up, leafing through magazines as Forte's character wails about "my loins, my loins, my loins!"

Watch "Fly High Duluth" sketch above.

Kristen Wiig, Scarlett Johansson as Char Hamrlik, Will Forte, and Horatio Sanz during "Duluth Live" skit on Saturday Night Live on January 14, 2005.

Does Scarlett Johansson really sing?

Yes.

You might've wondered whether it was truly Johansson singing in the Sing movies, in which she played adorable porcupine Ash. It was — and she even joined forces with Bono for a duet in Sing 2.

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Johansson also released two studio albums in the 2000s: 2008's Tom Waits covers album Anywhere I Lay My Head, and her Break Up record with musician Pete Yorn from 2009. 

"I have always loved to sing. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be in musicals and all that kind of stuff," the Fly Me to the Moon actress told Interview magazine in 2008, adding that "my voice was kind of deep, so it was hard to find a part I could do." It's safe to say that Johansson has since found her range.