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Kate McKinnon sings 'Hallelujah' in emotional 'Saturday Night Live' cold open

"Saturday Night Live" skipped the jokes for its first cold open since 2016 presidential election.
/ Source: TODAY

There have been riots across the nation and vows to march on Washington since Donald Trump was deemed President-elect Wednesday morning. Many turned on “Saturday Night Live” at the end of the emotional week for laughs, but they got something different at the start of the show: a moving performance from cast member Kate McKinnon.

The broadcast opened with McKinnon, in character as Trump’s opponent, Secretary Hillary Clinton, sitting at the piano. She delivered a stirring version of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, whose death was also announced this week.

One verse that surely resonated for McKinnon’s version of the Democratic nominee: "I did my best, it wasn't much, I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch. I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you. And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the lord of song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah."

“I’m not giving up and neither should you,” McKinnon told viewers after the performance.

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Comedian Dave Chappelle was the guest host for the broadcast.

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