Lady Gaga SNL's "3-Way" Song with Justin Timberlake & Andy Samberg Nabbed an Emmy Nom
As Lady Gaga recalls it, Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg were nervous to ask her to do the iconic SNL sketch.
From “Telephone” with Beyoncé to “Rain On Me” with Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga has a deep catalog of pop song collaborations. And of course, that body of work includes the
"Abracadabra" singer's role in Saturday Night Live’s “3-Way (The Golden Rule)” song with Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg.
When Timberlake hosted SNL’s Season 36 finale episode on May 21, 2011, Samberg and fellow Lonely Island members Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone specifically had Lady Gaga in mind to star in the now-famous Digital Short.
“[We] thought it would be awesome to get [Gaga] involved just to up the ante, because we had already done two,” the SNL alum shared in a 2013 interview with AV Club, referring to the previous pretaped sketches starring Samberg and Timberlake, "D-ck in a Box" and "Motherlover."
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And up the ante they did. While Samberg and Timberlake reprised their roles as the stuck-in-the-90s R&B duo, Gaga joined as a woman who’s been flirting with both of them. “Hey, boys, I want you both,” Gaga sings as she opens the door. “I hope that you think that's cool. I know most guys won't freak together.”
RELATED: Lady Gaga and Andy Samberg's Dramatic "D*** in a Box" Duet Is Truly Sublime (VIDEO)
Lonely Island's "3-Way" lyrics invent a golden rule
But then the friends remember a workaround: “It's okay when it's in a 3-way,” Timberlake and Samberg sing together in the chorus. “It's not gay when it's in a 3-way. With a honey in the middle, there's some leeway. The area's grey in a 1-2-3-way.”
That song not only earned massive laughs when it first aired on SNL and millions of views on YouTube, it also scored an Emmy nod in 2011.
SNL's “3-Way” with Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake got an Emmy nomination
SNL earned four nominations in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards — including one for “3-Way (The Golden Rule).”
While The Lonely Island’s song with Gaga didn’t win, Timberlake’s did take home the award for his musical monologue from the same May 2011 episode.
Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake nervously asked Lady Gaga to star in SNL’s “3-Way” musical digital short
Lady Gaga revealed in a 2011 radio interview that Samberg and Timberlake were so nervous to ask her to do the sketch, they both “choked” during their pitch.
“I wish that they filmed the backstage scenario as both Justin and Andy Samberg tried simultaneously to pitch this idea to me, and they both choked on the way in," she told Mojo in the Morning after her Season 36 SNL appearance. She added that Timberlake first tried pitching the idea to Gaga before frantically handing the task off to Samberg.
“Then they both came in finally, and they told me the story and I’m like, ‘Guys, I get it,’” Gaga recalled, and she told them she was game.
RELATED: How Justin Timberlake Convinced Beyoncé to Do SNL's "Single Ladies" Sketch
Lady Gaga and Andy Samberg reunited for SNL’s 50th anniversary
More than a decade after “3-Way" made its mark, Gaga reunited with Samberg at SNL50: The Homecoming Concert to perform a live medley of Lonely Island songs. With Timberlake absent from the event, Gaga took over his lyrics while also playing piano. “Andy don't be a b***h, I’ll do it with you,” Gaga told Samberg just before they sang a duet of “D*** in a Box” and “Motherlover.”
How many times has Lady Gaga been on SNL?
Six times in total.
One day after the release of her seventh studio album, Mayhem, Lady Gaga returns as SNL's Host and Musical Guest on March 8, 2025 — her second time pulling double-duty since her November 16, 2013 episode.
Gaga has been Musical Guest three additional times: October 3, 2009; May 21, 2011; and October 22, 2016. And in Season 49, she made one more cameo appearance to introduce Bad Bunny's first performance from his own double-duty episode.
Don’t miss Lady Gaga’s long-awaited return when Saturday Night Live airs on March 8 at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and Peacock, streaming next-day on Peacock.
