Before Brat Summer, Charli XCX was a singing meatball on SNL

Before BRAT In the summer, “Apple” singer Charli XCX was a cute little musical muscleman.

The Grammy-nominated British singer-songwriter has reached a career peak with her meme-generating sixth studio album. BRAT, that mixes danceable bops with confessional, thoughtful melodies. But Charli has Saturday Night Live Debut as a musical guest back in the “Boom Clap” days in 2014.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Charli’s SNL Returning on December 18, 2021, Charli moved her performance to Oscar Isaac’s episode on March 5, 2022 – and ended up delivering a soulful, piano-driven duet with the dune Actors in Sarah Sherman’s quirky, pre-recorded sketch “Meatballs.”

RELATED: Maya Rudolph sang the national anthem version of “End Them All” on SNL

Charli XCX and Oscar Isaac sing a duet as Meatballs on SNL

In “Meatballs,” body horror master Sarah Sherman plays a woman on her third date with a man who asks her why she always wears a bow around her neck. (In a prescient piece BRAT Synergy, her ribbon happens to be light green.)

“There’s a little meatball guy on the side of my neck,” she tells her date, played by Chris Redd. “Every time I take the green band off and expose him to the light, he wakes up and sings his little songs.” A few more questions reveal the whole truth: She has an entire meatball band growing on her body, and they’re equal parts gross and cute.

“Yes, they harmonize and sing in time together,” Sherman’s character admits, as Isaac, Sherman, Bowen Yang, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Andrew Dismukes and Melissa Villaseñor play tiny instruments, nibble cheese and sing their strange melody.

RELATED: Ryan Gosling’s engagement goes very, very wrong in his Emmy-nominated SNL sketch

“Once they get going like that, it’s better to let them keep going until they’re exhausted,” Sherman’s character tells Redd, as Oscar Isaac and Andrew Dismukes of Tiny Meatballs sing, “We’re little meatball men singing our meatball song, we’re little meatball men, join in and sing along please!”

Although her song is catchy, Sherman’s date decides to run away to the mountains. While trying to dispel her suspicions that “maybe it had something to do with the meatballs,” he asks, “Excuse me… is that a piano in your armpit?”

Technically, it’s a keytar – worn by the beautiful meatball called Charli XCX.

“Don’t give up on love for a couple of meatballs,” the “360” singer sings sweetly. “Don’t give up on that girl, ’cause she got eleven meatballs,” Oscar chimes in as the two stare at each other in a dreamy close-up.

“One day you’ll realize that true love will always win in the end,” Charli continues, waving her small, fleshy hands.

“And I’m Jim,” Thompson’s Meatball adds for good measure. It’s a love song for the ages – I guess Charli XCX was right when she sang, “Everything is romantic.”

Watch the “Meatballs” sketch featuring Charli XCX and Oscar Isaac above.