# The Lonely Island
**The Lonely Island** is an American comedy trio made up of [Andy Samberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-samberg), Akiva Schaffer, and [Jorma Taccone](https://www.edgepedia.org/jorma-taccone), formed in 2001 and best known for the SNL Digital Shorts they created on *Saturday Night Live* and for their comedy hip-hop albums.[1](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lonely_Island) The group's pre-taped musical shorts, beginning with "Lazy Sunday" in December 2005, gave the long-running sketch show its first major viral video success and helped carry it into the YouTube era.[2](https://apnews.com/article/db76cea43fb8eca58bab63d81689cc2a)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Members | Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone[1](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lonely_Island) |
| Formed | 2001; the name comes from the apartment the three shared beside a freeway[1](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lonely_Island) • [3](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/14/the-lonely-island-incredibad) |
| SNL tenure | Joined in 2005: Samberg as a cast member, Schaffer and Taccone as writers; 101 digital shorts aired between 2005 and 2012[4](https://www.gq.com/story/how-lazy-sunday-changed-snl-and-the-internet-forever) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/db76cea43fb8eca58bab63d81689cc2a) |
| Breakthrough | "Lazy Sunday," December 17, 2005; more than 2 million viewings in its first week online[2](https://apnews.com/article/db76cea43fb8eca58bab63d81689cc2a) |
| Albums | *Incredibad* (2009), *Turtleneck & Chain* (2011), *The Wack Album* (2013)[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12690-incredibad/) • [6](https://thecomicscomic.com/2013/05/31/before-snl-the-lonely-islands-history-with-mtv-fox-and-comedy-central/) |
| Feature film | *Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping* (2016), their first feature as a trio, a box-office flop that later became a cult classic[7](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/popstar-oral-history-lonely-island-96333/) |
| Emmy | Won for the SNL digital short "Dick in a Box" with Justin Timberlake[8](https://sarahillingworth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ripitup_lonelyisland.pdf) |
## Origins
The three members grew up together in [Berkeley, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/berkeley-california). [Akiva Schaffer](https://www.edgepedia.org/akiva-schaffer) and Jorma Taccone met in seventh grade, became friends with Andy Samberg, and began making short films while still students; after separate colleges they reunited, moved to Los Angeles, and built a website to host their comedy shorts and songs.[1](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lonely_Island) • [6](https://thecomicscomic.com/2013/05/31/before-snl-the-lonely-islands-history-with-mtv-fox-and-comedy-central/) After graduating from the [University of California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california), where they studied film and theater, they shared an apartment they named The Lonely Island on account of its unglamorous location beside a freeway.[3](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/14/the-lonely-island-incredibad)
**Early web work.** The group began posting comedy shorts, songs, and music videos on the web in 2001, releasing much of the material under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license and even hosting fan remixes on their own site.[9](https://creativecommons.org/2005/10/17/lonelyisland/) Their series "The 'Bu" debuted on Channel101.com, a site where viewers vote comedy shorts on or off the schedule.[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12690-incredibad/) They also shot a pilot for FOX called *Awesometown*; when FOX rejected it, they posted the full video, cut and uncut, to their [Creative Commons](https://www.edgepedia.org/creative-commons)-licensed site, where it spread widely and helped land all three of them jobs on *Saturday Night Live*.[9](https://creativecommons.org/2005/10/17/lonelyisland/)
**The MTV bridge to SNL.** A childhood friend, Murray Miller, got the trio hired onto the writing staff of the MTV Movie Awards, an engagement the group has described as perhaps their biggest break before SNL.[6](https://thecomicscomic.com/2013/05/31/before-snl-the-lonely-islands-history-with-mtv-fox-and-comedy-central/) Accounts of the decisive year differ: one places the hiring on the 2004 MTV Movie Awards hosted by [Lindsay Lohan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lindsay-lohan),[6](https://thecomicscomic.com/2013/05/31/before-snl-the-lonely-islands-history-with-mtv-fox-and-comedy-central/) while another credits their work on the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, hosted by [Jimmy Fallon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-fallon), with bringing them to the attention of SNL creator [Lorne Michaels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorne-michaels).[10](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-lonely-islands-the-wack-album) While writing for the MTV Music Awards they met Jimmy Fallon, who passed their name along to Michaels.[11](https://repository.gatech.edu/bitstreams/b7a14788-2b30-4856-84a5-eea1a9e435f8/download)
## The SNL Digital Shorts
The Lonely Island joined *Saturday Night Live* in 2005, with Samberg hired as a performer and Schaffer and Taccone as writers.[4](https://www.gq.com/story/how-lazy-sunday-changed-snl-and-the-internet-forever) The start was rough: the group first tried to stage live sketches in the show's traditional mode, and nothing took off. During an off-week, Schaffer and Taccone filmed a music video for fun, "The Bing Bong Brothers," inspired by the [Ying Yang Twins](https://www.edgepedia.org/ying-yang-twins)' "Whisper Song," and posted it online. When producers Mike Shoemaker and [Steve Higgins](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-higgins) saw it, they told the trio that making similar videos with Samberg or the cast would be welcome.[12](https://latenighter.com/features/this-new-york-city-building-was-the-site-of-snl-and-internet-history/)
The first pre-tape made under the "Digital Short" label, a name writer [Adam McKay](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-mckay) had used in earlier seasons, was "Lettuce," which aired on December 3, 2005; it featured [Will Forte](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-forte) comforting a friend while both snacked on heads of lettuce, shot on the stoop of the group's apartment building.[12](https://latenighter.com/features/this-new-york-city-building-was-the-site-of-snl-and-internet-history/) Two weeks later, on December 17, 2005, "Lazy Sunday" aired, starring Samberg and [Chris Parnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-parnell) rapping about mundane activities such as buying cupcakes and using Google Maps.[13](https://latenighter.com/features/lazy-sunday-snl-digital-short-lonely-island-facts/) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/db76cea43fb8eca58bab63d81689cc2a) A fan uploaded it to the then little-known video site YouTube, where it amassed millions of views before NBC had it removed for copyright violation; by then it was playing on radio and in bars and had brought SNL a new global audience.[14](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/06/the-long-life-of-digital-shorts-an-ode-to-saturday-night-lives-viral-highs) The Associated Press counts it as the first TV show clip to have a viral second life online, with more than 2 million viewings in its first week.[2](https://apnews.com/article/db76cea43fb8eca58bab63d81689cc2a)
Over the next seven years the trio crafted 101 digital shorts between 2005 and 2012, many destined for virality, including "Dick in a Box" with [Justin Timberlake](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-timberlake), "Natalie's Rap" with Natalie Portman, and "Shy Ronnie" with Rihanna.[2](https://apnews.com/article/db76cea43fb8eca58bab63d81689cc2a) "Dick in a Box," a caricature of early-1990s R&B featuring Timberlake and Samberg with gift boxes strapped to their groins, won an Emmy[8](https://sarahillingworth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ripitup_lonelyisland.pdf) and by April 2007 was the all-time No. 4 video on YouTube with more than 20 million views.[15](https://udspace.udel.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/ed199586-25aa-4add-ac04-ea0f4f4ee8e8/content) The shorts were recorded independently of the live show, which gave the group more freedom to take risks and freed them from any need to be topical.[14](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/06/the-long-life-of-digital-shorts-an-ode-to-saturday-night-lives-viral-highs) Axios credits the digital shorts, spurred by the trio's 2005 arrival, as SNL's first real foray into the power of viral video, a success that pushed NBC toward its own branded website in 2008 and wider clip distribution on Hulu and official YouTube channels.[16](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/saturday-night-live-snl50-digital-video-lazy-sunday)
## Albums
Starting with their 2009 debut *Incredibad*, released on Interscope in February 2009, the group melded pop hooks, cultural commentary, and jokes into three-minute songs that parody and pay homage to their musical targets at the same time.[17](https://newrepublic.com/article/133959/popstar-lonely-islands-last-stand) • [5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12690-incredibad/) The album drew guest stars including Justin Timberlake on "Dick in a Box," Jack Black on "Sax Man," Julian Casablancas on "Boombox," and Natalie Portman on "Natalie's Rap," and it topped the charts on both YouTube and iTunes ahead of release.[3](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/14/the-lonely-island-incredibad) Critics received it warmly: Metacritic recorded 9 positive, 5 mixed, and 0 negative reviews out of 14, and Paste called it one of the funniest albums, music or otherwise, in years.[18](https://www.metacritic.com/music/incredibad/the-lonely-island)
The trio's style is closer to homage than genre parody. Pitchfork's review notes that "Lazy Sunday" and "I'm on a Boat" are honest-to-goodness hip-hop tracks and that the group, particularly beatmaker Jorma Taccone, are hip-hop fans whose work is appreciative homage, more Beastie Boys than simply white and nerdy.[5](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12690-incredibad/) Taccone has put it plainly: "We wanted to tell jokes in a musical way and can't play instruments or sing."[19](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-xpm-2011-may-24-la-et-lonely-island-20110524-story.html) The New Yorker distinguishes the group from rappers who use comedy, calling them comics who use rap as their subject, and compares their genre-wide approach to "Weird Al" Yankovic's song-specific parodies.[10](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-lonely-islands-the-wack-album)
The second album, *Turtleneck & Chain* (2011), and the third, *The Wack Album* (released June 11, 2013), continued the formula with guest rosters ranging from Akon and Snoop Dogg to Kendrick Lamar, Kristen Wiig, and Robyn.[6](https://thecomicscomic.com/2013/05/31/before-snl-the-lonely-islands-history-with-mtv-fox-and-comedy-central/) • [10](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-lonely-islands-the-wack-album) Recurring Timberlake collaborations "Dick in a Box," "Motherlover," and "3-Way (The Golden Rule)" mined what The New Yorker calls a vein of loony sexual etiquette, with Timberlake described as the unofficial fourth Islander.[10](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-lonely-islands-the-wack-album)
## Film and later projects
The three had already collaborated on the big screen before their own feature: Akiva Schaffer directed *Hot Rod* (2007), starring Samberg and Taccone as stepbrothers.[3](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/14/the-lonely-island-incredibad) Their first feature as a trio, the mockumentary *Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping*, produced by Judd Apatow and released June 3, 2016, follows Samberg's former boy-band star Conner4Real as his second solo album tanks; Schaffer and Taccone co-directed, and the film carries a large roster of celebrity cameos.[7](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/popstar-oral-history-lonely-island-96333/) • [20](https://time.com/4354741/andy-sambergs-popstar-review/) It flopped at the box office but has since earned a second life as a cult classic and a send-up of the pop music machine, and it holds a 79% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from 174 reviews.[21](https://www.thefader.com/2019/06/26/the-lonely-island-pier-17-unauthorized-bash-brothers-experience-live-review) • [22](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/popstar_never_stop_never_stopping)
Later projects include *The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience*, released on Netflix in May 2019, a self-described "visual poem" imagining 1980s baseball players Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco making a steroid-fueled rap album.[21](https://www.thefader.com/2019/06/26/the-lonely-island-pier-17-unauthorized-bash-brothers-experience-live-review) The group also performed their nominated *Lego Movie* song "Everything Is Awesome" with Tegan and Sara at the 2015 Oscars ceremony.[23](https://time.com/3717314/oscars-2015-everything-is-awesome-tegan-sara-lonely-island/) Since 2024, Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone have hosted *The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast*, which walks through the history of their SNL digital shorts one sketch at a time.[13](https://latenighter.com/features/lazy-sunday-snl-digital-short-lonely-island-facts/)
## Influence
The trio's DIY, viral-ready sensibility is credited with helping define the climate of internet humor that followed them.[24](https://dailydot.com/andy-samberg-lonely-island-snl-popstar) After the group departed SNL, the show continued producing digital shorts and later hired Please Don't Destroy, a trio of writers who had built a YouTube following during the pandemic, to make pre-taped segments in a similar mold.[25](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/10/what-really-works-about-snl/680175/)
## References
1. [The Lonely Island, Saturday Night Live Wiki](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lonely_Island)
2. [12 times 'Saturday Night Live' made a cultural bang over the past 50 years, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/db76cea43fb8eca58bab63d81689cc2a)
3. [Rise of the vidiots, The Guardian (2009)](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/14/the-lonely-island-incredibad)
4. [How 'Lazy Sunday' Changed SNL—and the Internet—Forever, GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/how-lazy-sunday-changed-snl-and-the-internet-forever)
5. [The Lonely Island: Incredibad Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12690-incredibad/)
6. [Before SNL: The Lonely Island's history with MTV, FOX and Comedy Central, The Comic's Comic](https://thecomicscomic.com/2013/05/31/before-snl-the-lonely-islands-history-with-mtv-fox-and-comedy-central/)
7. [The Oral History of 'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping', Rolling Stone](https://au.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/popstar-oral-history-lonely-island-96333/)
8. [Lonely Island interview, RIP It Up (PDF)](https://sarahillingworth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ripitup_lonelyisland.pdf)
9. [Lonely Island, Creative Commons (2005)](https://creativecommons.org/2005/10/17/lonelyisland/)
10. [The Lonely Island's "The Wack Album", The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-lonely-islands-the-wack-album)
11. [Technique student newspaper, Georgia Tech (June 8, 2007)](https://repository.gatech.edu/bitstreams/b7a14788-2b30-4856-84a5-eea1a9e435f8/download)
12. [This New York City Building Was the Site of SNL (and Internet) History, LateNighter](https://latenighter.com/features/this-new-york-city-building-was-the-site-of-snl-and-internet-history/)
13. ['Lazy Sunday' at 20: Six Double-True Facts About SNL's First Viral Video, LateNighter](https://latenighter.com/features/lazy-sunday-snl-digital-short-lonely-island-facts/)
14. [The long life of digital shorts: an ode to Saturday Night Live's viral highs, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/06/the-long-life-of-digital-shorts-an-ode-to-saturday-night-lives-viral-highs)
15. [University of Delaware student newspaper (May 8, 2007)](https://udspace.udel.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/ed199586-25aa-4add-ac04-ea0f4f4ee8e8/content)
16. [The messy digital evolution of "Saturday Night Live", Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/02/13/saturday-night-live-snl50-digital-video-lazy-sunday)
17. [Popstar: The Lonely Island's Last Stand, The New Republic](https://newrepublic.com/article/133959/popstar-lonely-islands-last-stand)
18. [Incredibad by The Lonely Island, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/incredibad/the-lonely-island)
19. [Music is one big joke to the Lonely Island, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-xpm-2011-may-24-la-et-lonely-island-20110524-story.html)
20. [Review: Andy Samberg Puts the Pale Pop In Popstar, 4Real, TIME](https://time.com/4354741/andy-sambergs-popstar-review/)
21. [The Lonely Island are still geniuses, but that's all we can tell you, The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2019/06/26/the-lonely-island-pier-17-unauthorized-bash-brothers-experience-live-review)
22. [Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/popstar_never_stop_never_stopping)
23. [Watch Tegan and Sara and The Lonely Island Perform 'Everything Is Awesome' at the Oscars, TIME](https://time.com/3717314/oscars-2015-everything-is-awesome-tegan-sara-lonely-island/)
24. [A timeline of the Lonely Island's trail-blazing Internet comedy, The Daily Dot](https://dailydot.com/andy-samberg-lonely-island-snl-popstar)
25. [What Really Works About SNL, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/10/what-really-works-about-snl/680175/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › Musical and variety comedians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license