mark barger, nbc news. >> and can you catch ladies and gentlemen 50 years of l tonight. >>> coming up >> we're going to dive into the future of healthy aging. then sheryl lee ralph is going to stop by. and we have a workout to help us all >>> breaking overnight. the country of colombia now agreeing to

mark barger traces the career path that brought craig melvin to studio 1a. >> one thing has been constantsigns last week for "today"'s departing host, there was one for the guy coming in. >> how sweet is that? >> you neeto save this one for monday. >> reporter: that's when craig melvin slides in as co-anchor. >> if you're going to lose your sister, it's great the replacement is your brother. >> reporter: his ascent began in columbia, south carolina. and from that nbc station. a move to the one in washington, d.c., changed his life. it's where melvin met and married colleague lindsey. and they've had two children. delano and cybill. >> there was a bit of a paradigm shift. >> reporter: melvin's work in d.c. was also pivotal professionally, earning him a spot with the network in 2011 and one with the "today" family in 2018. >> the iconic spire collapsing in a fiery tangle. >> reporter: he's covered major stories across the globe. >> how long is it going to take to rebuild notre dame? >> reporter: but brought a small-town perspective to his reporting. >> folks in this area also, largely cut o

mark barger, nbc news. >> can you imagine what that's going to be like for her when she finally sitss, right? in honor of hoda's last day at "today", they are dedicating the 8:00 a.m. hour to celebrate with tributes and surprises to conclude the week-long hodabration. and here's what hoda had to say about her final weeks at nbc. i've been hugged more in these last two weeks than i have in my life. i'm meeting people with signs and stuffed animals, and it means everything to me. >> and for the final broadcast of "today" with hoda and jenna, the la of "top story." reporting from the pacific palisades. our continue coverage of the los angeles wildfires starts right now.

nbc's mark barger has the preview. were you just a light? established artist like kelsea ballerini, getting the invite for snl was big. i was quite literally at the hair salon and in the bowl and got the call and just started crying. honestly, it's just one of those things that you have on your bucket list. it also put ballerini on a list. ladies and gentlemen, you are so lucky tonight. charli xcx, prince. ll cool j, adele, public enemy, bob dylan, willie nelson, bad bunny, a who's who of music on the snl stage initially. you know, in the beginning, i think i was just going to compile, like maybe the 50 best performances on the show. but questlove took a broader approach for his documentary. ladies and gentlemen, 50 years of snl music. and i realized there was way more iconic comedic moments musically on the show, like surpassing just the legendary performances. so along with david bowie, the rolling stones, prince, taylor swift and hundreds more, some cast members also made a musical mark point in point in a pointed at you. music plays a ma

mark barger has a preview. were you just the light?even for an established artist like kelsea ballerini? getting the invite for snl was big. i was quite literally at the hair salon and in the bowl and got the call and just started crying. honestly, it's just one of those things that you have on your bucket list. it also put ballerini on a list. ladies and gentlemen, you are so lucky tonight. charli xcx, prince. ll cool j, adele, public enemy, bob dylan, willie nelson, stephanie a who's who of music on the snl stage initially. you know, in the beginning, i think i was just going to compile, like maybe the 50 best performances on the show. but questlove took a broader approach for his documentary. ladies and gentlemen, 50 years of snl musicic. you don't know what's going to happen until 11:30 p.m. it's the tightrope walk. they want to see you dangle. they don't want to see you fall. then i realized there was way more iconic comedic moments musically on the show, like surpassing just the legendary performances. so along with david bowie,

mark barger reports on kotb's impact on today through the eyes of her colleagues.hoda is officially the co-anchor of today. let's give her a round of applause. it's an affection for hoda kotb. people can't get enough of her. that's only grown. oh, yeah, this is a cool crowd. over her seven years on today. go, dawgs! hoda is loved by every single person on our crew in the control room. the producers, every person on the plaza, everyone. years with dateline prepared hoda to tackle each morning's top stories. is there an ongoing search for others? but away from today's anchor desk. let's go check it out. come on. she's been just as much at home. you got it, girl. what did it feel like today? it's the hoda effect. and there's just nothing in the world like it. and everybody feels it. because the source is genuine. do you feel strong? when i think about hoda, i really do think about her heart. that's who she is. that's what guides her and what makes it difficult. i'm so happy you came to pull her away from fans on the plaza, and sometimes we're like, we got to run insid