Famous comedians usually have their own signature sketch that incorporate celebrity guests. Jimmy Kimmel is well known for his “Mean Tweets” segment, Jimmy Fallon does “Lip Sync Battles,” but for James Corden, its “Carpool Karaoke.”
The sketch is composed of Corden picking up celebrities in his car on his way to work whilst they sing along to their greatest hits. Corden also gives them a mini-interview to get to know them a little better.
“There’s something very joyful about seeing a megastar sing their hits in the very same place that we sing them,” said Corden.
Here is a mini review on some of the most popular episodes so far:
Mariah Carey Carpool Karaoke: Corden had some company on his drive to work on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, and who better to join him in some carpool karaoke than Carey? The two sang along to “Always Be My Baby,” “Fantasy,” “Vision of Love,” and “Thirsty.” We also got a taste of Carey’s English and Southern accents in-between tracks.
Jennifer Hudson Carpool Karaoke: Hudson joined Corden for “Carpool Karaoke” on April 13, 2015. She was a little late, and after some bickering, they made up and began their drive through L.A. Corden lightened the mood by turning on “Trouble,” Hudson’s song with Iggy Azalea. The two also hit up the Astro Burger drive-thru and Hudson ended up singing the order to the lady. Even while singing about burgers, Hudson sounded amazing.
Justin Bieber Carpool Karaoke Vol. 1: In the passenger’s seat this time was Bieber. On May 20, 2015, the two sang along to hits like “Baby,” “Boyfriend,” and even a little Boyz II Men. Corden also used this ride to ask Bieber some tough questions like where Bieber sees himself in 10 years, and whether or not he wears each pair of free Calvin Klein underwear more than once. We also got to experience one of Bieber’s hidden talents, solving a Rubik’s Cube in under two minutes.
“It made me feel blessed to hear Justin singing his old songs again,” says sophomore Paige Gandy.
Justin Bieber Carpool Karaoke Vol. 2: Six months after they took their first musical joy ride around Los Angeles, Bieber and Corden reunited for a second round of “Carpool Karaoke” on November 18, 2015. They kicked things off with some traditional Bieber’s tracks, – “Never Say Never” and “What Do You Mean?” – but then they rolled up to a men’s clothing store where they gave each other full makeovers.
One Direction Carpool Karaoke: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne all crammed into Corden’s car for his drive to work on December 15, 2015. They sang hits like “What Makes You Beautiful” with Corden taking the lead. When they got to “No Control,” Corden mentioned about how the band has never followed the boy band bandwagon of choreographed dance routines and matching clothes. To fix that, Corden pulls out denim shirts for everyone in the car to wear and choreographs the chorus to “No Control.” And of course, the fandom went crazy for that!
“My favorite part was when James gave them jean jackets and made a dance routine for ‘No Control’ because that song is one of my favorites and it should have had a music video,” says sophomore Katie Gallagher.
Adele Carpool Karaoke: On January 13, 2016, Adele’s Carpool Karaoke broke the internet. The segment racked up more than 42 million views in it first five days on YouTube, making it the most viral “Late Late Show with James Corden” clip since 2013. They sang some of her biggest hits like “Hello,” “Someone Like You,” and “Rolling in the Deep.” Corden even managed to shock the Grammy award winner with his vocals! Little did she know Corden has some pretty sick pipes, considering the fact that he studied drama at the Jackie Palmer Stage School and is a Tony-award winning Broadway star. He was also successful with the musical movie “Into the Woods.”
Sia Carpool Karaoke: The latest episode of the series included Sia. On their way to the CBS studio on February 16, 2016, the two worked their way through Sia’s many hits such as “Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart,” and the more recent “Alive.” They closed things out with a passionate performance of her David Guetta collaboration “Titanium.” Along the way, Sia gave some vocal pointers, and Corden got to try on his very own black and blonde wig. Sia also opened up about her journey sobering up and why she wears a wig that covers her face.
Despite this being a fairly new series, fans hope that it will continue to be successful and hopefully include bigger and better artists in the future. You can catch these Videos when they premiere on the “Late Late Show” on CBS Monday through Friday nights at 12:30 a.m.
What was your favorite episode of “Carpool Karaoke” with James Corden?