Whether he’s on his way to work or commuting through his hometown of London, England, James Corden always makes time for a good ole carpool karaoke.
Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” performance may be the one he’s best known for, which had the notable singing talents of Usher, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and more in the passenger seat. “The Late Late Show with James Corden” host credited singer/songwriter George Michael as the inspiration behind the segment as Late WHAM! The singer appeared as his first “Carpool Karaoke” guest when he did a skit back in 2011 for a British charity. In the skit, Michael and Corden sang several songs, which eventually gave Corden the idea to turn it into a part of his show when the talk show debuted on March 23, 2015.
However, Corden’s first official guest for “Carpool Karaoke” was actually Mariah Carey. The segment gained so much traction and support from fans that it became one of the staples of the program.
Here are the top six “Carpool Karaoke” in no particular order.
Who doesn’t love today’s hottest hip hop group Migos singing and adlibs to the Neil Diamond classic “Sweet Caroline” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”? This karaoke session took place in November 2018, four years before Migos member Takeoff’s death in November 2022. The entire musical group joined host James Corden, and rapped some of their biggest hits, including “Bad and Boogie” and “Motorsport”. They also took Corden on a shopping trip and broke down how he created the trendy viral dance “The Dab”.
The 16-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter jumped into a car with her UK partner in January 2016 while the two were in London for a holiday. Adele sang her hit track “Hello”, during which she revealed to Corden that she was the person playing the drums in the background of the song. Corden then told her that he always thought she was the “female Phil Collins”. Adele sang another of her songs, “Someone Like You”, and “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls and “Monster” by Nicki Minaj.
In March 2016, Jennifer Lopez joined Corden as his passenger, and he played J.J. closed her first karaoke song with Lo’s 2001 hit “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”. The two discussed the singer-actor’s myriad aliases, with rumor that Lopez insured his bottom. The moment transitioned to the song “Booty” by Lopez and Iggy Azalea. In between singing Lopez’s “Jenny From the Block” and Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven”, Corden grabbed Lopez’s phone, went through his list of celebrity contacts and texted Leonardo DiCaprio.
Corden usually performed his Carpool Karaoke segments with musical artists, but every so often he invited influential celebrities. In July 2016, he pulled up to the White House and former First Lady Michelle Obama stopped to drive around the grounds. Together they sang Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” and Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and discussed the Obamas’ code names for security. (Corden shared how he couldn’t decide between Papa Smurf and Tiramisu as his code name). Obama later stated his reason for starting Snapchat was to highlight his initiative “Let Girls Learn”, which focuses on empowering and promoting education for women around the world. At the end of their tour, Grammy-winner Missy Elliott joined the duo and the group sang Elliott’s longtime classic “Get Your Freak On”.
Packed into a van with Korean international superstar BTS, James Corden sang new songs including “On” and “Black Swan” from their album “Map of the Soul: 7”. Namjoon discussed how he often serves as a translator for music groups and details how he learned English from the hit sitcom “Friends”. This prompted Carr to sing the show’s theme song, but it quickly transitioned to Cardi B and Bruno Mars’ duet “Finesse”. The group shared which stars from the States they were most excited to meet, including Madonna, Nas and Post Malone. As his ride ends, Corden says he will be quitting his job to become the eighth member of BTS. The segment ended with Corden auditioning for the group through Corden’s personal dance class.
What would this list be without Mariah Carey, Corden’s first guest? The five-time Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter and record producer hopped into Corden’s passenger seat in March 2015. Together, they sang her hit song “Always Be My Baby”. After their duet, the American and British do their best to swap accents, with Corden trying to pull off a New York American accent. Although their drive around Los Angeles only lasted less than six minutes, Corden made it work with the help of a Hollywood songstress.
“The Late Late Show with James Corden” ended on April 27.
