the late show with stephen colbert

Jon Batiste Leaves ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ After Seven Years As Bandleader

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On September 8, 2015, the debut episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert aired. Aside from Colbert himself, a major part of the show’s identity was Jon Batiste and his Stay Human house band. Since early June this year, Batiste has actually been away from the show on a break, so band member Louis Cato has been filling in as leader. Now, that change has been made permanent: On last night’s Late Show, Colbert announced that Batiste is leaving the program after just shy of seven years.

Colbert shared the news last night, saying, “Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that Jon hasn’t been here this summer. Well, I have an update: Jon has decided to leave the show.” That got an “aww” from the audience and Colbert continued, “I know, I feel the same way, but it’s for all the best reasons, including to continue sharing his art with the world.”

He added, “We have been so lucky to have a front-row seat to Jon’s incredible talent for the past seven years, and will we miss him here? [Batiste voice] ‘Yeeaah! Yeeaah!’ But we’re happy for you, Jon, and I can’t wait to have you back on as a guest with your next hit record. I love you.”

Colbert went on to reveal that Cato is taking over as bandleader and that the house band is now called The Late Show Band.

Batiste has yet to offer a statement about leaving the show. He’s definitely in the midst of a career high-point, though: Earlier this year, he got five Grammy wins (including Album Of The Year for We Are) off a whopping 11 nominations, and he’ll soon be making his acting debut in a remake of The Color Purple.

Jon Batiste Breaks Down His Confused Reaction To Winning The 2022 Grammy For Album Of The Year

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Last weekend’s Grammy Awards were relatively tame when it came to surprises, as most of the award winners didn’t seem completely unexpected. Of course, there was one major exception, as Jon Batiste’s We Are won Album Of The Year over projects by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, HER, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, and Kanye West. Batiste himself looked surprised when he won, holding a confused expression and a shrug for a good while before approaching the stage.

The Late Show bandleader returned to his show last night for the first time since the Grammys, where he broke down his response to his big win in a conversation with Stephen Colbert.

He started with context, noting the day was busy for him, since he was nominated for 11 awards, both during the pre-show and the televised ceremony. On top of that, he performed during the broadcast, too. So, by the time the show as coming to an end, Batiste said he was ready to just chill out.

Colbert showed the clip of Batiste’s reaction and commented, “The most surprised person in that room might be you.” Batiste responded, “Oh yeah.”

Batiste continued by noting the people seated at the tables around him, including Billie Eilish and Finneas, had a good supportive energy, saying, “Well, at least everybody’s going to be on a good vibe. Whoever wins, we’ll be all just clapping for this person. It won’t be me. And then they said, ‘We…’ And the people were so loud. It was so loud that I almost didn’t really know it was me because they didn’t say my name until after the title. I was like, ‘Maybe that’s somebody else’s album that sounds like We Are [laughs].”

Watch the full interview above.

Genesis Owusu Delivers An Imposing Performance Of ‘Gold Chains’ On ‘The Late Show’

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Last March, 23-year-old Ghanaian-Australian singer Genesis Owusu released his debut album Smiling With No Teeth, which earned him great success in Australia as it landed him trophies for Album Of The Year, Best Hip Hop Release, Best Independent Release, and Best Cover Art at the 2021 Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards. After releasing a deluxe edition of the album, titled Missing Molars (SWNT Deluxe), last summer, Owusu is seeing some success in the US. Now he’s on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, performing his song “Gold Chains.”

The performance found Owusu standing in front of the mic in a regal bright red suit with a beautiful chandelier hanging above him and his band. In addition to being a standout on Smiling With No Teeth, “Gold Chains” also made an appearance on Barack Obama’s list of favorite songs from 2021.

The Late Show appearance comes after he shared a video for the remix version of “Waitin On Ya,” which features some help from Jagwar Ma’s Jono Ma. Owusu also revealed the dates for his first headlining tour in the United States. He’ll hit the road starting on January 13 in Los Angeles and continue for a little over two weeks before bringing things to an end on January 30 in Austin, TX.

You can watch Genesis Owusu perform “Gold Chains” in the video above.

Smiling With No Teeth is out now via House Anxiety / Ourness. Get it here.

Watch A Gucci-Clad Thundercat Play ‘Dragonball Durag’ with Jon Batiste On ‘Colbert

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Considering Thundercat dropped his monumental funk fusion album It is What It Is in April of 2020, the pandemic and ensuing lockdown orders did not allow for the Los Angeles bass virtuoso to get his well-deserved promotional trip around the sun. But the interest in his album has been unwavering, considering it won Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B record and his current tour has been going steadily.

Last night, he made a long-awaited appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and he played the first single off of the album, Dragonball Durag, with Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste on the grand piano. It felt like a future-jazz lounge remix of the track, with Batiste moving from elegant to totally nuts on the ivories and Thundercat shifting similar wavelengths on his oversized electric bass and vocals.

‘Cat was dressed in short Gucci tiger shorts and a sparkling Gucci blazer. He also had a Gucci pin on his red beanie covering his green dreads pulled back in a ponytail. Sensing a theme here? Look, when you’ve waited this long to come on The Late Show, by all means, wear all the Gucci you can.

Watch the performance above and check out Thundercat’s remaining tour dates below. Tickets available here.

11/06 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/07 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/10 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
11/11 — Toronto, ON @ History
11/14 — St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theater
11/16 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
11/17 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
11/19 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Downstairs
11/20 — Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues Dallas
11/23 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall
11/30 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
12/03 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
12/04 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
12/05 — Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Boise

It Is What It Is is out now on Brainfeeder. Get it here.