Music superstars like Bad Bunny, Harry Styles, and Nicki Minaj, to name a few, all have had memorable appearances on The Late Late Show’s hilarious segment “Carpool Karaoke.” However, during the latest episode featuring Adele, host James Corden admitted that there was a time when no one would do the show, so he and the team scrambled to book talent.
This wasn’t the case for Adele, as the two are dear friends. The “Hello” singer was an early supporter of the show in 2016. When asked by the singer what he was the most afraid of when he decided to take the job, Corden confessed, “The thing I was most worried about was, ‘How do we get guests on the show.’”
“[In the beginning] we couldn’t book anyone. Then [segments] like ‘Carpool’ — I mean, no one would do it. Everyone on planet Earth said no. But then suddenly, Mariah Carey said, ‘Yes.’ So we’re buzzing, and she goes, ‘We’ll do it on Saturday.’” When the day finally arrived, Corden revealed that the “Shake It Off” singer told him that she would, ‘Do the chat, but I ain’t singing,’” because she had a long night the day before.
“My [producer] tells me, ‘Dude, you just have to get her to sing,’” said Corden. Eventually, Corden charmed the highly decorated songwriter to belt out some of her timeless tunes.
As for which episodes meant the most to him, Corden answered, “Stevie Wonder changed the [segment] a lot because when he did it, other artists were like, ‘Well, if Stevie Wonder’s done it, then I’ll do it.’” That episode was special to the host for another reason. During the ride, Wonder telephoned Corden’s wife Julia, nicknamed Jules, to sing to her.
The television host was sure to add that his first episode with the “Rolling In The Deep” singer also significantly impacted the show. “Our [first episode] because it broke all those records, I think seeing how many people watched that made artists like Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and people like that go, ‘Absolutely, I’ll do this.”
Watch the full video above.
Catch up on all of the previous “Carpool Karaoke” segments here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.