James Corden has had many incredible guests on his Carpool Karaoke show. However, the Paul McCartney episode was unique because Corden drove the former Beatle around his hometown of Liverpool. Many people can only dream of being able to sing classic Beatles songs with Paul McCartney in Liverpool, and James Corden said it was “more emotional” than he was expecting.
James Corden said doing ‘Carpool Karaoke’ with Paul McCartney was an emotional experience
After eight years, The Late Late Show With James Corden aired its final episode on April 27, 2023. The series was filled with hilarious segments and iconic musical moments. One of the most viral segments from the series is Carpool Karaoke, where a celebrity or musician joins Corden, and the two drive around, singing whatever comes up on the radio.
In an interview with People, James Corden reflected on many of the best moments from his show, and he selected the Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney as a segment he’s “immensely proud of.”
“It was more emotional than I thought it was going to be,” Corden said. “To drive around Liverpool and go to his home that he hadn’t been in since he walked out, since he left, it was so nostalgic. I’m immensely proud of it.”
Corden said the episode brought back memories of his grandfather
James Corden reflected on the experience with Paul McCartney in a 2019 interview with Howard Stern. The late-night host said he didn’t understand how lucky he was to be singing Beatles songs with the legendary singer in his hometown. It also brought back memories of his grandfather, who had introduced him to The Beatles at a young age. Corden also shared a hard-hitting story about something beautiful McCartney told him.
“The brilliance of the man–of Paul–was when I said to him…and I was shocked by it. I’m not someone whose like so quick to be that emotional,” Corden said. “I said, ‘I didn’t expect that,’ and he said, ‘that’s the power of music,’ and I said to him, ‘If my granddad was here, he’d get a real kick out of this,’ and he just went, ‘He is.’”
McCartney almost didn’t appear on ‘Carpool Karaoke’
According to James Corden, getting Paul McCartney to appear on the show was more challenging than it seemed. The “Live and Let Die” singer initially said yes, but repeatedly kept backing out and then agreeing again. In an interview with The Paley Center for Media, Corden said they had already arrived in Liverpool when McCartney backed out again. Corden then sent a persuasive email to get him to agree finally.
“I just wrote him an email saying, ‘I think that this is unacceptable… I completely respect your decision not to do it. But I need you to understand what the knock-on effect is for our show,’” Corden wrote. “‘I guarantee you, I promise you, that it will be great. And the reason it will be great is that you are Paul McCartney.’ And the next day [McCartney] said, ‘Alright. I’m sorry. I just had a wobble. I’m back in. I’ll do it.”
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