Jimmy Fallon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Cover Rihanna as Barbershop Quintet
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a skilled lip-syncer, as he proved during his last appearance on The Tonight Show when he squared off against Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Merchant. But the actor is equally impressive using his real voice. Levitt became a temporary fifth member of Fallon’s barbershop quartet during Thursday’s episode, adding some crooner pizzazz to Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money.”
The Ragtime Gals, decked out in their usual striped jackets, take a bubbly approach to Rihanna’s thumping trap track, layering their voices into complex harmonies. “Pay me what you owe me,” they sing. “Don’t act like you forgot.” The crowd roars as Levitt steps out from behind the crew, offering an eco-friendly twist by changing the lyric from “brand new foreign car” to “brand new electric car.” (He also earns massive laughs for his suggestive hand gestures.)
“Last time I was on @jimmyfallon’s show, we lip synced. Tonight, we sing! (So much fun),” he tweeted Thursday night.
The Ragtime Gals have become a Tonight Show staple during Fallon’s tenure, with the quartet performing vocal group versions of (mostly sexual) tunes that sound hilarious in that context – including Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” (joined by the singer himself), Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” (with Steve Carell), Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty” (featuring Kevin Spacey), Color Me Badd’s “I Wanna Sex You Up,” “Roxanne” (with Sting) and the classic that started it all: R. Kelly’s “Ignition.”