Watch Stephen Colbert, James Corden’s Playful ‘Me & My Shadow’ Duet
CBS’ The Late Show and The Late Late Show merged Friday night as Stephen Colbert welcomed James Corden onto the 11:35 p.m. program for a chat and an impromptu musical performance. Both Colbert and Corden have roots in musical theatre, especially the works of Stephen Sondheim, so midway through the interview, the hosts decided to duet together, as they are wont to do whenever they’re in the same room. This time around, Colbert and Corden delivered a playful rendition of Al Jolson’s “Me & My Shadow.”
After the song-and-dance number, Colbert implored, “Don’t turn off your TV! Keep your TV on,” routing his viewers to his midnight-hour neighbor. Colbert and Corden last appeared together on television when the then-newly announced Late Late Show host stopped by The Colbert Report during that program’s final weeks.
During the interview, the late-night hosts discussed Corden recently receiving an honorary OBE medal – Officer of the British Empire – from Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. When asked about the interior of the Queen’s landmark home, Corden joked, “It’s not as nice as in here. There’s less pictures of the Queen in Buckingham Palace than you have of your own face in your studio.”
As for why Corden was given the award, the Late Late Show host was admittedly puzzled. “I have no idea. Basically, let’s be honest, I’ve been a professional dick for most of my life,” he said. Colbert noted that the United States lacked ceremonial honors like knighthoods and OBEs. “The best you can hope for in America is like Obama retweets you. That’s our equivalent of that,” Colbert said.