James Corden Gets Emotional Talking About George Michael & The First Carpool Karaoke

James Corden was in London over the Late Late Show‘s holiday break, and upon returning to the CBS airwaves he paid tribute to his music idol George Michael. The visibly emotional talk show host began by saying “there was some really sad news that hit me hard… I feel like I’ve loved George Michael as long as I’ve loved music.”

Corden went on to explain how a 3 a.m. phone call with Michael, who passed away at the age of 53 on Christmas Day, convinced the singer to take part in the original 2011 Comic Relief skit that Carpool Karaoke would eventually spin off of.

“When we started the show here [in the States], we would try to get people to do Carpool Karaoke, and not many artists wanted to do it,” Corden revealed. “We would send them this clip of me and George, and we sent it to Mariah Carey, and she was the first person to say yes. Her words were, ‘If it’s good enough for George, then it’s good enough for me’.”

Watch above as James Corden pays tribute to George Michael before airing the clip that would inspire Carpool Karaoke as we know it today.

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