Jimmy Fallon’s ability to get celebrities to commit to ridiculous bits is about 80 percent of the reason why he’s still holding down The Tonight Show (a good chunk of the remainder belongs to The Roots). Sure, he’s never made it through a single joke without cracking, but because of him we gain new insight into the unseen abilities of famous folks. Case in point: Alicia Keys has been hiding an spot-on Janis Joplin impersonation from the world for years.
As a part of Fallon’s recurring “Wheel Of Musical Impressions” bit, Alicia tried out several children’s songs in the style of various pop stars. Her Gwen Stefani is passable and her idea of Adele doing the ABCs proves that the 25 singer could make anything sound devastating. But it’s her mock Janis Joplin doing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” that absolutely steals the whole segment.
Keys seems to know it, too. She jumps out of her seat and howls into the microphone, committing to the act with a stunning degree of conviction for a silly lullaby. Check it out up top.
Keys singing as herself isn’t too bad, either. If you somehow missed out on her excellent return-to-form Here, check it out on our list of last year’s best R&B albums.
