Love it or hate it (and some people really hate it), The Late Late Show‘s Carpool Karaoke segment is a global phenomenon that stemmed from simple, low-budget fun. If you’ve somehow avoided the ever-present interior of James Corden’s SUV, the formula is simple: Put Corden behind the steering wheel, then plop a celebrity next to him in the passenger seat. They crank up the car stereo then the magic happens — two (or more!) artists jam (dangerously?) through traffic, singing along to their classic track or current No. 1 hit.
After many hand movements, much bumping, and nearly a billion YouTube views later, it has become an exclusive series presented by Apple, and they’re escalating the carpooling and the karaoke-ing to a level possibly never seen before.
In a six-minute clip of the first episode, we get Will Smith and Corden singing and rapping as expected, but everything is bigger and grander now, kinda. A whole damn brass ensemble accompanies one of their songs, and then we get a glimpse into what we can expect from a dedicated Carpool Karaoke series. IE, banter about pineapple on pizza and mocking Smith’s role in Wild Wild West.
The big shakeup is putting the stars themselves behind the wheel. Seth MacFarlane, Metallica (weird), LeBron James (I’m into it), Shaq, John Cena and a billion others all make appearances in the new weekly show on Apple Music.
