Look, I’m not trying to be controversial here, but I think it’s fair to admit that James Corden has his detractors, as well as his cheerleaders. The Gavin and Stacy star either conquered the US or very much didn’t depending on your school of thought, but one undeniable breakout success from his time stateside was Carpool Karaoke.
Beginning as an occasional segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden, it absolutely exploded in popularity and consistently managed to lasso guests of an almost unbelievable calibre, musical or otherwise. Now it’s got a holiday special on Apple TV+ (my favourite streaming service), but with one huge change that I can’t deny I’m thrilled with – Corden himself isn’t in the car.
The real reasons why Apple and Corden decided to go in this direction might never be known, and it’s possible that it really was just a scheduled clash, but this time Corden isn’t behind the wheel – famous radio host and longtime Apple collaborator Zane Lowe takes his place.
Corden does show up to set things up, but when it comes to actually chauffeuring Chappell Roan, Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa around for the holidays, it’s all Zane. Honestly, the change had me breathing a sigh of relief – Corden might have been part of the origins of the format, but he had a way of dominating proceedings.
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Of course, Corden also has undeniably impressive musical talents of his own, which were often useful in dueting with his guests, but most of us don’t turn up to Carpool Karaoke hoping to hear duets – we want the guests singing in a more informal context than we’re used to. Lowe’s anchoring of the show in these three new specials is a lot more low-key.
He’s also arguably a little better at stringing out the conversation between songs – he’s been doing radio interviews for decades now, after all, including for years on Apple Music. I struggle to believe that anyone will turn these three segments on and yearn for Corden’s return, basically, and I’m now very interested to see if Apple makes more episodes with Lowe at the wheel.
Either way, if you’re an Apple TV+ or Apple Music subscriber you can check out the hour-long holiday special now and enjoy some festive tunes with three of the more characterful pop divas going right now.
