Ariana Grande and James Corden took us back to the ship of dreams on The Late Late Show on Monday, August 13, retelling the love story from the 1997 blockbuster Titanic through a decade-spanning medley of pop hits.
“Tonight, we’ve got 13 songs, nine sets, one take, and zero pressure,” 39-year-old Corden told the audience, segueing into his role as Jack while 25-year-old Grande took on the part of Rose. (The roles were played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, respectively, in the Academy Award-winning movie.)
In the five-minute sketch, the duo sings Styx’s “Come Sail Away” as they board the ill-fated ship, Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl” as they contemplate their wealth gap, Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” as they decide to date anyway, and the Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly” as they fall in love at the bow of the ship.
Oh, but there was more. Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” is the soundtrack to their jig in steerage. They sing Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” as Corden’s Jack sketches a drawing of Grande’s Rose. And Nelly’s “Ride Wit Me” sets the mood for their steamy Renault rendezvous.
Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. The pair sings Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” as they spy the fateful iceberg and Pitbull and Kesha’s “Timber” as the Titanic starts taking on water.
The “unsinkable” ship sinks, and the duo rickrolls the dramatic climax with a rendition of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Soon Corden’s Jack realizes his time is up, so he channels ’NSync and bids his true love “Bye Bye Bye.”
“There’s no room for me up on that door, so baby, bye bye bye,” the late-night host sings before his character disappears into the waves.
Of course, Rose’s “Heart Will Go On,” and Grande performs the Oscar-winning theme song and even mimics Céline Dion’s vocal style.
Watch the full performance above.
The Late Late Show With James Corden airs weeknights on CBS at 12:37 a.m. ET.
