Here’s Jimmy Fallon and Chris Martin doing David Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars?’
It’s not Lorde, but it’s not bad.
Weeks after the young New Zealander brought the Brit Awards to a standstill with her poignant performance of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?,” Jimmy Fallon took a crack at the late icon’s ballad for a video posted Tuesday on YouTube.
The clip shows the “Tonight Show” host singing “Life on Mars?” in a dressing room accompanied by Coldplay’s Chris Martin on piano and guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas of Fallon’s house band, the Roots. And if Fallon doesn’t quite muster Lorde’s emotional intensity, he’s definitely less jokey than usual.
Beyond paying tribute to Bowie, the video is clearly Fallon’s attempt to keep up with his late-night competitor James Corden, who recently announced that he’s taking his mega-popular “Carpool Karaoke” bit to prime time. (An edition featuring Adele has racked up more than 85 million views on YouTube, while an installment with Martin has been watched nearly 15 million times.)
It makes you wonder where this musical arms race might lead. Will we soon see Fallon and Zayn Malik pop up to sing at somebody’s wedding? Corden invite Slash over for a round of Guitar Hero?
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Think about it: Maybe Charlie Rose is working up a version of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” even as we speak.
Twitter: @mikaelwood
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