James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke segments on his Late Late Show have become the stuff of legend, and even created a spin-off series for Apple Music, but not all of the featured artists look back fondly on their experience – and the Foo Fighters are the first to complain about it.
First of all, I was kind of surprised to see the Foo Fighters jump in the car with Corden, considering that he typically features more pop-oriented stars like Britney Spears Adele and Madonna. The fact that the Foos weren’t overly keen on singing karaoke versions of their hits like ‘All My Life’, ‘Best Of You’, ‘Learn To Fly’ (and their latest single, ‘The Sky Is A Neighborhood’ off of their upcoming ninth album Concrete and Gold) seems like a no-brainer to me.
Guitarist Pat Smear (still one of the best rock ‘n’ roll names ever) told NME that “By hour three in dude’s car it got less fun. It kinda went on. When we stopped at Guitar Center, that felt like we were done, but it was like ‘this is halfway’.” Dave Grohl added that the experience was “a little uncomfortable,” but had nothing but nice things to say about James, telling the magazine, “Oh he definitely is [a music lover]. And he’s a very nice guy.” He added, “I don’t mind singing my own songs at Glastonbury or The O2 but if I had to sing you a song right now I’d be too embarrassed.” Dave also shared that the band sang songs by other artists during the filming, admitting he “could do that all day.” He said, “We did The Ramones, and Rick Astley, but they didn’t use it. I don’t know why.”
The Foos may not have been jazzed about the segment, but fans loved it. The clip on YouTube has amassed over 6.5 million views. The band’s next viral video sensation could be the jam session from the end of their set at their Cal Jam festival in San Bernardino, California on Saturday. The Foos invited Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher on stage for a rousing cover of the Beatles “Come Together” and, best of all, they Rickrolled the crowd with a special appearance by Rick Astley himself who joined the band for a cover of his hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Damn, I love the Foo Fighters – and they do perform a mean cover. Maybe next time stick with the pop stars, James.
Photos: WENN.com, Getty Images
I wish they had kept their mouths’ shut about their negative reactions. It just feels tacky to me. Like, why publicly disparage it after it’s over? Perhaps there should have been a discussion about what would happen before they agreed? But I’m biased for James Corden, and hearing it made me sort of sad for him. I mean, the red hot chili peppers did it without complaining
They’re not really complaining about HIM though you know? Sounds like they really liked James.
I feel for them though. I have been to a couple of filmings (commercials & the audience of a few shows- I live in NYC) and it takes sooooooooo long. You don’t realize how long they were on set when you watch a couple of minute long segment.
The RHCP NAILED IT! Give me Flea any day of the week.
Re: the Foo Fighters. This seems a bit on the “behind the scenes” gossip side, but I am sure Corden could have lived without it. Of course a TV skit lasts longer than the segment we see…
I don’t think the comments were overly negative or mean. It Just wasn’t how they thought it was going to be. I didn’t know shooting lasts six hours. I would have thought a few hours max. Anything that long, trapped in a small place would grate anybody’s nerves.
I’m with you. You got asked to do a hugely popular segment on his show, that consistently gets YouTube hits in the millions, and went into it knowing you don’t like to sing your own songs?
I don’t think any artist would assume it would be an all day thing but more of an impromptu sort of romp in the car. If this is the usual occurrence, they should have told them beforehand and by the sound of it, they didn’t.
Wtf? Anyone who is even vaguely aware of the industry or what it takes to film a video would know that it would take several hours. and stars have giant teams that plan every second of their day, no way that they would have stayed for several hours if their team hadn’t agreed to that.
Not really sure this is the Foo’s forte. Love Dave for all that he does for the preservation and dissemination of RAWK.
Well the Red Hot Chili Peppers did it and they were great ( the best episode, IMO) so it’s not only pop.
Seems silly to complain about a 6 hour work day.
They are probably just not used to being up during daylight
Lol. They do look sorta rough. One of the dads at my sons’ old school is a pretty famous musician and he seriously looked out of his wheelhouse, ragged and exhausted, whenever he was at school events. But at night at his gigs he’s always energetic and in his element.
he has kids, so i doubt that’s it.
there’s a video of his daughter walking up and interrupting an acoustic performance, saying something like “when are we going swimming?” and he”s like “i just have to finish this guitar part.”
he seems like an active parent.
Dave Grohl has always been known as the biggest sweethearts out there. On stage, he broke his leg, went to the hospital, and came back that same night to finish the concert. I highly doubt they were complaining about having to work for 6 hours or be awake during the day for this carpool karaoke
he didn’t even go to the hospital, he just had a guy on stage hold it until the set was over two hours later.
Well, it sounds like Pat spoke first and Dave had to back him up, while trying to be gracious about it.
I can understand how weird it would feel, to sing your own songs over and over again, for basically nobody, inside a car, for hours. I saw a preview of the Metallica (Apple) carpool, and they were singing Rihanna for God’s sake, that would be hilarious.
I think the Foo just expected to be a faster segment, cause come on, do you really think Britney Spears spent 6 hours filming that? (Not dissing Brit, just pointing out a fact)
you could kind of tell that they didn’t really enjoy it. Plus this was the only time that I noticed that they did songs a few times because some of the band members change position in the car during the same song. So it’s kind of seems like they had a harder time with it than most people. Red Hot Chili Peppers were amazing so I think it’s more about the people then it is the style of music.
I love the Foo Fighters! They didn’t really complain sounds like they just answered a question. I can’t wait to watch. ❤️
Yeah, I agree, they were asked and answered candidly. I’m guessing they wouldn’t have just initiated a complaint about it.
I feel like I’m the only person in the world who can’t stand the Foo Fighters and REALLY can’t stand Dave Grohl.
I’m with you. Can’t stand the music and they are very un-noticeable verging on sometimes annoying to me.
You are not alone. Between the HIV/AIDS denial and anti-vaccine advocacy, I REALLY dislike the entire group. And then you add the fact that the music bugs.
Oh geeez. I just research Aids denialists and I have yet one more reason to give the F*** Fighters a pass…
yep. They clearly agree with Nate’s beliefs if he’s still in the band more than a decade after that debacle!
I used to like them, saw them live a few times in 2003-04, but I stopped listening to them 10 years ago and yet when I hear a new song of theirs, it’s like no time has passed. Very formulaic and unchanging music.
People singing in cars? Was the shower in the studio too small to fit them in? How about a game show where people race to post as much as they can to their social media while sitting on the potty. What about Shiplap Live with Joanna Gains where celebrities come chat with Chip and Jo while they watch paint dry?
Are you really comparing sitting on the toilet or taking a shower with singing in the car? What’s so inappropriate and intimate about that? A car isn’t some private, sacred space – it’s comparable to watching them do karaoke in any other regular kind of room.
Ugh, I’m so naive, I really thought they got into a short drive around a studio lot or something for the karaoke. That does suck that it’s more of a three hour shoot than a “let’s see how silly we can get our favorite celebs to be in five minutes.”
James Corden gets on my nerves. And he’s like way too overexposed these days…why is he in every commercial?
I mean … yeah? Who honestly thinks what you see on TV is basically what happens during filming? It takes a long time to get enough entertaining footage for 10+ min segment. Unless the celebrity is so good that they deliver non-stop. That’s not how these things work and they’ve been in the business long enough to know this.
I wonder how much time Michelle Obama’s segment took. I doubt she gave them that long to get it done. It’s pretty obvious that they were just circling around the WH grounds, which made watching it even funnier to me.
Dave looks like Kirk Hammett in that last photo!
Long time Foo Fighters fan. The segment was odd. I usually get a kick out of Carpool Karoake but this time not so much.
I love how they rickrolled the crowd at Cal Jam. Rick Astley had a tremendous voice.
I was at Cal Jam too and had SOOOO much fun. Long live Rock N Grohl!
I only like a few Foo Fighters songs, but I was pleasantly surprised how hilarious their carpool was! One of the best episodes IMO. I also enjoyed the Foo Fighters documentary on Netflix.
I’m a long-time Foo fan, but this complaint is baffling. Any artist with a passing familiarity with the concept of CK knows that the whole point of the segment is for the artist to sing to his own songs. It’s completely for the enjoyment of fans. If you don’t feel comfortable singing your own songs, why would you agree to appear in the segment? No one has been forced into participating here against their will.
I love the foo fighters, they did a decent job but you could tell some in the back were bored but who wouldn’t be after that long? I imagine it’s hard to keep up that energy after an hour or so, with a camera directly in your face and a car jam packed with men! It was a cute video though.
I’m shocked people are loving the chili peppers segment, or shocked no one mentioned Anthony specifically. He’s disgusting predator in my opinion, and when asked about the lyrics and what he has to give to his “daughter” and he said ummm umm I’m gonna read her a bedtime story….ugh he’s gross and stuck in the 90’s.
love the foofighters <3 rock on boi babes, rock onnnn