ONE DIRECTION HISTORY JAMES CORDEN SERIAL

He wants to do it.вЂќ What did Kanye give Corden the second time he cancelled? вЂњAbout three dozen white roses, of course. Kanye has been booked to do Carpool Karaoke now twice and both times something came up. вЂњThey were sort of an apology.вЂќ For what? Sending the Late Late host a mean tweet? вЂњNo. вЂњGiven to me by the man himself,вЂќ Corden admits of his own pair. I remember Corden had on a pair back at the Ed Sullivan Theater and I mention how sought-after they are in the UK. Walking out of the department store I notice a display of Kanye West-created Yeezy Boost 350s.

Nothing that has happened to James Corden over the past 18 months has been an accident.

But then miracles tend to run on fairy dust and serendipity. Still, the very idea that this question might be asked, that James Corden вЂ“ gobby little Smithy from Gavin & Stacey, the fat kid from High Wycombe who made us all chuckle in The History Boys, the man who famously got turned down by Lily Allen, who weathered the hate of a nation after cutting AdeleвЂ™s acceptance speech short at the Brit Awards in 2013, the man in part responsible for a film called Lesbian Vampire Killers вЂ“ could take over from Stephen Colbert, a titan of American broadcasting who replaced chat show founding father David Letterman and only five years ago got nearly 300,000 Americans to march on Washington, is nothing short of astonishing. вЂњThatвЂ™s never going to happen,вЂќ he said, not least because they share the same boss, Les Moonves of CBS. вЂњSo, James,вЂќ Stern growled, вЂњwhen are you going to take over The Late Show from Colbert?вЂќ Of course, Corden made all the right noises, deflecting even the idea as preposterous.

ONE DIRECTION HISTORY JAMES CORDEN SERIAL

Earlier that day, serial provocateur Howard Stern made it even clearer when Corden appeared on his early morning breakfast show. This scene, played out in front of millions that evening, brings into sharp focus just how lit CordenвЂ™s career currently is over in America. вЂListen, if we made this show for Saturday night on ITV, people would have destroyed itвЂ™

Yet Corden, the Brit, the interloper, the underdog, the accomplished thesp with an instinct for live performance and improvisation like no other in the business, can sense the crowd is with him. On air, when Colbert drops his pen by way of ribbing Corden over his casual name-dropping, Corden punches gently but effectively back: вЂњWell, shall we tell them who you went fishing with last week?вЂќ Watching, you can see Colbert wondering where Corden is going with this. Cynicism works for Colbert when discussing politics вЂ“ as it did on his former show, The Colbert Report on Comedy Central вЂ“ but when heвЂ™s faced with having to essentially make small talk with a celebrity he seems to lose the nimbleness that made him feel so maverick, so vital. Being a successful late-night chat show host takes big personalities, killer skits and oodles of charm вЂ“ something Corden seems to run on вЂ“ whereas the cynic in Colbert just canвЂ™t be kept in check. As Corden and Colbert go head-to-head, despite Corden being the rookie host, itвЂ™s woefully clear who is most at ease with the desk-to-famous-guest format. The only section that does seem to build any momentum for Colbert this afternoon is when Corden himself is on. CordenвЂ™s set in LA is less television studio, more Soho House. On Colbert, the studio audience are kept at least 20 feet back from the action, whereas CordenвЂ™s audience members can sit and drink tumblers of Old Fashioneds at a long working bar or take it easy in comfy seats, the likes of which you find in posh cinemas with chilled glasses of Sancerre and ceramic bowls of yoghurt-coated wasabi peas. Whereas ColbertвЂ™s guests are wheeled out individually to sit on the hostвЂ™s right side вЂ“ a long tradition on American chat shows вЂ“ CordenвЂ™s guests come out together and sit bunched up on his left on a too-small sofa that seems to encourage chaos. While ColbertвЂ™s show feels like, well, a television show вЂ“ arid, canned, rehearsed вЂ“ Corden has gone out of his way to make his show feel more like a club, more intimate, more spontaneous, more live. Having sat and watched CordenвЂ™s show numerous times this past week, itвЂ™s clear how different the two shows are вЂ“ and that ranges from vibe to guest type to comedic tone. The audience might be laughing, but no one in the green room so much as titters. Watching backstage on a jumbo screen, either itвЂ™s my jet lag or ColbertвЂ™s show has a serious problem.

One direction history james corden