James Corden is a British actor and comedian, best known for hosting The Late Late Show with James Corden and the show’s most popular recurring segment, “Carpool Karaoke.” Given that Corden’s late night hosting duties often have him singing along with famous celebs or crooning out tunes while playing piano, many might be wondering if James Corden has ever been in a band.
James Corden has been in several bands. He and his childhood friends formed two bands, to varying levels of success, as well as Corden’s many musical segments on The Late Late Show, where the host has shown off his musical chops alongside real musicians.
Read more about James Corden’s childhood band that was not meant to be, Corden’s impressive musical skills, and how he feels about his short-lived career as a boy bander.
Boy Band Beginnings
Though Corden’s professional career did not start until after he graduated high school, where he worked on a variety of television shows, commercials, and lesser-known films before finding mild success with Fat Friends and History Boys, Corden’s musical career started much earlier.
During his younger years, Corden and friends would attempt to form two separate bands.
James Corden’s first foray into being a band member doesn’t really count. His band, Full Frontal, had no songs, had no dance routines, and played no instruments. In fact, they never even performed, preferring instead to simply tell others they were a band, without any of the actual work.
His second childhood band was slightly more successful. Corden spoke to talk show host Graham Norton about the band, saying, “My second boy band, we were called Insatiable. Why? Because you just can’t get enough. But this band was real. It was very real. We sung and danced. We were like the Backstreet Boys, if they were worse. We had original songs and dance routines and we played about eight gigs. … We took it seriously.”
You can see James Corden discuss his childhood musical prowess in the YouTube video below.
“Carpool Karaoke” and a Not So Secret Obsession
Despite the clear lack of success for Full Frontal and Insatiable, James Corden is actually a very talented singer and piano player. The funnyman is also a huge fan of music in general, which was the reason he created The Late Late Show’s most popular segment, “Carpool Karaoke.”
“Carpool Karaoke” follows James and a famous singer or band as they commute together, singing songs and joking around. Corden got the idea from a sketch he’d done on a previous show, where he and the late Wham! frontman George Michael took to the streets and played tunes together.
However, Corden has seemingly not left his childhood dream of being a boybander behind. In a sketch for The Late Late Show, Corden was joined by Jordan Peele and Nick Kroll, where the trio formed a Backstreet Boys knockoff, complete with inappropriate lyrics. The sketch was a hit with the audience.
Boy Band Best Buds
Not only that, but Corden is very open about his real-life love of boy bands, saying of the passion, “I love them all, man. I love even the ones that no one else loves, like I love O-Town.” Singers such as Justin Bieber and One Direction member Harry Styles, often appear on Corden’s show and are good friends with the British charmer in real life.
Though Corden is better at hosting a late night television show than he is at being a boy bander, the star really does have impressive musical chops. Not only has he won a Tony Award for his work in One Man, Two Guvnors, but during an interview with NPR, Corden confirmed he’d been playing piano since he was a child, and even learned how to play the cornet and the trumpet, too.