In his return to The Late Late Show after a break for the holidays, host James Corden took the time out to say a heartfelt tribute to George Michael, who passed away on Christmas Day.
James started off by saying how much of a fan he was of George Michael. "I feel like I've loved George Michael as long as I've loved music." He added, "I can remember so many specific times in my life, where I might have felt on my own, and George’s music would feel like you would listen to a song, and he would reach his hand out and tell you that you weren’t on your own."
Just recently came to light that James' very first Carpool Karaoke sketch actually featured the late music icon, and was actually born out of a conversation between the late night host and George in support of Red Nose Day. James talked about the phone call that was the very beginning of Carpool Karaoke, the sketch itself, and how it has impacted his show and life today.
"It was the first time I'd ever sung in the car with anybody, and it's become a big part of my life now. And he really inspired it." He added, "When we started the show here, we were trying to get people to do Carpool Karaoke, and not many artists wanted to do it. And we would send them this clip of me and George, and we sent it to Mariah Carey, and she was the first person to say yes, and her words were, 'If it's good enough for George, then it's good enough for me. I'll do it.' So, we all have so much to thank him for. For the music that he's given that will last forever, but we personally here at this show, we owe him so much."
Watch James' entire tribute to George Michael in the video above.