Ariana Grande And James Corden’s Musical Tribute To ‘Titanic’ Is The Best Thing You’ll See All Day

By Claire Spellberg @c_spellberg
Published Aug. 14, 2018, 12:10 p.m. ET

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Titanic (1997)

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Last night, Ariana Grande visited The Late Late Show with James Corden to promote her new album, and fans were treated to so much more than a simple performance. In just five minutes, Grande and Corden created a complicated musical tribute to James Cameron’s Titanic that’s both super accurate and amazing. Is it too early to ask that Grande and Corden play Rose and Jack in the (inevitable) Titanic remake?

In the segment, Grande and Corden put a unique spin on Titanic by narrating the movie through 13 different songs — only one of which was actually in the film — nine sets, and one take. As Rose and Jack arrive on the ship, they sing Styx’s “Come Sail Away” and then transition into Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl” when they meet for the first time. They begin to fall in love, and Corden sings Timbaland’s “The Way I Are,” which features the particularly apt lyrics, “I ain’t got no money. I ain’t got no car to take you on a date.” Corden and Grande then run to a set designed like the ship’s bow, where they recreate the film’s iconic pose as they sing “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters.

As the reality of Rose and Jack’s situation hits, the tone of the segment shifts. “Everybody wanna steal my girl,” Corden sings when Cal Hockley takes Rose away. But they quickly make up, and suddenly Jack is sketching Rose’s figure to the tune of “Shape of You.” Of course, Grande and Corden transition to Nelly’s “Ride wit Me” as they act out a PG version of Rose and Jack’s sexy car scene. The highlight of the segment comes when the duo sings “Ice Ice Baby” with increasing desperation as the Titanic approaches the deadly iceberg.

Next, Kesha’s “Timber” makes an appearance as the ship goes down. Suddenly stranded on the floating piece of wood, Grande and Corden hit Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” and the thematically-appropriate “Bye Bye Bye.” To cap things off, Grande takes on Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and she totally nails the performance. When Corden joins her on-stage, the audience goes wild — as they should, because what they just saw was pretty freaking impressive.

Watch Corden and Grande perform their Titanic soundtrack in the video above.

Where to Stream The Late Late Show with James Coden