James Corden Says Paul McCartney Backed Out of ‘Carpool Karaoke’ Multiple Times Before Committing to It
James Corden has had many iconic musicians on his Carpool Karaoke show, but Paul McCartney might be the most legendary of the bunch. However, his appearance on the popular segment almost didn’t happen, as Corden says McCartney got cold feet several times before officially committing.
Paul McCartney tried to back out of ‘Carpool Karaoke’ several times
Carpool Karaoke is a popular segment featuring Corden and another guest driving around and singing various songs. It has given birth to dozens of viral moments and memes that have received millions of views online. One episode featured McCartney and saw him and Corden driving around London and visiting areas from the former Beatle’s hometown of Liverpool.
However, there was uncertainty that this episode was going to happen. In an interview with The Paley Center for Media, Corden said McCartney initially committed to doing it but kept changing his mind.
“He said, ‘I’m in, I’ll do it, I can’t wait,’” Corden recalled. “About a month later, the message came through to us that he’d canceled, he didn’t want to do it. He’d got cold feet for some reason. Then he was back in again two weeks later. [A]bout eight or nine days before we were due to fly to Liverpool to do it, it was one of those nights where I woke up around 1 a.m. … and there was an email saying, ‘Look, I’m sorry, I don’t know how to write this – Paul has changed his mind. He just feels this is the wrong sort of thing for him right now. He’d still like to do it one day.’”
McCartney was hesitant to visit his childhood home in Liverpool
During the Carpool Karaoke episode, Paul McCartney and James Corden visited the “Yesterday” singer’s childhood home in Liverpool, which has now been turned into a museum. It’s a beautiful moment but McCartney wasn’t sure about visiting, and it’s part of what made him hesitant to do the show. Fortunately, he went through with it, even though Corden said he wouldn’t force him to do it if he didn’t want to.
“He told me… in this hotel room, ‘I don’t want to go into my [childhood] house. I haven’t been there since I left. I feel uncomfortable with it,’” Corden shared. “I just went, ‘Paul, your only day’s work today is to have a great time… and if you have a great time this is going to work.’”
Corden was able to convince McCartney to shoot the show
The Late Late Show host was disappointed that McCartney wasn’t committing, and he sent him a letter saying that his uncertainty was “unacceptable.” He explains that the team had invested money into researching and preparing the segment, and his prolonged decision was costing the show.
“I just wrote him an email saying, ‘I think that this is unacceptable… I completely respect your decision not to do it,’” Corden stated. “But I need you to understand what the knock-on effect is for our show.’”
Fortunately, he was able to convince McCartney to do it in his letter, and the former Beatle responded shortly with a definite yes.
“I guarantee you, I promise you, that it will be great. And the reason it will be great is that you are Paul McCartney,’” Corden wrote in his letter. “And the next day [McCartney] said, ‘Alright. I’m sorry. I just had a wobble. I’m back in. I’ll do it.”
