With the end of James Corden’s tenure on The Late Late Show, also comes the end of his beloved “Carpool Karaoke” segment— and tears were flowing as Adele joined Corden for the final, emotional segment.
In the segment, Corden sat in the passenger seat as Adele drove. The two Brits joined each other in song, laughter and heartfelt recapitulations of their developed friendship over the years. But when Adele confessed that Corden played an integral role in the inspiration behind one of her most celebrated songs— the waterworks intensified. Not only were fans gifted with the revelation that the song had a more layered meaning behind the lyrics, but that Corden and Adele’s relationship was the epitome of friendship goals. Here is why James Corden cried after hearing Adele’s song “I Drink Wine.”
How Long Have James Corden And Adele Been Friends?
If you were wondering why Adele was the final guest on James Corden’s last “Carpool Karaoke” segment, you’re not alone. It could have been any pop singer with enough hits to make the drive worthwhile. But Adele’s relationship with Corden goes beyond the confine of a sing-a-long escapade. The pair had met long before Adele was even— well, Adele. James Corden and Adele, in fact, go way back.
During an April 2023 interview on The Howard Stern Show, James Corden gave a bit of insight into how he and Adele came to know each other.
Corden had apparently met the songstress in Cardiff, Wales, before her debut album 19 was released. In addition to this, Corden also noted that his wife is friends with her childhood friends. When Howard Stern inquired about what it was like to know Adele before her stardom, Corden shared an anecdote about a now-infamous version of a song the starlet had covered.
“I couldn’t have been less shocked,” he explained. “I couldn’t have been less shocked. That’s how I went up to her — I went up to her because she has the cover of [Bob Dylan’s] ‘Make You Feel My Love’ on that album, and I’m always of the feeling of, ‘How can any cover version be better than the original because it couldn’t exist without the original.'”
Corden continued, “What’s amazing with her is that there’s this seismic gap between the artist and her. Spend enough time with her personally, you can forget. And then she’ll just sing along to something, and you’re like, ‘Oh my god.’ I think she is a generational talent. I couldn’t be less shocked.”
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How James Corden Inspired Adele’s Song, I Drink Wine
The most meaningful bonds between friends tend to bring out the best in each other, right? Well, yes—especially if you’re James Corden and Adele. Fans were shocked when the English songstress confessed during the final segment of his “Carpool Karaoke” series that (specifically the first verse of) her song “I Drink Wine” was inspired by a conversation she had with Corden.
In the heartfelt “Carpool Karaoke” episode, the pair recounted their talk, which had transpired for over six hours on a journey home from a holiday with their families. James had confided in Adele that he wasn’t happy in America, and she sent the first verse of the song to him a few weeks after. Corden, whose tears could not be ignored while the pair sang the song during the final segment, opened up about how emotional Adele’s “I Drink Wine” was for him.
“It [described] everything I was feeling that day,” Corden said. “I was floored by how you’d managed to take everything that I was feeling about myself and life and just put it in a verse. It was the greatest privilege from a conversation so honest between two friends. That you could create such a thing, it just blows my mind.”
“I felt so unsafe with you feeling unsafe,” Adele said. “I went to the studio a couple weeks later, and I wrote this, and I remember I sang it into my phone and I sent it to you. And I remember you saying, ‘That’s exactly how I was feeling.’”
While the song is more centered around the aftermath of Adele’s split from her husband Simon Konecki, Corden’s feelings of doubt crept into her opening verse of the single “I Drink Wine” with the lyrics: “How can one become so bounded / By choices that somebody else makes? / How come we’ve both become a version / Of a person we don’t even like?”.
James Corden Helped Adele Through Her Break-Up With Simon Konecki
While Adele is happily paired with her boyfriend Rich Paul, fans remember that her most recent album— specifically, the single “Easy on Me” gives insight into her feelings on her divorce.
James Corden—along with his family— provided a sanctuary of sort for the English songstress amidst the divorce from her husband Simon Konecki. During the final segment of Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” series, Adele shared how much Corden, his wife and family had helped her through the messy divorce from her ex-husband.
“You and Jules and the kids were so integral in looking after me,” she revealed. “You used to do it with humour as well, you used to be like: ‘Good luck with that one!’ in any sort of thing I was pursuing and stuff like that.”
Corden later opened up about his feeling for Adele and her participation in his final episode of The Late Late Show— adding that it was an appreciated—yet, unanticipated surprise.
“That was a shock to me, I didn’t know about that,” Corden told Variety. “I thought our last carpool was with Diddy. He was someone we tried to get for a while. And then this surprise with Adele happened!”
“The fact that she came and did that for me. The fact that it was her idea to say, ‘well, why don’t I drive him to work?’ It’s really special,” he added. “Because what you’re actually watching is two friends who moved to Los Angeles, I think a week apart. And one of them is going home and one of them is staying. That’s hugely emotional. It just so happens that one of them is the biggest singer in the world.”
Source: https://www.thethings.com/adele-song-james-corden-i-drink-wine-carpool-karaoke-friendship/