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Super Bowl 2021: Face-bandaged James Corden helps The Weeknd with halftime show ideas

The 'Blinding Lights' singer lets the late-night show host 'assist' with halftime show prep in a new sketch

Rachel Brodsky
Los Angeles
Sunday 07 February 2021 22:27 GMT
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James Corden joins The Weeknd before Super Bowl performance
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James Corden teamed up with The Weeknd to give him some Super Bowl halftime show tips in a new sketch.

"This year, CBS is hosting the Pepsi Super Bowl 55 halftime show, and I knew sooner or later the network's biggest star would have to pitch in and help out... So when the Weeknd was really struggling with his big halftime show performance, guess who he called?" said The Late Late Show host.

"I didn't call anyone. Dude just showed up," quipped The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye.

Approaching Tesfaye with a face full of bandages, riffing off of the "Blinding Lights" singer's promotional strategy for his album After Hours, Corden presented himself as being available to help with the halftime show performance.

Follow live Super Bowl updates here, and our full live coverage of the halftime show here

"Yeah, I still don't know who you are," Tesfaye said when Corden removed his bandages.

Finally, Tesfaye let the late-night show host "assist" with his halftime show prep, which included "The Sprinkler", "Sip the Tea", and even N'SYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" dance moves.

"I want to see 'Viva la Vida'! I want to see 'Clocks!' I want see 'The Scientist'! I want to see 'Yellow'!," yelled Corden.

"James, that's Coldplay," said Tesfaye. (The British pop-rock band headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2016.)

Ultimately, Tesfaye acquiesced, and the pair capped off the sketch with a full-fledged performance of "Blinding Lights" that featured all of Corden's suggested dance moves.

"At first I wasn't sure, but now I'm starting to think, maybe I do need a bit of 'zazz,'" concluded Tesfaye.

He changed his tune, however, the moment Corden walked out. "OK, forget everything we just did. Never let that man in this building again."

The Super Bowl is scheduled to kick off around 6.30pm ET (11.30pm GMT), and the halftime show featuring The Weeknd is expected to take place around 90 minutes after that.

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