--- description: The late singer was the original guest on an early version of James Corden's hit segment, which had its origins in 2011. title: Watch George Michael on an Early Version of Carpool Karaoke image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch George Michael with James Corden on an Early Version of Carpool Karaoke by [Nolan Feeney / EW](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Nolan Feeney / EW Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 26, 2016 1:44 AM CUT by [Nolan Feeney / EW](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Nolan Feeney / EW Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 26, 2016 1:44 AM CUT If you’re a fan of James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke, you might have George Michael to thank. The singer, who unexpectedly died at age 53 [“over the Christmas period,”](http://ew.com/music/2016/12/25/george-michael-dead-singer-dies-age-53/ "undefined") his publicist confirmed on Christmas Day, was the original guest on an early version of the segment. Earlier this year, Corden [explained during a visit](http://ew.com/article/2016/06/07/james-corden-carpool-karaoke-origin/ "undefined") to Stephen Colbert’s _The Late Show_ that the popular segment had its origins in a 2011 sketch for the British charity Comic Relief in which Corden and George Michael drove around singing some of Michael’s biggest hits. “My original idea was to pick George Michael up from prison in a car,” Corden said. “And then we realized, ‘Maybe we’ll lose the prison, but what if there’s still some fun for me and George to be in the car and we’ll sing some Wham! songs?’” You can watch the segment above, beginning around the 1:22 mark. Corden was one of many [celebrities who paid tribute](http://ew.com/music/2016/12/25/george-michael-dead-celebrities-react/ "undefined") to Michael on Twitter in the wake of his passing. “I’ve loved George Michael for as long as I can remember,” Corden wrote. “He was an absolute inspiration. Always ahead of his time.” > [](https://twitter.com/JKCorden/status/813169352111329280) > [](https://twitter.com/JKCorden/status/813169936247816192) _This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/music/2016/12/25/george-michael-james-corden-carpool-karaoke/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4617922/george-michael-james-corden-carpool-karaoke/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4617922/george-michael-james-corden-carpool-karaoke/"},"headline":"Watch George Michael with James Corden on an Early Version of Carpool Karaoke","datePublished":"2016-12-26T01:44:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:28:03.494Z","description":"The popular Late Late Show segment had its origins in a 2011 sketch for the British charity Comic Relief","url":"https://time.com/4617922/george-michael-james-corden-carpool-karaoke/","keywords":["remembrance","celebrities","james corden","carpool karaoke"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney / EW"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4617922/george-michael-james-corden-carpool-karaoke/","name":"Watch George Michael with James Corden on an Early Version of Carpool Karaoke"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"In Memoriam: George Michael","description":"George Michael, who rocketed to stardom with WHAM! and went on to enjoy a long and celebrated solo career lined with controversies, has died, his publicist said Sunday. 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