Top 10 Late-Night Moments

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For a recurring segment called ‘musical impressions,’ the Grammy-winning musician and Jimmy Fallon took turns belting out classics while impersonating different pop artists. Aguilera nailed impersonations of fellow female divas, first as Britney Spears singing “This Little Piggy” and then as Shakira singing The Golden Girls theme “Thank You for Being a Friend.”

The British comedian kicked off his late-night debut on March 23 by reenacting scenes from Tom Hanks’ movies with the Academy Award-winning actor himself. The retrospective, plus an interview with a (possibly) married Mila Kunis, helped the show reach the most viewers in that time slot on a Monday in four years. Since then, Corden has gotten celebrity guests like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Matt Damon to act out their filmographies in this viral segment.

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This year marked the end of an era for CBS’s The Late Show when David Letterman stepped down as host after three and a half decades. His first guest, Bill Murray, was aptly his last scheduled visitor. For the final episode on May 20, Letterman took a break from making fun of famous people to let them make fun of him. Everyone from living U.S. presidents—who uttered the line “our long, national nightmare is over”—to actors like Steve Martin, Jim Carrey and Tina Fey, who took turns presenting a version of his signature top 10 lists about “Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Dave.” Letterman’s favorite Foo Fighters played “Everlong,” ending the night on a high note.

Fans of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central were worried that its star Stephen Colbert would be forced to tone down his act when his show moved to a network. But when he officially replaced Letterman as the host of the The Late Show on Sept. 8, he quickly showed he was adding his own flair to the program. His initial episode featured a tour of the newly renovated Ed Sullivan Theater, complete with a cursed monkey paw and ancient amulet that groans at corny jokes and forces him to shill for brands.

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Colbert’s mentor, Jon Stewart, also signed off this year. The second most-viewed episode in the history of The Daily Show was his last (the most-viewed: Barack Obama’s appearance a week before election day 2008). The finale featured a lecture on his pet peeve—“bulls–t”— and guest appearances by former correspondents Mo Rocca, Steve Carell, and Lewis Black, while rock star Bruce Springsteen closed out the show. It was a fitting send-off for a host who redefined the late-night landscape.

A few months after President Obama announced the restoration of U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba, Conan O’Brien became the first American talk show host to film an episode there since the embargo went into effect. In an effort to “thaw” relations between the two countries, the late-night host donned a white linen suit, attempted to roll cigars and dance the Cuban rumba, all while speaking limited Spanish. And yet somehow, his antics do not seem to have jeopardized the normalization process.

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During a March episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the President became the latest public figure to read mean tweets about himself, one of the show’s recurring segments. It’s a good laugh. Thanks, Obama!

Nearly a year after British comedian John Oliver aired a scathing takedown of questionable operating practices that have evaded prosecution at soccer’s governing body FIFA, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had indicted 14 officials. Oliver presented a sort of “told you so!” monologue in a May 31 episode, joking about the irony of how it took America that cares very little about soccer “to bring down the people who have been ruining it.” He also vowed to drink a Bud Light Lime if FIFA president Sepp Blatter stepped down—and he kept his promise when the executive announced his resignation days later. The monologue is just the latest example of what some have described as the “the John Oliver effect,” when his well-argued rants have inspired lawmakers to introduce legislation or viewers to make philanthropic donations.

In a year filled with lip-sync battles, Ellen DeGeneres delivered the ultimate mic drop. During her September match-up with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, the comedian described her songs in a hilariously matter-of-fact way: Diana Ross’ “Do You Know Where You’re Going to?” became a song “written in the 70s before GPS or Google Maps,” while Rihanna’s defiant “Bitch Better Have My Money” was characterized as being about a “business transaction.” Thanks to her energetic performance, DeGeneres earned the title of winner from guest judge Justin Timberlake.

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More than a few people who watched the first Democratic presidential debate thought Bernie Sanders reminded them of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David. So it made perfect sense when Saturday Night Live had the comedian play the Vermont senator in a debate sketch. The actor depicted the candidate as the kind of curmudgeon who is so frugal that he only owns one pair of underwear. Days later, Sanders joked that he had just bought his second pair and borrowed David’s signature line when he told Jimmy Kimmel that he thought the SNL impression was “pretty, pretty, pretty good.” A few weeks later, David returned to the show to impersonate Sanders when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hosted. He got even more laughs when he played himself and interrupted the real estate mogul’s monologue.