Michelle Obama teamed up with rapper Missy Elliott and late-night host James Corden for a segment of “Carpool Karaoke,” on last night’s (July 20) The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS.
In between belting out renditions of Steve Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Beyonce’s Single Ladies, and Elliot’s Get Ur Freak On, Obama offered a rare glimpse into her life as first lady of the United States. She revealed during the segment that it was only the second time in the past seven and a half years that she had rocked out in the front seat of a car. The other occasion was months ago with her daughter—Malia—who had recently learned to drive.
It’s the little things, like riding shotgun with the music turned up, that Obama said she most looks forward to in life after the White House.
“The freedom that we’ll get in exchange for the privilege and the luxuries, you know, seven and a half years is a enough luxuriating,” she said, adding that she’s also looking forward to cooking for herself. She claims to make a mean grilled cheese.
On top of nailing the track with Elliott—Obama didn’t miss a beat—the trio also performed a karaoke version of “This Is for My Girls,” a charity track she commissioned as part of her “Let Girls Learn” initiative that features women including Elliot, Kelly Clarkson, Kelly Rowland, and Janelle Monáe.
The Atlantic pointed out that the “Carpool Karaoke” segment was a reprieve from the over-the-top politicking we’ve seen during the last week, with the Republican National Convention underway in Cleveland, Ohio and the Democrats preparing for their convention next week. Obama’s messaging in the bit was light and humanizing, in contrast.
Last year, president Barack Obama made a comparably comical appearance on Crackle’s “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” with Jerry Seinfeld (renamed “A Comedian with the President Going Nowhere” by a Secret Service agent during the segment.)