Jimmy Fallon gave his fans a gift on Friday night, the eve of his 41st birthday.
The “Tonight Show” host recreated Lionel Richie’s 1983 music video for his hit ballad “Hello,” with some help from the singer himself.
(Side note: can we talk about how creepy the original music video is?! We adore our beloved Lionel more than a Kardashian loves lash extensions, but WOW, that video has some major stalker vibes happening!)
Jimmy, dressed as Lionel from the video – complete with a curly wig— kicks off the spoof by singing the song’s opening verse in an art room while painting a portrait of Lionel.
On a table next to the late night host is a clay bust of a man’s head (a nod to the original video, which ends with Lionel’s blind paramour revealing a clay head she’s sculpted in his likeness, because the ’80s?). As Jimmy continues to sing and paint, the “clay” head spins to face the audience – surprise! It’s actually Lionel, with his body hidden under table. The Grammy winner takes over the vocals for the chorus.
The hilarious duo managed to make it halfway through the song before their voices began to break with laughter, much to the delight of the studio audience.
Lionel had a blast with Jimmy and shared an Instagram photo of the pair backstage.
“Had such a great time on@fallontonight @jimmyfallon,” he captioned the pic.
— Erin O’Sullivan
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