25 best award show hosts
By Reed Gaudens
15. James Corden
Show: 70th Tony Awards (2016), 59th Annual Grammy Awards (2017), 60th Annual Grammy Awards (2018)
Memorable Moments: For the most part, the Grammys are are a rather tough award show to host. Everyone there and everyone watching home are really in it for one thing: the awards and the performances. It’s a long show that’s basically a strange, mini black-tie music festival. But James Corden brought his signature energy to the festivities in 2017 and 2018, following a fitting year of hosting the Tonys. In 2018, Corden handed out puppies to those who didn’t snag golden gramophones, scored a cameo from Hillary Clinton, and hilariously pretended he’d never heard the No. 1 smash-hit song “Despacito.”
Public Reception: Luckily, no matter what James Corden could have done wrong, it would have gone unnoticed. Year after year, the winners of the Grammys are hotly debated than the next, distracting from any bits that don’t land or jokes that fall flat. But in his two years hosting the Grammy Awards, James Corden knocked it out of the park. He’s one of the few late-night talk show hosts with universal appeal, and his likability shined at the Grammys.
Why They’re One of the Best: It goes without saying, but the charm and charisma that pours out of James Corden on The Late Late Show translated perfectly to the Grammy stage. Thanks to the the late-night talker and its various viral segments (shout out to Carpool Karaoke), Corden was a natural pick to fit right in with the music crowd. Who has a better rapport with the most popular names in music than the man who’s driven most of them around Los Angeles and sang their greatest hits? After two years of bringing the funny, the show’s switching things up with Grammy-winner Alicia Keys taking over as host, but James Corden remains one of the best to ever host music’s biggest night.