‘Friends’ Cast Joins James Corden for Carpool Karaoke

The Friends cast wasn’t done hanging out after their recent HBO Max reunion special, so all six stars joined The Late Late Show James Corden for a round of Carpool Karaoke. Corden, who hosted the reunion event, unveiled the musical segment on Wednesday’s episode of his late-night talk show. As he typically does, Corden got a phone call with an unseen second party, which we eventually learned was Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.

The whole gang headed to the set of the reunion special and, along the way, they jammed the series’ hit theme song, by The Rembrandts. This time around Corden actually did some Cart-pool Karaoke, as they all rode in a Warner Bros. studio cart. Upon arrival to the set, Corden went on a tour of the recreated set, which included checking out Chandler and Joey’s music collection, as well as trying out Chandler’s iconic BarcaLounger. He eventually made his way to the Central Perk set and had a fun, casual interview with the cast.

The Friends reunion was a big hit with fans of the show, and even featured another classic Friends tune: Smelly Cat. In the special, Kudrow — who played Phoebe Buffay in the series — sat down on the Central Perk set and performed the hit song, which has long been one of the most recognizable moments to come out of the ’90s sitcom. Much to the surprise of fans, pop music icon Lady Gaga eventually joined her to deliver a version of the song.

“It’s so weird ’cause I was walking down the street and I just happen to have my guitar,” Gaga said as she emerged into the scene. “It’s one of my favorite songs.” The award-winning pop star then asked, “You mind if I take ‘Smelly Cat’ for a spin?” Kudrow replied, “Oh please! That would be great!” After Gaga finished her performance, the two women performed a “Smelly Cat” duet, eventually being joined by a gospel choir for the big finale. When they end, Kudrow exclaimed how “great” it was for them to sing together, and then went into character as Phoebe, quipping, “I still think it’s better when it’s just me.”

Gaga then took a slightly more serious tone, telling Kudrow how big a fan she is of Phoebe and how much the character meant to her as a younger woman. “Can I just say something? Thank you so much for being the person for all of us on Friends that — I don’t know if this is the right way to say it — but the different one, or the one that was really herself.” Kudrow replied, “Thank you, and thanks for carrying it along.”