All the musical tributes to the late, great David Bowie seem to feature his song "Life on Mars?" And Jimmy Fallon's tribute does, too. But whereas Lady Gaga had an orchestra and top-notch special effects at the Grammys, and Lorde had a full band at the BRIT awards (even Sinead O'Connor's tribute was backed by a Chicago supergroup), Fallon just had a piano player, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, on the Tonight Show, plus a brief, hilariously casual guitar solo by Roots guitarist "Captain" Kirk Douglas.
The premise is that Fallon happens to walk in as Martin is practicing the Bowie song, and Fallon just sits down and does a near-pitch-perfect Bowie impersonation. Of course that's staged — a mixture of the Tonight Show greenroom concerts and Fallon's occasional full-on in-character musical homages — but as a hybrid, it works. It doesn't matter that this is well-covered material as, oddly, the go-to Bowie tribute song, or that it was almost certainly rehearsed. Fallon knew Bowie, at least casually, and in many ways the casual setting and sparse instrumentation seems a better tribute to a lost idol and friend than all the glamor in the world. You're never going to top Bowie in that department anyway. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138MSpeed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 GrammysSpeed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
