If you're one of those people who never pays attention to the lyrics, "Nonsense Karaoke" will probably sound much like regular karaoke, except that you're watching Jimmy Fallon and guests Molly Shannon and Denis Leary sing to the pre-recorded backing tracks and you can't join in. If you do pay even a bit of attention, though, Shannon singing "But it's time to legalize the burgers of lunch" to TLC's "Waterfalls" gives you a pretty good sense of how the Tonight Show game is played.
Arguably, Leary's nonsense lyrics to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" are an improvement over Def Leppard's, but either way, since Leary and Shannon are comedians and not professional singers, the format plays to their strengths. Fallon, who can sing and make you laugh, goes for a power ballad. You can watch the goofiness below. Peter Weber
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.
-
3 ways to reduce the cost of owning a carthe explainer Despite the rising expense of auto insurance premiums and repairs, there are ways to save
-
DOJ targets ‘disparate impact’ avenues of discrimination protectionsIN THE SPOTLIGHT By focusing solely on ‘intentional discrimination,’ the Justice Department risks allowing more subtle forms of bias to proliferate
-
‘Consistency at the ballot box isn’t nearly as meaningful to many voters here’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
