Foster the People's Mark Foster debuts elaborate new quarantine song from home on Colbert's Late Show

Mark Foster on The Late Show — (Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

"I wrote this in self-quarantine, thinking about all the grocery store clerks, the doctors, the nurses, the first responders, and everybody that's helping us through this difficult time," Mark Foster said on Monday's Late Show, from his home studio in Los Angeles. "All you guys are true heroes."

The new song from the Foster the People founder, "It's Okay to Be Human," evokes Brian Wilson compositions from the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds or Smile sessions, except Foster plays all the instruments himself — piano, vibes, synths, acoustic bass, electric guitar, and many vocal overdubs.

Annie Lennox also sent a song to late-night TV from her home studio on Monday night, performing "A Thousand Beautiful Things" from her 2003 album Bare for The Tonight Show. Lennox kept things simple, instrumentally, and shone a spotlight on Project Angel Food's work to feed people suffering food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.