Apple released the first teaser for Carpool Karaoke: The Series at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday. It featured original host James Corden and several other celebrities, including Ariana Grande, John Legend and Will Smith, according to The Verge.
A new host for each episode
In July 2016, the iPhone maker acquired the rights to James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke to drive users towards Apple Music. The series is expected to arrive on Apple Music this year. The exact date, however, remains unknown, as the trailer only states that it will come soon.
Last year, the company ordered 16 episodes of the show, taking the concept from the successful segment that was originally featured on the Late Late Show with James Corden, who can be seen in several scenes in the trailer. Corden can be seen singing along with Will Smith, but he won’t be the host for every episode of the Apple Music-bound show, notes The Verge.
Every episode is expected to have a new host paired with a celebrity. The series will feature stars such as Metallica, Billy Eichner, Ariana Grande, Michael Strahan, Blake Shelton, Chelsea Handler, Shaquille O’Neal and John Cena.
CBS Television Studios has produced the series with Fulwell 73, and the co-creators and executive producers of the show are Corden and Late Late Show Executive Producer Ben Winston. Eric Pankowski is also an executive producer and the showrunner, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Apple aims to offer more value to users
According to Apple, the celebrity pairs will be seen riding along in a car together “as they sing tunes from their personal playlists” and will “surprise fans who don’t expect to see big stars belting out tunes one lane over.”
The trailer also hints that the action will step out of the car, taking sports, music and movie stars onto basketball courts and into bakeries and laundromats. The preview also indicates that the stars will make several stops along the way. We can see O’Neal playing basketball on a playground court, while Smith is seen joining in wedding celebration.
Apple Music is adding original content to its offerings to provide additional value to its 15 million paying users. The new installments of the series will stream weekly on Apple’s $10-a-month streaming service. According to MacRumors, the duration of the episodes will be 30 minutes, and Apple’s version will reportedly feature a format that will resemble an interview series.
