The Late Late Show with James Corden featured an all-star list of talent last night, and, no, it wasn't just another episode of Carpool Karaoke. This time, British crooner Sampha was the featured musical guest, delivering another one of his patented beautiful, dark, melancholy self-reflected compositions. Sampha shared the stage with a few esteemed musicians, among them Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Kelsey Lu and serpentwithfeet, to share his song from the Beautiful Boy movie soundtrack, “Treasure.”
The performance started with the artists congregated on the dark stage as Sampha set the mood with his haunting vocals and keys. Slowly, each of the all-star list of musicians added their own spark to the song. Washington contributed his jazzy saxophone, Glasper complimented Sampha’s piano with a couple key strokes of his own and the rest of the team played their position to bring “Treasure,” a ballad about finding hope and healing with the help of a special person in your life, to life.
The feature film Beautiful Boy stars Steve Carell and Timonthée Chalamat in a biographical drama about a father’s attempt to save his son from drug abuse. “Treasure” fits perfectly with the themes of the film along with much of Sampha’s catalog – sad but beautiful with a little hope mixed in. It’s not your traditional operatic power ballad about love and hope and all that good stuff sung by the diva of the moment, and we might like it more for just that reason. Here’s hoping James Corden will eventually ask Sampha to do a very special episode of Carpool Karaoke in the feature. In the meantime, hit play below.
