Stephen Colbert is channeling his inner K-pop with a BTS-inspired music video featuring Jon Batiste and the Stay Human band, as well as a cameo from Alan Alda, that aired during yesterday’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
In “Excuses Song,” Colbert — rocking a middle part and soul patch — croons about potential excuses one can make when invited to unwanted social events.
After being the subject of one of the excuses — “Tell ’em that you’re with Alan Alda” — the legendary actor from the “M*A*S*H” television show (which, after all, was set in Korea) leads the song’s breakdown, encouraging people who are still uncomfortable socializing to stay home and listen to podcasts or “LOL at some funny memes.”
Introducing the song, Colbert told the “Late Show” audience, “The Delta variant is surging, and Covid cases continue to rise. On the one hand, experts say small groups of all vaccinated people is a safe way to socialize. On the other hand, I don’t want to.”
He continued, “Fortunately, Jon and I are gonna help you out tonight. We got together with the whole band and recorded a hot new jam that is guaranteed to make you dance and give you all the excuses you need to get out of going to a dance.”
The song opens with, “All my friends are vaccinated / They wanna hit the club, get on the dance floor / But I don’t wanna put on my outside clothes / Got a lot of invites to ignore.”
With excuses ranging from “stuck in quicksand” to “just flew back from Korea,” the video not-so-subtly pays homage to BTS with K-pop star Jimin’s face plastered on a T-shirt.
Watch the full video below.
