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Kristen Wiig butchered Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”during a duet with James Corden designed to bring world peace onThe Late Late ShowWednesday.
The bit found Wiig and Corden easing through a soulful cover of the classic tune, though each time they arrived at the chorus, Wiig struggled to pronounce the song’s most important word. First, she said “Hallelujah” with a hard “J,” then sang it as “Holy-how-ya,” and next “Holy-luau.” While Wiig played oblivious, the mistakes compounded Corden’s anger, especially when they threw off the performance’s planned theatrical flourishes, such as a pair flying doves and pyrotechnics.
Finally, Corden got so fed up he called off the duet, declaring, “I do not know who will bring about world peace but it won’t be us!” Wiig, however, consoled the host, telling him, “James, don’t let ISIS win.”
Corden took one last stab at teaching Wiig how to properly say “Hallelujah,” and after going through several more mispronunciations – such as “Halle Berry” and “Howdie Doody” – the former SNL star finally hit upon the right word. Quickly, the two launched into the song one last time – though Corden’s dreams were dashed again when a giant gospel choir came on stage and started belting, “Hello, Julia!”
