A lot has changed since Harry Styles was last on Carpool Karaoke. In 2015, the British pop star spent the segment crammed into the middle seat in the back of the car, sandwiched by his One Direction bandmates. But on Thursday, Styles, fresh off his first solo album, rode shotgun in a bit of symbolism that wasn’t lost on Late Late Show host James Corden: As Styles admired his improved access to the air conditioning and radio, Corden noted, “I don’t know if you’re speaking on a different level, if you’re saying I’ve got more control over the buttons, and the buttons are something deeper.”
The entire Carpool Karaoke segment was the inevitable cap to a full week of Styles hanging out with Corden as the Late Late Show’s guest to promote his debut solo album, the self-titled Harry Styles. Naturally, as they drove, Corden and Styles gave songs like “Sign of the Times” and “Sweet Creature,” a whirl, but there were also some surprises, including Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” which Styles called his karaoke go-to.
Since Styles is set to make his acting debut in the upcoming Christopher Nolan war film Dunkirk, Corden also put him through his paces, demanding that he cry on demand as well as acting out a few scenes from Notting Hill and Titanic—a perfectly appropriate way to follow up their passionate performance of “Endless Love.”
If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can check out Styles’ 2015 appearance on Carpool Karaoke here:
