Widely regarded as the best interviewer in the business, Howard Stern is never better than when he’s exploring failure — what didn’t work in the entertainment world — and how it turned into success. Stern may be “King of All Media” now, but Stern had his share of setbacks and he knows how tough the business is. So talking to late night talk show host James Corden, he asked about the unlikely success and incredible celebrity buy-in of his massively popular “Carpool Karaoke” segments.
Corden told the inside story — as people tend to do on Stern. The Carpool Karaoke idea, which looks great in retrospect thanks to Adele and others, was rejected at first. And not just by some artists, Corden told Stern: Everybody rejected it. Singing in a car with a little known host just didn’t immediately seem like a great idea, right? Until Mariah Carey — or shall we say fearless visionary Mariah Carey? — said yes. And guess what? Once one superstar said yes, they could line ’em up. Because that’s how it goes. Jimmy Kimmel’s mean tweets went the same way. It’s a story of creativity, nerve, rejection, perseverance and ultimately triumph. Stern loves those stories, because that’s just like his own career.
