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worm\'s eye view of red, orange, and yellow Ferris wheel
worm\'s eye view of red, orange, and yellow Ferris wheel
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Culture > Entertainment

Ariana Grande & James Corden Sang Their Way Through ‘Titanic’ & It’s So Iconic

Erica Kam

What do you get when you put together Ariana Grande, James Corden, arguably the best film of the ‘90s and a bunch of iconic songs?

One hell of a good time, that’s what.

Ariana appeared on The Late Late Show on Monday, and of course, you can’t bring Ariana on your late-night show and not utilize her seemingly endless talents. Both Ariana and James have Broadway experience, so it made sense that they would want to do both acting and singing (with a little dancing thrown in just for fun). And what better way to do that than James’ popular sketch, “Soundtrack To…”?

The story the two chose was 1997’s Titanic, and they took to the roles of Jack and Rose with enthusiasm. I think Leo and Kate are still my top choices to play those characters, but watching James and Ariana sing Nelly’s “Ride Wit Me” during the famous handprint-on-car-window scene would put a smile on anyone’s face.

The songs ranged from the Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly” (“I’m flying, Jack!”) to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” (“Draw me like one of your French girls!”) Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” (I’m assuming you know which part of the movie this one is). Even Lady Gaga and One Direction made the cut. The best song, however, was the only one that was actually in the movie itself: Ariana absolutely nailed Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and James’ harmonies just made the whole thing even better.

Ariana certainly had some high standards to live up to, since previous “Soundtrack To…” leading ladies include Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Anna Kendrick (twice!), but it’s safe to say she’s one of the best. It has me even more excited for the upcoming “Carpool Karaoke,” where we’ll get to hear her sing some of her own tunes, new and old.

In the meantime, I’m going to go rewatch Titanic and get angry again about how Jack totally could’ve fit on that door.

Erica Kam is the Life Editor at Her Campus. She oversees the life, career, and news verticals on the site, including academics, experience, high school, money, work, and Her20s coverage. Over her six years at Her Campus, Erica has served in various editorial roles on the national team, including as the previous Culture Editor and as an editorial intern. She has also interned at Bustle Digital Group, where she covered entertainment news for Bustle and Elite Daily. She graduated in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Barnard College, where she was the senior editor of Columbia and Barnard’s Her Campus chapter and a deputy copy editor for The Columbia Spectator. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her dissecting K-pop music videos for easter eggs and rereading Jane Austen novels. She also loves exploring her home, the best city in the world — and if you think that's not NYC, she's willing to fight you on it.