James Corden reveals why 'Smurfs' costar Rihanna never did 'Carpool Karaoke'

James Corden is gushing over his duet with Rihanna, which happened after he tried for years to get his Smurfs costar to do Carpool Karaoke for his The Late Late Show.

Corden, who left the show in 2023, has now finally sung alongside Rihanna for a song in the new Smurfs movie.

At the world premiere of the Smurfs movie in Brussels, Corden told Entertainment Tonight that he "tried for eight years" to get the Rude Boy hitmaker to appear on Carpool Karaoke.

Rihanna, 37, always told him she’d do it when she had a new album to promote. However, she put out her last album, Anti, in 2016.

"I tried for eight years to get Rihanna to do a Carpool Karaoke. The closest we got is an animated Smurfs feature," Corden shared. "She would always say to me, 'When the new record is out.' And then I finished the show before that record came out."

The Grammy winner sings the track Friend of Mine, which has become a fan favourite. She also sang a song with Corden, who plays No Name in the film.

Rihanna dubbed the song "one of the biggest surprises of the whole thing," and praised Corden’s singing, saying, "He can sing. He really is good!"

The former talk show host also said that he "legitimately would" reboot Carpool Karaoke "just for a week," if Rihanna puts out a new album.

Smurfs hits theaters on Friday, July 18.