John Legend among celebrity hosts for Carpool Karaoke spin-off

John Legend is one of the celebrity hosts announced for the Carpool Karaoke spin-off, while Ariana Grande and Will Smith are among the stars in cars.

The segment has been a huge hit on The Late Late Show With James Corden, often going viral thanks to famous faces like Adele, One Direction and Mariah Carey belting out their hits while James drives them around Los Angeles.

It was revealed last year (16) that the program would receive the spin-off treatment for a 16-episode series to air on Apple Music, but it would not be hosted by James.

Now it has been confirmed that the presenter will return for a one-off on the Apple Music series, to drive Will Smith around, while celebrity hosts include John Legend, Ted funnyman Seth MacFarlane and controversial comedienne Chelsea Handler.

There will be 16 different hosts in total, all of whom will drive their celebrity guests around while they sing along to some of their most famous tunes. While John will be accompanied in the vehicle by Alicia Keys and Empire star Taraji P. Henson, Seth will be joined by Ariana and Chelsea by country star Blake Shelton. Billy Eichner with Metallica and Michael Strahan with Jeff Gordon were also confirmed, while the remainder of the guests and hosts are expected to be announced in the coming months.

The news was announced at CBS’s Television Critics Association panel for The Late Late Show... on Monday (09Jan17), with James admitting he is still in shock that the concept of Carpool Karaoke has taken off in such a massive way.

"This is only a waste of time if you don't enjoy it," he said. "That enjoyment, that joy, that sort of unbridled freedom of singing in a car, is the glue that holds it all together.

“I’m still going to see my kid on the weekends. This just became a wonderful platform to see these people in a such an intimate environment. I don’t feel it’s mine."

Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran revealed he will be taking part in Carpool Karaoke on The Late Late Show at some point this year.

During an interview on London radio station Capital FM on Monday, Ed said: "I've been in touch with James Corden about this for three years because he wanted me to do the first one and I just wasn't around and I can confirm that at some point this year I will be doing a Carpool Karaoke."