By Ebony Bowden
Before he was the king of late night television, James Corden played a football-loving lad on British comedy Gavin & Stacey.
And in a skit uncovered from 2011, you can see the exact moment his viral Carpool Karaoke segment was born – with none other than George Michael.
The video recorded for BBC's Comic Relief charity telethon was uncovered on Monday after George Michael died unexpectedly from heart failure at the age of 53.
Corden's The Late Late Show executive producer Ben Winston confirmed on Twitter it was the Wham! singer who inspired the segment which today amasses hundreds of millions of hits on YouTube.
Tributes have poured in for George Michael after his sudden death on Sunday in the UK.Credit: BBC
"So sad to hear about George Michael," Winston wrote after Michael's death. "The sound of a generation. He inspired Carpool Karaoke when he filmed with us."
Corden said he'd loved Michael for as long as he could remember, hailing him as "an absolute inspiration".
"Always ahead of his time," he told his eight million followers.
The three-minute video shows Corden and Michael in matching tracksuit jackets and having a spat in Corden's car before making-up over a rendition of Wham! hit I'm Your Man.
The executive producer of Corden's The Late Late Show confirmed George Michael inspired Carpool Karaoke.Credit: BBC
Michael shows off his hidden comedic chops in the video in which he plays himself and ribs Corden about not wanting to be seen with a gay man after Corden tells him he can't come to Comic Relief.
The segment is typical of Michael who became a champion for the gay community and demanded fans listen without prejudice.
James Corden described George Michael as "an absolute inspiration" following his sudden death.Credit: BBC
The video is bittersweet for fans of the singer who were plunged into mourning when the Grammy winner died suddenly on Christmas Day at his home in Oxfordshire.
With tributes describing Michael as "witty", "self-deprecating" and a "superstar", the video has indeed provided comic relief after the loss of so many musical icons in 2017.