Jimmy Fallon loves singing almost as much as he loves video games. On Monday night (May 14) his worlds collided when he and The Roots strapped on their cardboard Nintendo Labo instruments and jammed with Ariana Grande on a space age version of her hit single “No Tears Left to Cry” in the latest edition of “Classroom Instruments.”
Labo allows users to strap their Nintendo Switch game consoles into cardboard housings, and in Fallon’s case that meant transforming them into futuristic instruments, from a two-screen paper keyboard to Fallon’s glitter-splashed electric guitar, rapper Black Thought rocked a guitar using a fishing rod and drummer Questlove’s head-mounted full-body robot percussion kit.
With Grande — wearing an electric blue jumpsuit and safety goggles — adding some digital triangle, the quirky rendition of the song was a triumph as the performance added a bit of digital funk to the recorded version. The special edition of “Classroom” was further enhanced by a cool editing trick that divided the screen into geometric shapes, with Grande and the band drifting across the screen in a series of colorful triangles, squares, and equilaterals.
Grande will also be opening the 2018 Billboard Music Awards this Sunday, May 20.
Check out the full performance below.