Lil Nas X Makes Soap Opera Debut, Cruises Down ‘Old Town Road’ for ‘Carpool Karaoke’

Lil Nas X came to “Carpool Karaoke” to play. On Monday night’s (March 27) Late Late Show, the rapper hopped into the passenger seat with James Corden and hit all the musical high notes of his career, of course, while also realizing his soap opera dreams, spilling about celebrity dating apps and proclaiming himself a “woman of God.”

Rocking a powder blue gauzy top with a large silver cross on it, Lil Nas explained that it’s all about connection, leading Corden in a recitation of the mantra “I… am… a woman of God.” But when James said it was all very Mary Magdalene, turns out Nas skipped that part of the good book and, like, wasn’t familiar.

Regardless, the two easy segued into the MC’s 2019 breakthrough hit, “Old Town Road,” moseying down the road to the song’s languid beat before Corden surprised the former first chair trumpet player with a shiny horn. “I’m not really sure how to play this that well anymore,” Lil Nas stammered as Corden pulled out a matching instrument and they ripped some scales together.

“This sounds incredible,” Lil Nas bragged. “When I came up with this I thought, ‘oh this will be hilarious because we’ll be so bad,'” Corden admitted. “But now I’m here and it’s just two women of God playing the trumpet,” he said to Nas X’s delight. They then busted out a pretty credible horn intro to “Industry Baby,” before running through the 2021 hit that featured Jack Harlow.

Lil Nas also talked about how he dates these days, confessing that he has used celebrity dating app Raya, but now tries to find his partners in the real world. “I’ve met quite a few famous guys,” he said, without naming names, prompting Corden to ask if any of them had done “Carpool” in the past. “For sure,” Nas X said to Corden’s glee. But even as Lil Nas seemed determined to keep his dating life private, Corden kept poking around trying to suss out who it could be.

The new best friends bounced through “That’s What I Want” before Corden sprung a big surprise on budding actor Lil Nas by taking him to the set of the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, where they played a pair of busboys in an emotional restaurant scene. Annoyed that he didn’t get any lines — to Lil Nas’ nine — Corden complained bitterly as the rapper tried, and failed, to deliver his dialogue without cracking up.

His SAG car punched, Nas X slipped back in the car for a final performance, going out on “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name).”

Check out video of Lil Nas X’s “Carpool Karaoke” trip below.