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James Corden doesn’t need a script or a set of writers to impress audience members — his natural charisma and humor shined during his “The Late Late Show with James Corden” FYC panel at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood on Thursday night. Although he was tight-lipped about his next Carpool Karaoke stars, the host mentioned that there’s a “Crosswalk Musical” set for next Monday.

During the panel, Corden’s warm humor and comedic timing received thunderous laughs. In the midst of joshing his fellow panelists, the host became rather frank when moderator Bill Carter mentioned that an Emmy nomination would complete two-thirds of the Oscars-Emmys-Tonys trifecta for the host.

“Let’s not run before we can walk, Bill,” Corden said.

The discussion mostly focused on how much respect Corden and executive producers Ben Winston and Rob Crabbe have for each other, and their close-knit staff and CBS. It was revealed that the Eye gave them free reign while making the nightly TV show.

“We really push ourselves every single night to make a show that is irrelevant of timeslot and is as ambitious as a late-night show,” Corden said. “When you’re creating a late-night TV show, you’re searching for what are the things that will define your show — which all late-night shows have had.”

“Late Show with David Letterman” had the top 10 lists, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” has lip sync battles so Corden and his team cultivated something that he could call his own. Then came Carpool Karaoke.

“Think of any recording artist in the world and they said, ‘No,’ and now we get to say, ‘Oh, sorry, but no,'” joked Corden about being selective about who he has slated for his popular karaoke segment. His ride-along duet with Adele even went viral, eventually hitting almost 103 million YouTube views.

 “We’re living at a time where YouTube and watching things online is the dominant thing. We are very fortunate where 12:30 at night doesn’t need to constrict us,” Winston said.
Given the popularity of the musical segment, Winston spoke of the idea of having a separate show fully dedicated to Carpool Karaoke. He revealed that the standalone project is still very much a thought, and that nothing is concrete just yet.
Although they are hoping for an Emmy nomination in the outstanding variety series category for “The Late Late Show,” Corden reassured the crowd that that’s not why they’re doing the show, but it’s always nice to get recognized.
“The ‘work’ or ‘not work’ doesn’t exist when you make a show everyday. It’s the effort that counts,” said Corden. “Eleven months on the air — that’s what I’m proud of, and we just want to keep doing [the show].”
Corden ended the night by taking photos with attendees and mingling with the crowd. He’s set to lend his professional hosting duties to the Tony Awards on June 12.
“The Late Late Show” airs weeknights at 12:37 p.m. on CBS.