Josh Groban Sings "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" In A Special Moment With Ellen On Stage

Mar 24, 2020

Sometimes unexpected combinations lead to delightful results. Peanut butter and bananas, apples and cheese, Josh Groban and Ellen DeGeneres. 

Take two consummate (although diverse) performers and a classic 80’s tune “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and you end up with a magical 3-minute video from 2009.

Josh and Ellen appear onstage in similar outfits, with Ellen blithely claiming she was given Josh in the Grammys gift shop.

He plays along wonderfully well, showing his down to earth demeanor and willingness to take a joke. Ellen suggests a duet, and they pretend it’s spontaneous until Josh whips a microphone from his back pocket.

What follows is a wonderful blend of music talent and comedic understudy. Ellen has a creditable voice, and even if she isn’t a Broadway showstopper, she is comfortable enough in her own skin to thoroughly enjoy singing without pretending to be any different than she is. No dubbing needed!

She fully admits she wants Josh to really carry the tune and she will sound even better in contrast, the singing duet equivalent of one really strong dance partner making the other look better. His baritone lifts her alto up.

They both inject genuine feeling into the song, giving it a sweet sincerity. But Ellen does something else to make the moment special. She brings her comedic know-how to the piece in just the right amount.

For a less experienced comedienne, the temptation would have been to overdo it. Exaggerate the missed notes, work the stage with melodramatic gestures, and turn the entire piece into a predictable comedy routine.

Instead, Ellen sprinkles just a little humor throughout the performance. There are a few poses that jokingly nod to the 1980’s music video drama, held just long enough to produce a smile without detracting from the song. Toward the end, she spritzes the humor a little heavier as she and Josh carry a long vibrato note for a little longer and over a few more keys than it needs to be, but it works.

Josh plays straight man to these comedic nuances, letting his rich voice glide over the notes effortlessly. He strikes a pose or two as well, but he doesn’t hold them the way Ellen does. Instead he works as a reflection of her comedy. He doesn’t try to compete with her comedic choices and she doesn’t try to compete with his musical choices. Together they make a perfect pairing.

Give yourself a three minute feel-good break and watch the video, then spread the music fun to all of your friends and family on social media.