In the past, we’ve heard about Stephen Colbert’s worst guests.
However, fans believe that his musical guests are also pretty bizarre, at least from a name value perspective.
Stephen Colbert doesn’t typically choose the biggest names in the music industry, and there are several fan theories as to why?
Is he giving the lesser known artists extra exposure? Or is he tied down by CBS?
We are going to take a look at what the fans are saying, and his history with performers playing on the Late Show.
Colbert certainly loves diversity when it comes to selecting his musical guests, and that continues to hold true today.
It should be noted that although most aren’t the flashiest names, there is no denying their talents.
On both platforms, Reddit and Quora, fans have asked the question as to why Stephen Colbert has different musical guests. Okay, “different” is putting it nicely. Both platforms call them “terrible” musical guests, which really seems harsh. Granted, Colbert does indeed have lesser-known names compared to other late night hosts, but calling them terrible is certainly a stretch.
Fans gave some unique perspectives as to how Colbert chooses his musical guests. One Quora user believes it has to do with CBS’ limited connections, and their ties to Columbia Records and Sony.
“Just like every other guest on late night, bands appear to promote their albums and tours. A good way to get the word out about a band that people aren’t familiar with is to appear on television. There was even a time not so long ago when CBS owned Columbia Records/Sony Music, so it was even more advantageous for the corporation to promote their artists on their TV network.”
Another user completely disagreed, and enjoys the variety Colbert has to offer. “From the varied artists I am familiar with, I know there are a lot of excellent performers who have been on the show. I suspect it might be a bit jarring to those whose experience of music is largely limited to hearing recordings that have been carefully produced in studios after numerous takes on numerous tracks. The live experience tends to be less crisp and clean, but sometimes that’s what makes it better. It’s more raw.”
The Seattle Times also has a theory of their own, believing that Stephen Colbert is influenced by his own “defiantly nerdy/emotional guitar pop.” That dates back to his days on The Colbert Report. The publication appreciated that Stephen promotes music that he actually cares about.
Posted to Colbert’s Late Show channel eight days, Charles Wesley Godwin’s performance failed to generate over 26K views, while comments were reduced to 40 on a channel that has 9 million subscribers.
Stephen clearly isn’t bothered by the numbers, and continues to add diversity with his musical guests.
Marcin Recently Was Praised For His Musical Performance On Colbert’s Late Show Despite Being A Lesser Known Name
Among the recent performers on the Late Show also included Marcin, playing the song, Classical Dragon in a studio session. Posted four days ago, the performance generated a little more traction, with 47K views. However, in the comments section, fans had a great sense of appreciation for the musical guest. Reviews were glowing among fans.
“I normally skip the musical guest because I don’t care for the sound quality of a live performance (unless I’m there!). But, I’m so glad I gave Marcin a try. I adore the fingerstyle/percussive playing of Spanish guitarists, so I was glued. Then I found out he’s Polish! Extremely impressive skills. I’m hooked,” a fan writes.
Another fan added, “I’ll chime in with those who are happy to see him getting more recognition… Amazed by his talent and showmanship for many years. Beautiful.”
BTS’ Late Show performance is among Colbert’s most-watched videos ever, with 30 million views.
As mentioned earlier, Charles Wesley Godwin’s musical performance didn’t generate many views for Colbert, but was still praised by fans. “This is a nice song. I was not expecting to like it. Now I’m looking up their music.”
At the end of the day, that seems to be Colbert’s goal, giving the underdog some extra exposure.
Stephen Colbert Never Had Taylor Swift On, But He Has A Positive History With The Artist
In terms of actual guests, Stephen Colbert has the biggest names in the music industry from both then and now. Paul McCartney is certainly up there among the elite. However, there is one particular person Colbert was never able to bring in, and that’s Taylor Swift. Nonetheless, Colbert is forever a Swiftie following a sweet interaction between the artist and his daughter.Colbert told Late Show fans, “I’ll love Taylor Swift ’til the day I die,” he began. “I would put on armor and follow her into battle.”
“She turns around and goes, ‘Pretty girl!’ and comes and puts her arms around her and goes, ‘Oh you look amazing!’” he recalled. “She just praises my daughter for how she looks for, like, 30 seconds. I would jump off a cliff into a pit of spikes for that woman for how nice she was to my daughter,” he added. “You’ve got to remember that!”
Without a doubt, that type of moment made him one cool dad, while providing his daughter with a dream moment she’ll never forget.