Brad Paisley Hilariously Reimagines His Hit Songs for 2020, a Very Strange Year [Watch]
Brad Paisley remotely guest-hosted ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday (Sept. 9). For the occasion, the singer humorously retooled some of his biggest hits during an entertaining opening monologue — the segment even featured a surprise guest: Carrie Underwood.
Paisley's revised tunes made light of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with some cheeky changes sure to make country music fans chuckle. To kick off the revue of "Brad Paisley's Greatest Hits – The 2020 Editions," the musician reached back 15 years to one of his earliest chart-toppers.
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"This is the new and improved 2020 version of my song 'Alcohol,'" Paisley deadpans before launching into an acutely topical take on the 2005 number. He even referenced Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, in the reworked opening lines:
"And since the day we first heard from Fauci / That gravelly-voiced McDreamy hunk / We've been wipin' down groceries / Hoardin' the Charmin / And pretty much constantly drunk."
After that, Underwood showed up (via video conference) to sing with Paisley on the pair's 2011 duet, "Remind Me." She joined the crooner in reshaping the song's original tale of a flagging relationship into a story about social distancing amid the global health crisis.
Elsewhere in the monologue, Paisley showed his strengths as a TV host with related quips about the pandemic. (The songs section starts at around 4:20 in the above clip.) Ever the relatable entertainer, the singer noted how country music is staying strong even during some challenging times.
"This is a tough time for everybody, and it turns out that a lot of people are turning to country music for comfort," Paisley says. "Streams of country music are up 11 percent. … Which, I guess, makes sense — almost every country song is about loneliness or drunkenness. And right now, everybody's both of those things all the time."
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