With James Corden out of town to do things like appear in the recent episode of Saturday Night Live, Alicia Keys stepped into his role as host of the The Late Late Show on Monday evening —and thank God, because somehow, the best, weirdest game ensued. The singer gathered guests Billie Eilish (who managed to get through the segment without starting a feud with Lady Gaga) and comedian Ali Wong for a round of "Taller or Shorter," a game that you would literally only play if your WiFi was out and you were also maybe on a long car ride, which involved Keys repeatedly telling women — short and tall — that they are beautiful.
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Basically, CBS lined a bunch of women up in cubicles so only their heads were visible, and put them all on the same level so you couldn't tell their heights. One by one a woman would step forward, and Keys, Eilish, Wong, and the audience had to guess whether the next obscured woman was taller or shorter.
Eilish and Wong had to make the game-time decisions, shouting out "shorter" or "taller" based on nothing but instinct.
"It has to be shorter at this point," Keys said after a particularly tall woman was up. "I mean it could be! And if you are, we are excited."
That was basically the ethos behind every decision. Each time a woman's height was revealed, Keys praised them.
"This is amazing," Keys said after all the women had been revealed and a real range of heights was displayed before us. "You are all fantastic, beautiful, amazing."
It was enough to make me want to stand in front of a live audience and have some of the coolest women in Hollywood size me up. Here's a hint: I can ride most roller coasters, but can never reach the toilet paper in my grocery store. Am I also amazing and beautiful?
Watch the full game below.