Alessia Cara was Jimmy Fallon‘s guest on Monday’s The Tonight Show, and also joined Fallon for the latest edition of his “Musical Genre Challenge.”
The game featured Fallon and Alessia singing popular tunes in different musical styles. For example, Alessia delivered Doja Cat‘s “Kiss Me More” in the style of a 1960s folk song, and Justin Bieber and The Kid LAROI‘s song “Stay” as a jazz/swing tune.
Jimmy gave BTS‘ “Butter” an ’80s new wave twist and the Spider-Man theme a ’60s British invasion spin.
While chatting with Fallon, Alessia discussed her new Christmas single, “Jingle Bell Rock,” available on Amazon Music. As to why she chose that song over the many other holiday standards, she explained that while she normally gravitates to the more melancholy tunes, a “jolly and happy” song is what we all need right now. However, there was another reason she picked it.
“I wanted to sing the line, ‘Giddy-up jingle horse.” says Alessia, noting, “It makes you laugh, like, what is a jingle horse?”
The 25-year-old “Shapeshifter” singer also discussed her first band, formed with her cousins, called The Lilacs — “We performed very small venues like my living room, my family’s living room,” she recalled — and her acting turn in season two of Amazon’s Yearly Departed, alongside Jane Fonda, Chelsea Peretti, Meg Stalter, Dulcé Sloan, Aparna Nancherla, X Mayo and host Yvonne Orji.
Alessia will perform “Jingle Bell Rock, as well as her own song, “Make It to Christmas,” on NBC’s annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center, airing on Wednesday.
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