Billy Idol joined Jimmy Fallon and The Roots to perform an “at-home instruments” version of “Dancing with Myself” during Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show.
Each musician used household items as instruments and sang from their separate homes. They got creative and used items including pot lids, bowls, tongs, spatulas, ladles, a food processor and a plastic bottle to perform the 1981 song. Idol and Fallon took over the lead vocals, and the performance also included a guitar, a bass and a melodica.
Fallon kicked off the performance by singing the opening lines as members of The Roots played the makeshift instruments. “On the floors of Tokyo/ A-down in London town’s a go go/ A-with the record selection/ And the mirror’s reflection/ I’m a dancin’ with myself,” the NBC host sang.
While the band danced along to the tune, the clip also featured home videos submitted by fans of them dancing by themselves to the song that seems like a fitting anthem for self-imposed isolation amid the pandemic.
Following the first chorus, Idol joined in and sang the next verse. The singer and host later sang in unison, “So let’s sink another drink/ ‘Cause it’ll give me time to think.”
Clips of fans dancing played as Idol, Fallon and The Roots’ members continued to sing.
The musical theme of the episode continued on Thursday night when Fallon and The Roots members Questlove, Tariq Trotter and “Captain” Kirk Douglas later played a game called “Random Instrument Challenge.”
The host explained that the show’s producers sent each person a random item to use as an instrument for the game. “You have to get your partner to guess what the song is using these random instruments,” he said.
Fallon began the game by using a Cat Plano, which he described as “weird cats,” to play The Village People’s “YMCA.”
His partner Questlove asked Fallon to “play the rhythm,” though the host became quickly distracted when someone’s phone started ringing. Questlove correctly guessed the song before the buzzer went off, which put their team in first place.
Trotter was up next and he was challenged to play a Venova. He said that the wind instrument “looks like a crazy bong.” The musician played his best attempt at TLC’s “Waterfalls,” though his partner Douglas incorrectly guessed that the song was “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”
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For Questlove’s turn, the musician was challenged to play “MMMBop” by Hanson. Before he began to play the song, the other players jokingly criticized Questlove for attempting to tune the instrument. While Questlove eventually began to play the ukulele, Fallon was unable to correctly identify the song.
Douglas was assigned to perform “I’ll Make Love to You” with the didgeridoo. Trotter quickly recognized the song and sang the chorus of the Boyz II Men hit. Despite Questlove’s criticism that Douglas gave away the answer with his dance moves, they still earned a point and tied the game.
The game ended with a tiebreaker. Fallon played an ocarina and Trotter used finger cymbals to perform “Jolly Good Fellow” at the same time. Questlove guessed the correct song first, which solidified him and Fallon as the winning team.
