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If you watched Jimmy Kimmel’s moving, 22-minute tribute to his longtime bandleader and lifelong best friend, saxophonist Cleto Escobedo III last week following the musician’s death at age 59, you know how crushing the loss was for the late night host.
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Now, following his tearful tribute to Escobedo, Kimmel is looking to raise funds for two organizations in his friend’s honor. In an Instagram post over the weekend, Kimmel shared a picture of Escobedo smiling with his wife, two children and their dog and another of the two pals laughing as they cradle their instruments in a parking lot.
“Cleto was always kind and eager to help others. As we mourn his loss, we have started two fundraisers to celebrate his life and give back,” wrote Kimmel. “The first is for UCLA Medical Center where he received such incredible care. Together we can help vulnerable patients and families in need of financial assistance during hard times. @UCLAHealth.
“In memory of our friend Cleto, we’d like to thank all the hardworking specialists, doctors, and nurses at UCLA. They worked tirelessly and generously to give him the best care,” reads a note on the fundraising page. “Cleto was always kind and eager to help others. To honor his generous spirit, we’d like to help vulnerable patients and families in need of financial assistance during hard times. Let’s help others in Cleto’s name.”
The second, he said was an effort to “honor his love of animals,” via fundraising links to @TheAnimalFoundation in the men’s former hometown of Las Vegas. “Cleto was a beloved friend, father, and animal lover whose heart was always open to pets in need,” reads a message on the organization’s home page, alongside a note from Escobedo’s family.
“Cleto was a compassionate animal lover. He loved each of his rescue dogs like they were family,” it read. “Please consider making a donation to The Animal Foundation in his hometown of Las Vegas. Cleto would have loved his friends and family helping to provide safety, healing and homes for pets in need.”
Kimmel announced Escobedo’s death last Tuesday, writing, “we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old. The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayer.”
Escobedo led Kimmel’s late night house band, Cleto and the Cletones — which also included his sax-playing dad — since the show’s debut in 2003. On last Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host fought through tears to pay tribute to the man he called his best friend since the day they first met in 1977.
“We loved all the same things. Baseball, fishing, boxing, [Muhammad] Ali, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Woody Allen, Michael McDonald, Huey Lewis, Stevie Wonder, and most of all, we loved David Letterman,” Kimmel said. “Cherish your friends, we’re not here forever.”
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Christopher Cross’ “Sailing” isn’t coming in to dock anytime soon.
The American singer, songwriter and guitar talent released his “yacht rock” masterpiece back in 1979, a classic that sailed all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Sailing” was one of four top 20 hits that appeared on Cross’ self-titled album, which, in 1981 would make history at the Grammy Awards, by sweeping five categories, including the Big Four — album, record and song of the year. Yes, it was unexpected. A shock, even. The only other artists to scoop the Big Four was Billie Eilish, doing so four decades later, in 2020.
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If “Sailing” was a guilty pleasure in the 1990s, today it’s simply a pleasure. The softly-spoken artist stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week to take us all “Sailing,” the video of which can be seen below.
Cross, a formidable guitarist who was blessed with the voice of an angel, appears to have made a full recovery from his grueling health battle five years ago, during which he contracted Guillaine-Barre Syndrome (GBS) after having COVID-19.
At one stage, he was paralyzed from the waist down. “It really was touch and go, and tough,” he CBS Sunday Morning at the time.
Cross’s late-night spot came ahead of the release this Friday, Nov. 14 of All Right: The Worldwide Singles 1980–1988, the first career-spanning collection of his biggest hits, including “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” from the film Arthur, which also led the Billboard Hot 100 and won an Academy Award for best original song. The set is released through Omnivore Recordings, the label that issued an “expanded edition” of Christopher Cross in June 2025.
Now aged 74, Cross will play many of those hits when he embarks on a South American tour this December, including shows with fellow ‘80s heavyweights Toto. Live shows across the U.K. and Europe follow from May 2026.
Jelly Roll stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night (April 24) to talk about the hardest part of being an American Idol mentor, leaving the continent for the first time on his upcoming tour with Post Malone and why he’s on the verge of jumping out of a plane and doing other wild stunts now that he’s nearing his goal weight.
Jelly, of course, talked about his recent weigh loss, which he said he couldn’t make sound cool, since it basically involves eating a “lot of protein and vegetables” and walking. It’s clearly working, with Jelly Roll saying he’s lost “an entire Jimmy Kimmel” to date, or around 200 pounds.
That means he’s nearing the ability to do the “fun stuff” he said you can do when you are under 250 lbs. “I want to skydive, I want to ride a roller coaster, I want to ride a bull. I know it sounds crazy [but] I want to wrestle an alligator,” he said.
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And, on the night when his beloved Tennessee Titans football team made news for snagging quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Jelly Roll admitted that his pep talk to the team before their dismal 3-13 season last year may have been a mistake. “I prayed you didn’t talk about this on TV!” Jelly laughed, swearing that he won’t go anywhere near Nissan Stadium until the team gets at least one win this year.
“Could you imagine that? I finally get to go talk to my lifelong favorite football team, Jimmy and I’m giving them what I think is the most inspirational speech of their careers,” he said. “I left there like, ‘we’re going to the playoffs, baby!’ And then we laid an absolute turd!” He also recalled being right up close to the legendary “Music City Miracle,” a vaunted Jan. 2000 moment during the Titans’ AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Bills at home when Kevin Dyson ran 75 years on a lateral to score the winning touchdown.
Well, Jelly wasn’t there there. He was locked up on the second floor of juvie across the street, where he could just make out half the field and half the scoreboard while sharing a peek through a window with a couple other guys. “I had a skybox. I was on level two. I had a bird’s eye view,” he joked.
With his felonious days long behind him, Jelly Roll crowed about his upcoming first international dates as part of Post Malone’s summer Big Ass tour. “This is a big deal… I think that y’all have already figured out that I’m a convicted felon by this conversation,” he said of the reason he’s not been able to tour in Europe before now. In fact, earlier this week, the singer was in Nashville to speak to the Tennessee Parole Board before they recommended that the state’s Governor consider pardoning Jelly (born Jason DeFord), a move that would make it easier for him to travel the world more freely.
“I got my passport last year and I was excited,” he said of his first venture out of the U.S. to play a handful of Canadian dates. “I said, ‘the United States of America has finally allowed me leave! I have redeemed myself!’ I didn’t know how many countries wasn’t gonna let me in! I had trouble getting into Mexico. It was bad. I’m not making this up!”
Jelly also talked to Kimmel about being the “internal hype man” on American Idol as a mentor to his “little Jelly Babies,” and not realizing how hard it was going to be for him when they get voted off. “I’m taking it worse than them. One of them came off last week and I’m, like, sobbing and she’s like, ‘I’m going to be okay.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry! I just really love you!’”
The singer returned later in the show to perform the country rock gospel anthem “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Christian singer Brandon Lake.
Luke Bryan says he didn’t plan to spend his morning watching Katy Perry’s space flight — but like many, he got caught up in the moment.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week, the American Idol judge recounted how he found himself unexpectedly tuning into Blue Origin’s historic NS-31 launch, which saw Perry take flight alongside an all-female crew that included Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Gayle King and Kerianne Flynn.
“I was doing my morning walk around the farm, which turns into checking Instagram and stuff,” Bryan explained. “I saw where she was posting on her Instagram that it was happening at 8:30 Central and totally got roped into the moment.”
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The country star said he ended up watching the full livestream. “They’re in the Rivian, they’re heading to the capsule, and I’m sitting there walking and it roped me in,” he said. “Because when you have a friend — I mean, let’s face it — it could blow up. So I wanted it to not do that.”
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Bryan previously sent Perry a supportive text when she announced her participation, writing, “Good luck, wow, that’s crazy you’re getting to do that.”
While Perry has now officially been declared an astronaut after the successful launch, Bryan isn’t sure he’d follow in her footsteps just yet. When Kimmel asked if he’d want to go to space, Bryan laughed, “I probably would do it just because — I mean, you gotta take that chance.”
Kimmel pushed back: “No, you don’t. You don’t have to take that chance.”
Bryan agreed the decision would take “a delicate negotiation” with his family, adding, “I think I would get a resounding no.”
The two joked about potential country-themed space tracks, including “Chicken Jockey” and “Bass Fisherman in Space.”
Later in the interview, Bryan also discussed season 23 of American Idol, praising Jelly Roll’s role as artist-in-residence. “When you hear Jelly Roll’s story — the fact that he was 35 before he ever really started singing — what he’s been able to do since then is amazing,” he said. “He really develops a great connection [with contestants].”
Carrie Underwood has also joined the panel this season. “What she’s added to the show has been really, really special,” Bryan added.
Meanwhile, Bryan is preparing for two tours this year: his annual Farm Tour, which will head to California for the first time, and the Country Song Came On Tour. “When you pull out there and see 15,000 to 20,000 people come to a real working farm, it’s pretty magical,” he said. “It’s become something really important to me and my family.”
And yes — he confirmed he does own a helicopter, on Blake Shelton’s advice.
You could just barely hear it through the raucous screams of excitement from the studio audience, but K-pop boy band ENHYPEN did indeed make their U.S. television debut on Thursday night’s (April 10) Jimmy Kimmel Live! Dressed casually in ripped jeans and T-shirts, HEESUNG, JAY, JAKE, SUNGHOON, SUNOO, JUNGWON AND NI-KI kicked things off in […]
SZA stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night (March 12) and spilled details about her upcoming Grand National Tour with Kendrick Lamar, her excitement for Sesame Street, and dodged a cheeky question about Drake.
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When Kimmel asked if the Grand National Tour would resemble their Super Bowl LVIII halftime performance, the “Saturn” singer teased that fans can expect something entirely new.
“Oh, we’re doing a new thing,” she said. “We’re both just kind of throwing all the paint at the wall… This is our first stadium show for both of us, so we pretty much have to go insane.”
While SZA and Lamar might be co-headlining, she hinted that the Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers rapper is very much in his own lane.
“Well, he’s a wizard, so that’s different,” she quipped when asked if they hang out behind the scenes. “Wizards tend to be solitary beings, from my observation… I think he’s doing the Merlin thing backstage, getting us ready to take off.”
The “Kill Bill” singer also fielded a not-so-subtle question from Kimmel about the tour’s upcoming Toronto stop—where one particular rapper famously resides.
“But what if you-know-who shows up?” Kimmel asked, clearly alluding to Canadian rapper, Drake.
SZA simply shrugged: “Who knows? Who knows?” before Kimmel joked that Kendrick would “wave his wand, and he will disappear.”
“That’s what he’s the man behind the curtain,” she replied.
Beyond the tour, SZA also gushed to Kimmel about a lifelong dream coming true—appearing on Sesame Street.
“That was actually the most intense room of celebrities I’ve ever been in,” she joked. “Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch… I got to talk to Cookie Monster.”
When Kimmel asked about the blue monster’s conversational skills, she laughed: “Terrible diction and alliteration. Very poor vocabulary, but tons of enthusiasm, I was so inspired!”
“It was like a true indicator that I’ve made it,” SZA added of her appearance on the show. “Shout out to the Super Bowl but Sesame Street..”
The Grand National Tour kicks off April 19 in Minneapolis, with stops across North America before heading overseas.
Fresh off her appearance at Sunday’s Academy Awards as part of a James Bond theme song tribute, BLACKPINK’s LISA bonded with Jimmy Kimmel over their shared experience of being flown up into the rafters on wires at the Oscars. “It seemed so elegant and graceful, but it’s kind of scary right?” asked Kimmel on Tuesday night’s (March 4) Jimmy Kimmel Live!, recalling the agita (and discomfort) he felt while flying over the stage during one of his hosting stints on the awards show.
“It was really scary,” LISA smiled. “I was like, ‘I’m not comfortable doing this!” The singer said producers repeatedly checked in to make sure she felt good about being lowered to the stage in a harness as she sang Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die” as part of a medley that also had Doja Cat covering Shirley Bassey’s “Diamond Are Forever” and RAYE’s take on Adele’s “Skyfall.” While Kimmel complained about gravity “squeezing everything down” if you know what he means, LISA said she couldn’t really feel her legs.
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“Those were the least of my problems,” Kimmel joked.
The BLACKPINK singer also talked about her well-received turn as Mook on the current season of HBO’s The White Lotus, noting that many fans have speculated that because her resort worker character is so sweet on the series she might turn out to be the killer. “Oh… am I supposed to tell you that?” she responded haltingly, with a coquettish glint in her eye. “Legally you should not, but I would appreciate it if you did,” Kimmel said, knowing that his ploy to squeeze some spoilers about the tightly-held plot of the show was going nowhere.
“I think she’s a sweet girl,” LISA said of the character whose name means “pearl” in Thai before Kimmel explained the not-as-nice meaning of the word in America. Kimmel also wondered if during the cast’s regular karaoke sessions on set if the crew or extras freaked out when they saw the K-pop superstar stepping up to the mic. “They don’t care!,” LISA said. “I’m just sitting in the corner of the room cheering them, hyping them up,” she said, explaining that she didn’t sing during the sessions, but was more into dancing.
“I feel weird for me to grab the mic and sing karaoke,” she smiled. “[There’s] a lot of pressure.” As for who was the best karaoke singer in the cast, LISA said for sure it was the lone returning actor from season two: horny masseuse Natasha Rothwell. “Oh, she’s so good!” LISA said.
She also discussed the concept behind her just-released solo album, Alter Ego, explaining that while recording it in Los Angeles she tried her hand at recording songs in a variety of styles, all of which she ended up loving. “That’s why I called this album Alter Ego and [I] have five different characters [on it],” she said of Roxi, Kiki, Sunni, Speedi and the main character, Vixi.
These days, she said, Vixi is the one that is closest to her actual personality, though, like Speedi, she loves to drive fast in her car.
Watch LISA on Jimmy Kimmel Live! below.
A certain Material Girl is still a Jimmy Kimmel Live! virgin, and the late-night host is holding out hope to have Madonna on his show for the very first time. In a new interview with People, the comedian revealed which A-list celebrity he most wants to have as a guest on his show, despite never […]
The Weeknd doesn’t just perform—he curates experiences.
Hours before the release of Hurry Up Tomorrow, the Canadian artist made a striking appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, delivering a cinematic rendition of “Open Hearts” that blurred the line between live television and a full-scale production.
The performance opened in stark black and white, with Tesfaye cloaked in a shadowy robe, his glowing eyes creating an almost otherworldly presence. The stripped-back visuals felt deliberately unsettling, as if pulled from the surreal worlds of David Lynch, setting the tone for what was to come.
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As the song progressed, the atmosphere began to shift. The stage dissolved into an animated, stop-motion dreamscape, with jagged transitions and uncanny imagery. The performance balanced minimalism and surrealism, offering a glimpse into the darker, more introspective aesthetic underpinning Hurry Up Tomorrow.
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The surreal aesthetic has only heightened speculation that the upcoming Hurry Up Tomorrow film—arriving in theaters May 16—will explore similarly haunting and imaginative territory.
With Hurry Up Tomorrow now out via XO/Republic Records, the performance stands as a gateway into The Weeknd’s latest (and potentially final) chapter under his longtime moniker.
The album, which serves as the closing installment in his trilogy following After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022), carries a deeply introspective tone. While it boasts high-profile collaborations like Playboi Carti (“Timeless”) (which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100) and Anitta (“São Paulo”), the most talked-about moment is Lana Del Rey’s uncredited feature on “The Abyss.”
Meanwhile, “Dancing in the Flames,” which was previously teased, was left off the final tracklist entirely, leaving fans speculating about its fate.
Originally scheduled for release on Jan. 24, the album was delayed as The Weeknd pledged $1 million to LA wildfire relief efforts, canceling a planned Rose Bowl album release concert in the process. Proceeds from the track “Take Me Back to LA” will also be donated to the LA Regional Food Bank, providing further aid to those affected.
As The Weeknd pivots toward his feature film debut in Hurry Up Tomorrow, directed by Trey Edward Shults and starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, performances like his Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance suggest that his storytelling is only becoming more ambitious.
Whether or not this truly marks the end of The Weeknd, his ability to merge music and visual spectacle continues to evolve, making Hurry Up Tomorrow a fitting conclusion to this phase of his career.
In tandem with his live performance, The Weeknd has launched a series of events to further immerse fans in the world of Hurry Up Tomorrow.
In partnership with Spotify, the Hurry Up Tomorrow Pop-Up Experience will take place in New York City from Friday, Jan. 31, through Sunday, Feb. 2. This interactive art installation will transport fans into Tesfaye’s creative world, offering a glimpse into the final act of his acclaimed trilogy.
Meanwhile, specialty retailer Hot Topic is showcasing an expansive Hurry Up Tomorrow merchandise collection, including tees, hoodies, posters, and the highly anticipated The Weeknd x Frank Miller Hurry Up Tomorrow apparel capsule – available only in Las Vegas at the “takeover”.
From Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, the Downtown Summerlin Hot Topic store in Las Vegas will host a Hurry Up Tomorrow “takeover,” transforming the space into an exclusive retail experience.
Watch his performance on Jimmy Kimmel below.
The vocalist of Kentucky hardcore punk outfit Knocked Loose has responded to the viral criticism that arrived following the band’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
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Knocked Loose appeared on the late-night ABC program on Tuesday (Nov. 26), performing in support of their third album, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. Despite the record achieving considerable success by topping the Top Hard Rock Albums chart and peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard 200, the band’s debut on the program attracted noted attention from critics in the aftermath.
Given the band’s status as arguably the heaviest band to appear on Kimmel, publications such as The Mirror claimed that some fans took to social media to criticize their performance – which included the likes of the Poppy-featuring “Suffocate”.
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“You know I was trying to enjoy the program,” one viral comment read. “I was sitting on the couch with my son who is an ADOLESCENT waiting to see the musical guest because we like the nice music the show usually books.
“By the third or fourth ‘JUNT’ from the guitars my son was in tears. He doesn’t like scary things and quite frankly I think the Kimmel show and its staff should make a formal apology.”
Having attracted ridicule from the punk community and the band’s fanbase, vocalist Bryan Garris has now responded to the group’s appearance, reflecting on the enormity of the experience and how the group have evolved to such a point.
“For a long time now our goal has been to see how far we could squeeze this band into places where we don’t fit and I think this may be the biggest one. National television,” Garris wrote. “It feels like the ceiling gets higher for EVERYONE, every single day. We celebrate this together. Thank you so much.
“Walking down the hallway as we were escorted to stage Im looking to my left and right and seeing photos of all the celebrities that have been on the show over the years,” he added. “Presidents, actors, musicians etc. I leaned over to [Isaac Hale, guitarist] and said ‘this started in your garage”’ He grabbed onto me and squeezed as hard as he could. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
Closing out his post, Garris offered a quick quip to those who had responded negatively to the band’s performance, simply adding, “PS if it scared you, good.”
Speaking to Billboard earlier this year, Garris admitted that the group’s continual and unexpected rise isn’t something Knocked Loose are taking for granted. “Every time we headline,” he mused, “it’s like, Where can we take it now? What’s the next step?”
