“The cool thing about the list is they were more obscure Beatles songs, less classics,” he says of the group of songs he chose from. “Which really worked out for me ’cause to tackle a classic Beatles song…it’s like, ‘Do I really want to, sort of, try and step into these shoes?'”
In fact, James admits he “didn’t really know” the song he recorded, “Hey Bulldog” from the Beatles Yellow Submarine album. “[But] I quickly grew to love it.”
Good thing, too, because a few months after he recorded it, he was on a plane when he was approached by “these Australian dudes.”
“It was the guys who created Beat Bugs….and they just wanted to say hi,” says James. “It was nice to connect with them about that, and I could say, ‘Hey, thanks for expanding my Beatles catalog in my own head, and my love for their music.'”
Beat Bugs: Best of Seasons 1 & 2 is available now, and includes Pink’s rendition of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” Sia’s version of “Blackbird,” and other Beatles tunes by Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Tori Kelly, Aloe Blacc and others.
Beat Bugs the series focuses a group of insects spending their days having adventures in a suburban backyard and singing Beatles tunes. Season 2 is available November 18.
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