Rihanna‘s video for “Bitch Better Have My Money” is violent, bloody and graphic, whereas barbershop quartets are traditionally jovial, cheerful and melodic.
What happens when you combine the two?
“Tonight Show” viewers found out on Thursday when Joseph Gordon-Levitt joined Jimmy Fallon to lead the Ragtime Gals in a unique performance.
“For the first time ever, combining the harmonies of a barbershop quartet with the music of Rihanna,” announcer Steve Higgins said, before the pinstriped singers in straw hats took to the stage.
“Please don’t call me on my bluff. Pay me what you owe me. Ballin’ bigger than LeBron,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt cheerfully sang as the band’s lead.
“Sh-t, your wife in the backseat of my brand new foreign car. Don’t act like you forgot, I call the shots, shots, shots,” he continued.
The musical hybrid worked surprisingly well and will no doubt spark a new “Tonight Show” trend following in the footsteps of “Lip Sync Battle.”
“Last time I was on @jimmyfallon’s show, we lip synced. Tonight, we sing! (So much fun),” Gordon-Levitt tweeted before the episode aired.
Last time I was on @jimmyfallon's show, we lip synced. Tonight, we sing! (So much fun)
— Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitRECordJoe) September 25, 2015
“The Tonight Show” airs at 11.35 p.m. on NBC.