As Adele prepares to release her upcoming album 30, she’s back on the promotional circuit. One recent highlight came from a Vogue “73 Questions” interview, in which she revealed that her most prized possession is some of Celine Dion’s used chewing gum, which was given to her by James Corden. Now, Corden has taken the time to explain how that gift came to be.
During last night’s episode of The Late Late Show, writer and comedian Ian Karmel asked Corden [at 5:38 into the video above] about the Adele story and the host confirmed it is true. He went on to provide some context and explain how he gained possession of the gum:
“What happened was, the weekend before we had shot [the Dion episode of ‘Carpool Karaoke’], [Adele and I] went on a weekend away to… we went to Mexico: my family, A-bomb, her son, and we spent a weekend together. The following Friday, I was shooting the ‘Carpool’ with Celine Dion, and Adele just loves Celine Dion. […] We were talking a lot about that and she was like, ‘Oh my god, she’s amazing.’ I think she’s met her once, she said she got starstruck by her, which rarely that happens to Adele, you know?
So when [Dion and I] were in the car, I think we were just about to go and she had gum in her mouth, and she was like, ‘What can I do with this?’ There was like a script thing in the back, so I ripped off a piece and she put it in, and I said, ‘Don’t… I’ll do that,’ because she was about to do, you know, the fold. I said, ‘I got it, I got it, I got it.’ I then had to give it to… I think I gave it to [The Late Late Show producer] Diana Miller or someone like that, and I was like, ‘I need to keep this super safe.’ She took it and looked at me like, ‘I think this is the day he’s lost his mind. I think this is it.’ I said, ‘Please keep it safe,’ and then I gave it to A-bomb for her birthday, I think. Because [she’s a] difficult person to buy for, do you know what I mean? A candle doesn’t cut it.”
He then joked about how valuable this piece of gum may be now: “I did suddenly think after that video: Now that it’s been in Adele’s possession and Celine Dion’s mouth, at some point in my lifetime, I’m going to see that on Sotheby’s for like $138,000.”
Check out the video above and revisit the Adele Vogue interview here.