St. Vincent is in the middle of a fun side gig right now: From July 25 to 28, she is filling in for a vacationing Jon Batiste and joining the Stay Human house band on The Late Show. By design, Annie Clark’s temporary job is to mostly stay in the background and build/complement the show’s atmosphere, but she found her way to the forefront on last night’s episode via an impromptu moment with one of the show’s guests.
On the program yesterday was Brett Gelman, the beloved actor and comedian who has gained increased notoriety in recent years thanks to playing Murray Bauman on Stranger Things. After Stephen Colbert played a Stranger Things clip and introduced Gelman, Gelman emerged from backstage as St. Vincent and Stay Human played him on by performing Stevie Wonder’s timeless 1972 favorite “Superstition.” As Gelman shook Colbert’s hand and acknowledged the crowd, he got so into the Wonder cover that he grabbed a microphone and complemented Clark’s singing with some scatting.
Vincent has plenty of love for Wonder, as she previously cited his work as a primary influence behind her 2021 album Daddy’s Home, saying in a 2020 interview, “[The album marks] a tectonic shift. I felt I had gone as far as I could possibly go with angularity. I was interested in going back to the music I’ve listened to more than any other — Stevie Wonder records from the early ’70s, Sly And The Family Stone. I studied at the feet of those masters.”
Watch the Gelman interview segment above.