Pop singer Sia was joined by a hilariously-dressed cast of accompanists for a recent performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, playing the classic song Iko Iko with The Roots, Fallon, and Natalie Portman.
The group used various percussion instruments, including shakers, cups, congas, and spoons to orchestra their otherwise acapella rendition of the song. The effort is surprisingly well-sung by Fallon et al, with Sia using musical gaps to show her tremendous vocal chops.
Even with such a star studded cast and a well-executed performance, the piece-de-resistances of the two-minute clip is the group’s outfits. The whole cast appears wearing Sia’s notable black-and-white wigs, which each member wearing either all white or all black clothes to match.
Iko Iko has seen countless interpretations over the years, and actually didn’t become a hit until over a decade after its original recording. In fact, it doesn’t even go by it’s original title. The song was called Jock-A-Mo when it was first recorded by a band called Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters in 1953. But it was the 1965 Dixie Cups recording, called Iko Iko, that garnered the tune international fame.
Performers who have since recorded the chipper track include Dr. John, The Grateful Dead, and Cyndi Lauper.
Sia was on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to promote her next album, This Is Acting, which is one of the most hotly-anticipated pop records of this year. The singer has already released five promotional singles for the album, including one track which she co-wrote with Kanye West for Rihanna and decided to keep.
The singer has already performed the lead single, Alive, on Saturday Night Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so perhaps that’s what gave Fallon the idea to do something different.
This Is Acting is scheduled for release tomorrow, and will be Sia’s seventh full-length release.
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