batiste and band. and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: hey! how are ya? ( cheers and applause ) how are you, everyone? hey! welcome, ladies and gentlemen, one and all, boys and girls of all ages, welcome to the show. i'm your host, stephen colbert. ( cheers and applause ) thank you. by now, you've probably heard of alabama senatorial candidate, former judge, and human-cracker barrel hybrid, roy moore. last week, allegations surfaced that, when moore was an assistant district attorney in the 1970s, he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old -- which would be appropriate only if he were a 14-year-old assistant district attorney ( laughter ) kind of like a douche-y howser. ( laughter ) i watched that show. a horror show. ( laughter ) moore went on hannity radio to "strongly" make things worse: >> do you remember dating girls that young at that time? >> not generally, no. ( laughter ) >> jon: ooh... >> stephen: "no, not generally. but specifically, you betcha ( laughter ) but again, not generally. most of the time i'm 'not' touching teenagers. for example, i'm not touching one right now. oh, i am? thank god this is radio." ( laughter ) then moore clarified -- >> i don't remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother. ( audience reacts ) >> stephen: wait a minute. how did you just make this creepier? permission from her mother? she's a 14-year-old girl, not a field trip. ( laughter ) you'd think all this would immediately disqualify him as a candidate. but according to a recent poll, alabama evangelicals are more likely to support roy moore after sexual assault allegations. ( audience reacts ) oh, i see -- so "alabama evangelical" is like "long island iced tea." it isn't what it says it is, and it makes me want to puke. ( laughter ) >> jon: oh! >> stephen: so -- ( cheers and applause ) ( piano riff ) so things are looking pretty bad for roy moore. but there's still a chance he could weather this storm, as long as nothing else-- aaaand this afternoon, a new roy moore accuser claimed he violently assaulted her when she was 16. and this latest accuser has proof that moore knew exactly how old she was because he signed her yearbook. "to a sweeter more beautiful girl i could not say merry christmas. christmas 1977. love, roy moore-- roy moore, d.a." ( audience reacts ) so very disturbing. but it could still play well with evangelicals -- 'cause he didn't say, "happy holidays. that's a deal-breaker." >> jon: whoa! ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: merry christmas! ( piano riff ) but not everybody wants moore anymore. which is why "some republicans are floating the idea of delaying the december 12 special election in order to get moore's name off the ballot." you can do that? you can just move an election where you want? if that's the case, can we move the next presidential election up to tonight? ( cheers and applause ) yeah, we got time. >> jon: you ready? >> stephen: between now and midnight. ( piano riff ) ( cheers and applause ) and today, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell made an even stronger statement -- >> i think he should step aside. >> do you believe the allegations to be true? >> i believe the women, yes. ( audience reacts ) >> stephen: what is this...strange feeling? ( laughter ) i -- and i'm not sure this is the word -- i... agree with mitch mcconnell? is this a dream? somebody pinch me! not roy moore. ( cheers and applause ) riff rough yeah, i'm alive. but not everybody was willing to take a side. when asked about roy moore, trump claimed he wasn't up on the story. >> believe it or not, even when i'm in washington and new york, i do not watch much television. i know they like to say-- people that don't know me, they like to say i watch television. people with fake sources-- you know, fake reporters. >> stephen: "all day long, i see them on tv, saying i watch tv all day long. fake news!" ( laughter ) didn't happen. not gonna -- ( cheers and applause ) and he told reporters what he's doing instead of watching tv. >> i don't get to watch much television, primarily because of documents. i'm reading documents a lot, and different things. i actually read much more than i watch television. and my documents have all of the best letters, a, l, o, o with the kickstand, mr. snake, and the rest." ( laughter ) ( piano riff ) ( cheers and applause ) l, m, n, o, p. of course, trump's still on his whirlwind tour of asia. while in vietnam, he met with vladimir putin in what appears to be a lane bryant. ( laughter ) at the big and tall. ( laughter ) >> jon: ha ha! he put on lane! >> stephen: very flattering. and at the meeting, trump got the bottom of russian interference in the 2016 by using his most powerful investigative tool, asking putin if he did it. "he said he didn't meddle. every time he sees me, he says i didn't do that." ( laughter ) yeah, you can always trust a guy who repeatedly denies allegations. look at weinstein, cosby, ailes, o'reilly, louis c.k., brett rattner, bill clinton, future-senator roy moore, all good guys, by the way. ( applause ) kitchen cabinet. my kitchen cabinet. trump says putin's taking the allegation personally, adding, "i think he is very insulted by it." and i believe it. i mean, no one wants to take the blame for trump being elected. ( laughter ) (russian accent... ) it wasn't me, it wasn't me. ( applause ) now, as you can imagine, the president siding with russia over his intelligence agencies did not go over very well. so, the next day, trump took the opportunity to de-clarify his position. >> when i said that-- i'm surprised that there's any conflict on this. what i said there is that i believe he believes that, and it's very important for somebody to believe. >> stephen: "yes, i know from long experience that believing is the most important part of lying. for instance, i didn't collude with russia. and i completely believe that i believe that. believe me." ( laughter ) but there was one guy trump did have harsh words for -- north korean leader and rogue campbell's kid, kim jong-un. ( laughter ) trump gave a speech in south korea calling out kim jong-un and north korean state media responded, "reckless remarks by an old lunatic like trump will never scare us or stop our advance." the president immediately tweeted back "why would kim jong-un insult me by calling me 'old,' when i would never call him 'short and fat?' oh, well, i try so hard to be his friend-- and maybe someday that will happen!" ( audience reacts ) >> jon: oh! >> stephen: okay. ( laughter ) there's a lot to unpack in this presidential tweet. first of all, north korea called him an "old lunatic" and his response was "what do you mean old?" ( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) ( piano riff ) i'm young! crazy! virile! crazy! but tough. ( laughter ) secondly, "i would never call him short and fat." way to diffuse the nuclear standoff, donald! trump would be a horrible hostage negotiate. "listen, there is no need to harm the hostages, you fat, bald, fatty. why don't you go kidnap a chili cheese dog, you chubster! i dare you to kill 'em. i dare you to kill 'em and then eat 'em ." ( laughter ) we've got a great show for you tonight, elton john is here! ( cheers and applause ) but when we return, i sit down with former vice president joe biden! stick around, please! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) can your phone get loud? hello moto. why stay trapped in your ear buds when you can turn it up with alexa? alexa, blast my music. (alexa) playing your music. moto mods on the new moto z, from motorola. smart speaker with amazon alexa available now on the moto z2. ♪ make the holidays a treat with kellogg's rice krispies. want in on the secret take the olay 28 day challenge. millions of real women see results starting day 1. 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( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: hey, everybody, welcome back to the show! jon batiste and "stay human," everybody! right there! give it up for the band! ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: ladies and gentlemen, president obama has called him a lion of american history. i'm always honored to call him my guest. please welcome vice president joe biden! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: well, mr. vice president, thank you so much. thank you for being here. >> good to be here. >> stephen: joe biden, everybody. nice to see you. >> now would be a good time to leave. thank you very much. >> stephen: donald trump is the president of the united states -- spoiler alert -- and the last time you were here was in december after president trump was president-elect and before he had been inaugurated and you said at the time, we're going to give this guy an even shot, we're going to give him a clear shot to do the job. have we given him enough of a shot at this point? ( laughter ) >> look, there are certain things that, when they occur, you just can't remain silent, and charlottesville, for me, was a moment where i ut thought silence would be complicity, i mean, for real. so i wrote an article for the atlantic talking about we're in a battle for the soul of the country. the idea you would see in america in an historic city nazis carrying flags, spouting the same exact bile about jews that was spouted in germany in the '30s, and then these guys crawling out from under rocks with torches, and to not have an outright flat condemnation of that is, you know, what -- look, david brooks talks about this invisible moral fabric that holds up society, an leaders impact on how that is perceived, and i thought the silence was deafening. and then when the comparison was made to those protesting, i found it reprehensible. so i couldn't remain silence anymore. it goes to the soul of the country, and it's not just the president. it's the -- it's all that surrounds this, and bannon and the alt right i find to be reprehensible. ( applause ) i mean, the inability to condemn is -- ( applause ) >> stephen: one of the things that many people said when president trump was elected, that we have to hold on to certain standards and we cannot normalize the behavior that got president trump elected, but, on another level, whoever is the president, is, you know, de facto presidential. >> yes. >> stephen: what do you think has changed about the presidency with him being president? how will this influence the future of presidencies? >> i think it will, god willing, go down as the single exception in american history. ( cheers and applause ) i really mean it. look, i think that a lot of the folks in the audience, my guess is, when the president was elected and the people he gathered around him, the political people he gathered around him came into play, you kind of thought it was, well, maybe it's amusing or a little bit, you know, embarrassing sometimes, but it wasn't -- it didn't go to the heart of who we were. but i lay you eight to five -- and i'm speaking to a large crowd of republican audience in california and i said how many of you are now worried about the stability of the republic? how many of you are worried about the new phony nationalism, us against them? how many of you are worried about this populism that is designed to essentially undermine the essence of the bill of right, which is there are certain inalienable right that, no matter what the majority is, they cannot overrule. ( applause ) i mean, i just think there's an attack on the system and i think people are worried and, by the way, and it goes beyond president trump, in my view. i just think it's a -- look, but for 74,500 votes or thereabouts, we wouldn't be having this conversation, we would have a good president. we would have a president who understands the role of the presidency. she would have been somebody who would, in fact, you know, weaved that fabric. ( applause ) the only point i'm making is we're talking about like this was a wave election and somehow -- >> stephen: only he is. ( laughter ) only he's talking like that. "nobody said i could win, nobody said. biggest electoral victory of all time. of all time, joe, of all time. i'm sorry your lady lost, the biggest of all time. i play golf. i play golf with all kinds of peoplpeople." is that disturbing? does he ever call you? >> no, but i do speak to vice president pence. >> stephen: what do you guys talk about? >> he's asked my view on a number of issues. i spent a lot of time dealing with foreign policy and i had responsibility for certain chunks of the world and he is -- you know, i've let him know, in a security setting, what i thought they should look out for, what i thought the land mines were -- >> stephen: like saying i'm going to spain, what do i need to know about my counterparts over there? >> not directly like that. >> stephen: i'm going to a country where they speak spanish. ( laughter ) >> part of what this transition is, jill and i called him and had his wife and he over for dinner -- actually for lunch -- to let them see the facility they were going to move into, talk about secret service coverage. he told me his daughter was going to law school, going to have secret service coverage, didn't know what it was like, so i had my gran granddaughter whot to columbia high school call her and tell her. common courtesy. >> stephen: it's time you can help each other like that. we'll take a break and more with vice president joe biden. don't go away. ( cheers and applause ) we can't stay here! why? terrible toilet paper! i'll never get clean! way ahead of you. charmin ultra strong. it cleans better. it's four times stronger and you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin. ♪ ♪ohhhhhh, ou! guess what i just got? uh! ♪i used to be spellbound hello again. ♪i used to be spellbound hi. ♪i used to be spellbound that's a big phone. ♪in your arms. 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( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: hey, everybody! we're back with vice president joe biden. now, sir, you have a new book, it's called "promise me, dad." it goes on sale tomorrow, and it is about your son, bo, and your relationship with him, what he meant to your family, what he meant to our country. what does the title mean? what was the promise you made him? >> the promise i made him -- bo was a -- the reason i wrote the book, i wanted you all to know what an incredible -- i sound like a father, which i am -- li. and, so, that was the promise. promise me, dad, you're going to stay engaged. it wasn't promise me, dad, you're going to run for president, which a lot of people are trying -- no, he really wanted me to run, but that wasn't the promise. the president asked me at lunch one day when bo was sick, he said, what do you want to do with the rest of your life? i said, i want to do what i've done, the same answer i'd given you when i was 29, 39 and right now, i want to make a difference and i think i can. ( applause ) so bo -- we talked about this, stephen, you understand this better than most anybody -- he wanted me to stay engaged. it wasn't about running for president, it was about staying engaged. i had a great opportunity. when i got out of office, all the people i would have had run in the state department and defense department and national security apparatus are with me at the university of pennsylvania. the university of pennsylvania has given me a significant amount of money to hire staff, university of delaware has done same thing, and i have first-rate staff people and a group of nobel laureates, along with heads of major hospitals like sloan kettering and said would you keep the biden cancer initiative going because there is not thatch happening now. so it's all about purpose. i find that for me and jill and hunter and my daughter ashley, look, when you and i had one of the most -- presumption of me to say this but i feel like i know you because the last show we had i think it went in a direction neither of us expected it to go. when i got home, hunter said, you and mr. colbert was great but here's the deal, dad, let's focus not on bo's loss, let's focus on bo's promise, what it is bo would be doing were he here now. that's the promise. i want bo to be proud of me and that i'm doing what i've always done and promised him i would try to do. ( applause ) >> stephen: talking to you is always enjoyable because you are willing to share in your humanity warts and all because grief is something nobody wants to face, nobody wants to invite it but it eventually comes for everyone. it's the one shared thing no matter your beliefs, religion, political position, it doesn't matter, and i think one of the reasons why people, you know, two years ago, when we had you on the show would have been very happy if you ran for president is they want someone who shares their humanity and can unit people about common values. ( applause ) now, i'm not going to ask you if you can run for president because i know you're not going to give me an answer. are you going to run for president? ( laughter ) you're not going to give me an answer. >> no, i honest to god don't -- look, how many of you have lost someone close to you? raise your hand. were you ready to make a decision about a fundamental change in your life immediately after that or shortly after? it's been two years. i'm just not -- i want to focus on bo and my grandkids and, you know, we'll see where it goes, but i -- >> stephen: well, the country has never been more divided. we need a unifier. who do you like in the democratic or the republican field? who tuning in 2020 you go, that person has a chance at uniting people? >> i'm not going to start naming them, i'll leave somebody out, but we have some really talented, relatively new people. just remember, no one knew who bill clinton was till about 15 months before he ran, before the general election. no one knew who barack -- they knew the speech but didn't have any idea of his presidential aspirations till about a year and a half out, so this is reallierlily in the game. you're already seeing -- what's happened now in my party is you're seeing the surge of a lot of younger women, particularly, and men who are get engaged and said i've had enough. this last election i think is a wave election all the way from washington state to maine to the upper peninsula to florida, all sending the same message that we've had enough of this god-awful division. and i think people are -- i think it's gotten bad enough that people are now getting engaged again, kind of like my generation. when i was in high school and early days of college, the war in vietnam, it was, like, drop out, don't trust 'em over 30, but it got to the point in late '70s when it was, like, hey, man, this is enough, we've got to change this, and our generation changed it. i walked across the stage in '68 after bobby kennedy my only hero was killed that same day and said i can be part of fundamentally changing the country. that's happening now. you're going to see so many new changes out there. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: mr. vice president, thank you so much for being here. "promise me, dad" is on sale tomorrow. joe biden, everybody! tomorrow. joe biden, everybody! we'll be right back with elton john! you're a life of unpredictable symptoms. crohn's, you've tried to own us. but now it's our turn to take control with stelara® stelara® works differently for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before or during treatment, always tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop any new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion, and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions can occur. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. we're fed up with your unpredictability. remission can start with stelara®. talk to your doctor today. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options for stelara®. my name is jamir dixon and i'm a locafor pg&e.rk fieldman most people in the community recognize the blue trucks as pg&e. my truck is something new... it's an 811 truck. when you call 811, i come out to your house and i mark out our gas lines and our electric lines to make sure that you don't hit them when you're digging. 811 is a free service. i'm passionate about it because every time i go on the street i think about my own kids. they're the reason that i want to protect our community and our environment, and if me driving a that truck means that somebody gets to go home safer, then i'll drive it every day of the week. together, we're building a better california. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: hey, everybody! welcome back! my next guest is a musical icon who has sold over 300 million records, has five grammys, and is in both the rock 'n' roll and songwriters halls of fame. please welcome elton john! ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: this is for you. i know. >> stephen: elton john! elton john! now, elton john, thank you so much for being here. this is going to be slightly difficult for me because i'm going to geek out at you extremely hard. when i was in third grade, i had a band called nebula five. there were only three of us. i was the lead man, grey on drums, tommy on piano, we did all elton john songs. ( cheers and applause ) i was an elton john tribute performer in eighth grade. >> wow, thank you very much. >> stephen: you've got the new box set here called "elton john diamonds." >> it's the greatest of the packages you will ever see. i came up with the title "diamonds" because i like "diamonds." >> stephen: there you are. you're elton john, you can name it. you have "diamonds" out, still on tour, performing this violation, working for the elton john aids foundation. you're raising two sons. is raising sons cutting into your cool at all? >> no, it's just changing the landscape of my lives. i never thought i would be dad but it came to pass, my children will be seven and five soon, and it's the best thing that ever happened to me. i have been so blessed during my life. i had a great career. i got sober. i met my husband and the careers are great, but the greatest thing that ever happened is having the children because it takes the focus away from me. >> stephen: "diamonds" is celebrating your 50t 50th anniversary of song writing partnership with bernie upin, how did you guys meet? >> i was in a mediocre band and getting fed up playing to people eating fish and chips and the cabaret thing. i thought, what can i do? i saw an advertisement from a record company that said singers and songwriters wanted. i had written a couple of songs for the band and we recorded them. and i answered the ad. when i look back, i was kind of chubby, very shy, not the lead singer, just the piano player in h the band, but i was so fed up, and i went to the office in london, it was liberty records, and i went in there and there were hundreds of reel to reel tapes -- this is in the late '60s -- and piles of envelopes, and the guy behind the desk said what do you do? i said, well, i can sing and write songs but i can't write lyrics, i'm hopeless. he said, well, why don't you take this envelope. he went through a pile of them. he gave me an envelope which was filled. i took it back on the tube train or subway and i read it and it was bernie. that was the envelope he gave me. >> stephen: were any of those songs poems? >> they were esoteric and flower power and sweet. i wrote melodies so the songs and liked them and subsequently we got a song writer contract with kicwith dick james who pubd the beatles. it's a long time when we made it. >> stephen: but boy did you make it. if i'm not mistaken, your first album was -- >> the first breakthrough album was elton john with your song on it, that was 1970. >> stephen: then don't shoot me, i'm the piano player. >> tumbleweed, mad man. captain fantastic, caribou, rock of the westers. ( cheers and applause ) in about five years. >> stephen: five years. and separate singles. philadelphia freedom, pinwheel wizard, lucy in the sky with diamonds. >> stephen: correct me, it's your life, but goodbye yellow brick road went platinum before it was ever released, that's my understanding. >> i had no idea about yellow brick road. we were so busy and we love what we're doing so much we didn't pause for thought. we were having so much fun. when you have that adrenaline, when you have that impetus and you're successful, we were like kids in candy stores, so we loved what we were doing, and that helps. >> stephen: well, the new collection of collections here is "diamonds." it's got stuff like,. ♪ you can tell everybody this was your song ♪ ♪ hold me close tiny dancer ♪ rocket man ♪ funky cat ♪ i remember when rock was young ♪ ♪ daniel my brother ♪ saturday ♪ good buy yellow brick road ♪ it seems to me ♪ you lived your life ♪ bennie and the yes, it is ♪ philadelphia freedom ♪ i love you girl someone save my life ♪ ♪ don't go breaking my heart ♪ sorry seems to be the hardest word ♪ ♪ little genie "diamonds," elton john! stick around for the performance by the same man! but this is the moto z. hello moto. can your phone turn into a projector? because a 70 inch projection beats any phone screen. and they might be bragging about portrait mode. but can your phone go beyond and transform into a real 360 camera? it's time to reinvent your smartphone. it's time to move on. moto mods on the new moto z, from motorola. get $200 off a moto z2 force edition. toasting dad: i'm not one but here's to... to many more years of friendship. and feasts! crowd: [laughing, cheering] to presents! a mi familia que lo es todo. ♪ to being right here, right now, with you. sfx: dog bark. and you. toasting dad: i guess what i'm trying to say is, here's to family. we're proud to bring your family amazing value every day. t.j. maxx. marshalls. homegoods. family is the greatest gift. (speaking hindi) (speaking spanish) hraaerrr!!! wookiee? campbell's new star wars soups. made for real, real life. well, before it was even founded, a french teenager,oups. bienville, scared away a british warship with just a story. and great stories kept coming. [trumpet playing] some make you move to jazz, funk and bounce. some of our stories aren't quite as straightforward. blocked by the saints! [crowd roaring] while others prove that great things can happen... even on a monday night. cause for three hundred years, great stories have started the same way. one time, in new orleans. [crowd applause] >> stephen: and now >> stephen: and now, performing "crocodile rock," elton john! ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i remember when rock was young me and suzie had so much fun ♪ holding hands and skimming stones ♪ had an old gold chevy and a place of my own ♪ but the biggest kick i ever got ♪ was doing a thing called the crocodile rock ♪ while the other kids were rocking round the clock ♪ we were hopping and bopping to the crocodile rock ♪ well crocodile rocking is something shocking ♪ when your feet just can't keep still ♪ i never knew me a better time and i guess i never will ♪ oh lawdy mama those friday nights ♪ when suzie wore her dresses tight ♪ and the crocodile rocking was out of sight ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ la lalalala ♪ but the years went by and the rock just died ♪ suzie went and left us for some foreign guy ♪ long nights crying by the record machine ♪ dreaming of my chevy and my old blue jeans ♪ but they'll never kill the thrills we've got ♪ burning up to the crocodile rock ♪ learning fast as the weeks went past ♪ we really thought the crocodile rock would last ♪ well crocodile rocking is something shocking ♪ when your feet just can't keep still ♪ i never knew me a better time and i guess i never will ♪ oh lawdy mama those friday nights ♪ when suzie wore her dresses tight ♪ and the crocodile rocking was out of sight ♪ la lalalala la lalalala ♪ la lalalala la ♪ i remember when rock was young me and suzie had so much fun ♪ holding hands and skimming stones ♪ had an old gold chevy and a place of my own ♪ but the biggest kick i ever got ♪ was doing a thing called the crocodile rock ♪ while the other kids were rocking round the clock ♪ we were hopping and bopping to the crocodile rock ♪ well crocodile rocking is something shocking ♪ when your feet just can't keep still ♪ i never knew me a better time and i guess i never will ♪ oh lawdy mama those friday nights ♪ when suzie wore her dresses tight ♪ and the crocodile rocking was out of sight ♪ la lalalala la lalalala ♪ la lalalala la ♪ la lalalala ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ la lalalala la oh ♪ ♪ yeah yeah ♪ la lalalala la lalalala oh yeah yeah ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: stick around for another performance from elton john! we'll be right back. sir jeremy, you are a true friend of the crown. dilly, dilly. dilly, dilly! dilly, dilly! here's to the friends you can always count on. ♪ make the holidays a treat with kellogg's rice krispies. ayep, and my teeth are yellow.? time for whitestrips. crest glamorous white whitestrips are the only ada-accepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. and they whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. broth, i'm making my stuffing. run, who needs what? tin foil, i'm makin' yams. i'm making my famous cranberry sauce! so... a can of cranberry sauce? get everyday essentials, priced right daily. target run & done. hi, we're alaska airlines. and our california game is stepping up. with our low fares, your san jose start-up won't have to pony up for a quick flight to an la meet-up. and you might even get an up-grade on your next trip to palm springs. over 90 daily non-stops. from san diego on up. alaska airlines. that's how we fly. and now, step up to alaska premium class, with upgrades starting at just $15. and now, step up to alaska premium class, well it's a perfect nespresso hold on a second.orge. mmm. ♪ [mel torme sings "comin' home baby"] hey there. want a lift? ♪ where are we going? no don't tell me. let me guess. ♪ have a nice ride. ♪ how far would you go for coffee that's a cup above? i brought you nespresso. nespresso. what else? >> stephen: here performing, "i'm still standing," once again, elton john! ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ you could never know what it's like ♪ your blood like winter freezes just like ice ♪ and there's a cold lonely light that shines from you ♪ you'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you ♪ use ♪ and did you think this fool could never win ♪ well look at me, i'm coming back again ♪ i got a taste of love in a simple way ♪ and if you need to know while i'm still standing you just fade ♪ away ♪ don't you know i'm still standing better than i ever did ♪ looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid ♪ i'm still standing after all this time ♪ picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ once i never could hope to win you starting down the road ♪ leaving me again the threats you made were meant ♪ to cut me down and if our love was just a ♪ circus you'd be a clown by now ♪ you know i'm still standing better than i ever did ♪ looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid ♪ i'm still standing after all this time ♪ picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ don't you know i'm still standing better than i ever did ♪ looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid ♪ i'm still standing after all this time ♪ picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ♪ i'm still standing yeah yeah yeah ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: thank you, elton! his ultimate greatest hits compilation, "diamonds" is out now! elton john, everybody! we'll be right back. ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (♪) (♪) it all starts with a wish. the lincoln wish list event is here. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down and a complementary first months payment. ♪ that adjusts on both sidesumber semi-to your ideal comfortly bed your sleep number setting. and snoring? does your bed do that? right now during our semi-annual sale, our queen c4 mattress with adjustable comfort on both sides is only $1499. save $300. plus 36 month financing. ends monday. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you. stephen: that's it for "the late show," everybody! tune in tomorrow when my guests will be tyler perry, anthony atamanuik, and john avlon. now, stick around for james corden and his guests, jason segel and seth rogen. good night! captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ♪ where it is you come from it'll be all right ♪ it's the late, late show