Stephen Colbert Announces First ‘Late Show’ Musical Guest

The Late Show is getting its first musical guest this fall!

Stephen Colbert announced at the Television Critics Association press tour on Monday that rapper Kendrick Lamar will be performing on the show when the season premieres September 8^th on CBS at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

“My last musical guest [on The Colbert Report] was Kendrick Lamar, and I’d love for him to be my first musical guest,” Colbert said. “In fact, he will be my first musical guest.”

Colbert’s first non-musical guest, on the other hand, will be actor George Clooney.

“I wish I could have done better than George Clooney, but he’ll do for the first guest,” he joked. “I hope somebody has let him know. It’s going to be very awkward if he doesn’t show up on September 8th. I like George Clooney because, I mean, he’s a brilliant actor, a great director, and he cares about the world.”

As for a potential rivalry between himself and other late-night hosts, Colbert said that there isn’t any competition. “The idea of a war between hosts make no sense to me. My success doesn’t take away from anyone else.”

When he spoke about his Daily Show finale appearance, he said, “I felt like a rodeo clown trying to keep [Jon Stewart] on that stage. I honestly thought he was going to leave. When Steve Carell [and all the former correspondents did the group hug] we were all chanting, ‘Made him cry! Made him cry!’ I think that might be my favorite thing I ever did on The Daily Show.”