Is Jimmy Fallon on the Naughty list or the Nice list this year? Seems it depends on who you ask.
Wednesday night’s original hour-long primetime special Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular was certainly stacked with talent, featuring a lineup of performers that included Justin Timberlake, The Jonas Brothers, Mariah Carey, J.B. Smoove, Meghan Trainor, Cara Delevingne, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and, of course, The Roots.
But while some viewers expressed appreciation for the show’s holiday cheer, celeb cameos, and a kickline finale featuring the Radio City Rockettes from the Top of Rockefeller Center, others bemoaned Fallon’s singing and tagged the overall production as lackluster.
Fallon may have seen some of those negative comments, as he was live-tweeting the show himself. At one point he even asked his followers to share their favorite bits so far, noting that his own was the duet with Justin Timberlake.
This was before some of his other celeb guests appeared, including Cara Delevingne and the Jonas Brothers.
X user @kaitlinnx0xx simply wrote, “My new biggest fear is Jimmy Fallon’s Christmas special.”
Fallon is often targeted for his enthusiasm. As X user @ledbyforce wrote in his critique, “Seriously though, is there anything you’re NOT excited about? Did you wake up this morning like ‘OH MY GOSH, I GET TO DO LAUNDRY TODAY!!!’?”
One fan teased the late-night host by offering seeming praise before revealing they were actually talking about the classic A Colbert Christmas from his competing host’s Comedy Central days.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though, as many fans cheered Fallon’s take on the classic holiday TV special.
“Instant classic” wrote one fan, while another cooed “Ooh, Jimmy and JT together on ‘You’ll Be There’—now that’s a holiday gift we didn’t see coming!”
Others just appreciated Jimmy being Jimmy:
Fallon, for his part, seemed grateful for the love:
The Tonight Show host’s passion for the holiday season is well-documented, and it’s hit a fever pitch this year. His first holiday album, Holiday Seasoning, debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top Holiday Albums chart in November, he’s got his own SiriusXM holiday channel, and his children’s book 5 More Sleeps ’til Christmas is in stores now. Heck, he even has his very own Yule Log.
Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular is available to stream on Peacock.
F that guy.
Well the page kept crashing, so I couldn’t watch very much of the JT clip. Thank Dog! Between the fake ukulele playing, obvious auto tune, and gross cheap decor, it’s awful right away.
This whole thing is just an ad for his various merch anyway.
Kudos to the talented make up department who can cover his permanently stained brown nose. Eww.
Why would you sing a Darlene Love song without Darlene Love ? Especially on NBC after all the years on Letterman…..(head scratching).
I loved this Christmas Special-it was fun & sweet & I enjoyed all the songs-especially Jimmy & Justin Timberlake singing their buddy song. It was different, but cool.-it was a celebration of friends & music-what’s not to like.
Dude you are a funny guy and a great host; however, you are not a singer, or a pop star give it up.
May be the worst special ever made. Kept waiting for it to get good. Meghan and Mariah were the only not terrible parts.