{"id":1875587,"date":"2026-04-10T09:02:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1875587"},"modified":"2026-04-10T09:02:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:02:55","slug":"gorillaz-go-all-in-with-sparks-for-happy-dictator-performance-on-kimmel-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1875587","title":{"rendered":"Gorillaz Go All-In With Sparks For \u2018Happy Dictator\u2019 Performance on \u2018Kimmel\u2019: Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/P115QT37-e1773330941511.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe thrill of Gorillaz, the British \u201ccartoon band,\u201d collaborating with Sparks, the eclectic American alternative pop duo, is the stuff of pure fantasy for the edgier music fans among us.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tGorillaz\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tSparks\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tLate owls got a taste of the real thing on Thursday night, April 9, when those two worlds collided for a performance of \u201cThe Happy Dictator,\u201d the lead single from Gorillaz\u2019s ninth studio album The Mountain<\/em>, via the band\u2019s own new label KONG.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tStefon Diggs Attends Cardi B’s Concert 2 Months After Sparking Breakup Rumors\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tEvery Gorillaz performance raises the question of just how Damon Albarn and Co. would realize the animations that are so important to the band\u2019s visual storytelling. In the early days, the characters 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle were splashed on a big screen, the band members performing incognito behind it.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor their performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live<\/em>, Jamie Hewlett\u2019s lovable illustrations took a back seat for the humans, Albarn playing the happy dictator in military threads, aviator glasses and a red beret.<\/p>\n

The Mountain<\/em> climbed the U.K. chart peak in March of this year, for Gorillaz\u2019 third leader. On the other side of the Atlantic, Gorillaz swung to No. 1 on Billboard<\/em>\u2019s\u00a0Top Rock & Alternative Albums\u00a0chart for the fourth time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tProduced by Gorillaz, James Ford, Samuel Egglenton and Remi Kabaka Jr., plus Bizarrap (Orange County), The Mountain<\/em> was recorded at Studio 13 in London and Devon, various locations in India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan and Varanasi, as well as Ashgabat, Damascus, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. The collection features an impressive lineup of collaborators, including Sparks, and songs performed in five languages: Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish and Yoruba.<\/p>\n

\n\tGorillaz continue The Mountain Tour<\/em> of the U.K. and Europe tour in June, with a schedule that includes festival spots and a one-off headline show at London\u2019s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, June 20, for the band\u2019s biggest show in their homeland to-date, with support from Sparks and Trueno.\u00a0Dates are booked through January 2027.<\/p>\n

\n\tWatch the late night performance below and check out Gorillaz\u2019 tour dates here. <\/p>\n

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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/gorillaz-sparks-happy-dictator-performance-kimmel-1236219729\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/P115QT37-e1773330941511.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard The thrill of Gorillaz, the British \u201ccartoon band,\u201d collaborating with Sparks, the eclectic American alternative pop duo, is the stuff of pure fantasy for the edgier music fans among us. Explore Gorillaz Sparks See latest videos, charts and news Late owls got a taste of the real thing on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-1875587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1875587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1875587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1875587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1875587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}