Today hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb have been paired behind the desk together for ten years now, which is definitely cause for celebrating, and they have been doing just that. When it came to shining a light on the pair's highs, lows, and feuds with Joel McHale through the years, Jimmy Fallon was on hand to jump into the festivities in a weird way, with the The Tonight Show host taking the stage as Kenny Rogers and hilariously serenading Gifford and Kotb. Check it out!
NBC was hyped to celebrate ten years of Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb's partnership on the Today show, but apparently not so much that they went and got the actual Kenny Rogers to perform. To be fair, Rogers did recently cancel all his farewell tour dates, citing poor health, so he couldn't have done it. But it might even be possible he was slated to be on the special himself, with Fallon sliding in for his more humorous take at the last minute.
In either case, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb loved Jimmy Fallon's rendition of "Through The Years," and told People after that they'd been trying to get The Tonight Show host on their program for some time now. Those remarks make it sound like Kenny Rogers was never in the conversation to be a part of this congratulatory segment, so why was Fallon dressed like the singer? There are many subject-related songs Jimmy Fallon could've sang to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb's television career together on Today, so Kenny Rogers felt like an interesting choice. Fallon has created viral moments emulating the famous singer in the past, of course, which likely played a part in that decision. Fallon got quite a few views on YouTube the last time he channeled Rogers, which was during a collaboration with Miley Cyrus' Dolly Parton.
Once "Through the Years" was done -- it wasn't exactly the most successful impersonation -- Jimmy Fallon broke into some Michael Jackson dance moves and then awarded Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb with some custom made wine glasses. That's not a bad gift for either host, and it's one Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb will likely use quite often as they work towards another ten years on Today.
The Today show airs on NBC on weekday mornings at 7:00 a.m. ET. For a look at what other new shows are coming to television in the near future, head on over to our midseason premiere guide and summer premiere guide. For more on Jimmy Fallon and his_The Tonight Show _shenanigans, check out the time he sang another classic song in a bizarre but funny skit with Will Ferrell.
