The In Memoriam spot at the Primetime Emmys is always one of the can’t-miss moments of the broadcast.
That was certainly the case at the 75th edition, when Charlie Puth and acclaimed duo The War and Treaty performed Puth’s 2015 Wiz Khalifa collab “See You Again” over the In Memoriam segment.
The soulful session segued into a stripped-back rendition of the Friends theme – a tribute to the comedy show’s late actor Matthew Perry, who closed the line-up of TV greats we lost in the past year.
Originally cut by the Rembrandts in 1995 as a bubbly, upbeat pop number, Puth and Co. reimaged “I’ll Be There for You” with shades of gospel. Watch the performance below.
Puth enjoyed a dream career start with “See You Again,” which logged 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. With the release of his third studio album from 2022, Charlie, he made several more impressions on the chart, including a top 40 hit with “Left And Right” featuring BTS’ Jung Kook, peaking at No. 22.
The Emmys were finally presented on Monday (Jan. 15) at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, delayed by four months due to Hollywood’s labor problems.
The big winners on the night were The Bear and Succession with six awards each. Beef won five awards, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won two, and Elton John became an EGOT as Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium won outstanding variety special (live).
That made the Rocket Man the 19th EGOT, and the second-oldest at the time of completing the awards sweep. Elton is 76 years and nine months old. Sir John Gielgud (also English and gay, like Elton) was 87 years and four months when he completed the sweep.
The 75th Emmy Awards were executive-produced by Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment.