Heart’s appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, on Monday, April 9, happened to coincide with the solar eclipse, so host Jimmy Fallon came up with a unique way to kick off the program. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers teamed up with Fallon for a rooftop performance of Bonnie Tyler’s classic 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” filmed during the actual eclipse.
Videos by American Songwriter
To open the show, Fallon, wearing an 1980s-style mullet wig, addressed the camera, saying, “We have a special show tonight. Heart is our musical guest, and today is, obviously, the solar eclipse. So we thought, we have to do what we have to do. We have to sing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ with Heart while watching the solar eclipse. Let’s do this.”
As Fallon finished his intro, he slipped on special eclipse glasses then headed to the Rockefeller Center roof deck to join Heart.
For the performance, Fallon duetted with frontwoman Ann Wilson, slowly rotating as he sang the line “turn around.” Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson also helped out with backing vocals.
As Ann belted out the classic song with Fallon, the host hammed it up, running in place and then falling to his knees. As the performance neared it end, Fallon sang “turn around bright eyes” in a falsetto, and removed his eclipse glasses to reveal eerily glowing eyes.
Heart also ended the Tonight Show episode with a rocking performance of their classic 1977 hit “Barracuda.”
Fans React Act to Heart and Fallon’s “Total Eclipse” Performance
Judging by the comments under the clip of the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” performance posted on The Tonight Show’s YouTube channel, fans had a mostly positive reaction to the segment.
“Cool. Those eyes at the end,” one fan wrote. “I love Heart! Love you to Jimmy! Great job guys!”
Another commented, “Heart!! Just pure classic rock and roll legends! And still rocking it!!”
[RELATED: Heart Extend Huge North American Tour in 2024]
A third fan posted, “Omg! I love these two awesome queens and their band mates who are all such good sports for some fun and humor with Jimmy and look and sound great at the same time!!!”
About “Total Eclipse of the Heart”
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” was Tyler’s biggest hit, spending four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October of 1983. The power ballad was written by Jim Steinman, best known for the many classic tunes he composed for Meat Loaf.
Heart’s 2024 Tour Plans
Heart is gearing up to launch a major road trip called the Royal Flush Tour 2024. The trek kicks off on April 20 in Greenville, South Carolina, and is plotted out through a December 15 show in Las Vegas.
The North American dates of the tour will feature Heart headlining with various opening acts, among them Cheap Trick, Bachman-Turner Overdrive with Randy Bachman, and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening. Heart also will play a series of U.K. concerts in July with Squeeze as its support act.
In addition, Heart will serve as an opening act for Journey and Def Leppard at stadium shows on July 30 in Cleveland, August 2 in Toronto, and August 5 in Boston.
Tickets for the Heart’s concerts are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
