-♪ Time to freestyle with The Roots ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Hey, Roots, you ready to do this?
-Yes! -All right, let's pick someone.
Raise your hand if you want The Roots
to make up a song about you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Right here, right here, right here.
Yeah you got it. Please, stand up, please.
That's for you. How are you?
What is your name, rank, and branch of service?
-My name is Senior Airman Hatcher,
and I'm with the Air Force.
-Mm-hmm. What is your name again?
-Senior Airman Hatcher.
-C-M? -Senior Airman.
-Se-- Oh, sorry.
-Senior Airman. -Senior Airman.
[ Laughter ]
See, this is why you don't want me.
Senior Airman.
I thought it was like Salmon Airman.
I thought you were saying a -- Sorry.
I thought it was a name I didn't hear before.
All right, Hatcher, of course.
Hatcher from Air Force.
Where are you from originally?
-Waldorf, Maryland.
-You're from Waldorf, Maryland. -[ Clapping hands ]
[ Light laughter ]
-You don't know each other. Please.
[ Laughter ]
-Now, you're here in New York City for a few days.
What's your favorite thing to do in New York?
-Eat.
-Really? You're so small.
Where are you eating?
Anywhere good?
-I believe it's H & B Burger?
-No, I don't know H & B Burger. Really?
Quest, do you know H & B Burger?
-Never heard of it. -Yeah. All right.
You just taught us about something.
All right, H & B Burger.
Never heard of it. What do you like on your burger?
-Onions, bacon, cheese.
-You say it so seriously.
[ Laughter ]
Guys, we have Senior Airman -- from the Air Force -- Hatcher,
Senior Airman Hatcher from the Air Force.
She's originally from Waldorf, Maryland.
She knows someone in our audience tonight.
[ Laughter ]
And she's in New York City.
Her favorite thing to do is eat,
and she wants onions on the burger and cheese.
For this first one,
we're so proud to have our troops here tonight.
Can you guys do, like, an old American patriotic march,
like "Grand Old Flag" kind of song?
[ March plays ]
-♪ Here's looking at ya, you're Sea Airman Hatcher ♪
♪ The Air Force is soaring high ♪
♪ And you're from Waldorf, Maryland ♪
♪ Again, you're an airman ♪
♪ So your pendant, you'll fly ♪
♪ And when you're in New York City ♪
♪ Besides looking pretty ♪
♪ A burger is what you'll eat ♪
♪ You like onions and cheese and other things ♪
♪ So happy Fleet Week ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Thank you. Thank you very much.
-Thank you. -I appreciate it.
Who else? Who else?
Who we got? Right here.
Here you go, buddy. All right.
You can hold this one right here.
What is your name, rank, and branch?
-Staff Sergeant Perez, United States Marine Corps.
-All right. Staff Sergeant?
-Yes. -[ Speaks indistinctly ]
-Staff Sergeant.
[ Laughter ]
Perez? -Yes.
-All right. Perez. Very good.
There's going to be a lot
of Memorial Day barbecues this weekend.
What's your favorite food to eat at a barbecue?
-Probably ribs.
-Yeah. Ribs. That's a good one.
-I love ribs, too.
What is your favorite side dish?
-Potato salad.
-Yeah.
I don't know. It's your answer.
If I'm playing "Family Feud,"
Survey says -- No.
I'm asking you, yeah. Potato salad.
Do you like the mayonnaise-y one or the vinegar one?
-Uh, mayonnaise probably.
-Ew! -I'm a small guy, so...
-Yeah, yeah. -...I can take it.
-Mayo. Ay yi yo yoi.
Guys, we have Staff Sergeant Perez.
His favorite thing to eat at a barbecue is ribs,
and his favorite side dish is mayonnaise-y --
[ Laughter ]
...on a hot day, potato salad.
For this one, we're fans of Chris Stapleton here,
so can you guys do it in like
a Chris Stapleton type of country song?
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Blues rock plays ]
-♪ Staff Sergeant Perez, I'm nervous ♪
♪ But thanks for your service ♪
[ Laughter ]
♪ United States Marines is the fleet ♪
♪ Get up out your seat ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ At Memorial Day barbecues ♪
♪ Like those that are happening this weekend ♪
♪ Big ol' slab of ribs ♪
♪ According to you at least ♪
♪ Favorite thing to eat ♪
♪ I read your mind ♪
♪ But I got to say you're crazy ♪
♪ I think Jimmy will agree with me on this one ♪
♪ Potato salad's good ♪
♪ Long as it's not mayonnaise-y ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I appreciate it.
Excuse me. Can I cut -- Can I cut across?
Sorry about that. Excuse me.
Sorry about that. -No problem.
-How you doing? -Great.
-Excuse me. Oh. Sorry. Excuse me.
Hello. Hey, how you doing?
Hi, looking good. Excuse me, pardon me.
Don't get up, please.
[ Laughter ]
I think it just got awkward.
Yeah, get up, now.
Okay, good. This is good.
Oh, it was going so smoothly, then we just hit the --
Oh! Sorry about that.
I apologize.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Please. Thank you for staying.
Hi. Finally, I'm on this side.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Whoo!
Hua!
Why don't you stand up? Yeah, sure.
There you go.
Why don't you -- Yeah, that's for you.
What is your name, rank, and branch?
-Staff Sergeant Ryan, United States Army.
-Ryan.
You say it so fast. United...
-States. -...States.
Thank you. Yeah. All right. Very good.
Everyone knows here that "The Bachelorette"
has started this week.
If you were a contestant trying to sell yourself for a date...
[ Laughter ]
...what would you say is your best quality?
-Not my bank account.
[ Laughter and applause ]
-"Not my bank account."
[ Laughs ]
"Not my bank account." All right.
And if you had a catchphrase --
for example, the whaboom guy,
"Whaaaaaboom!" --
what would be your catchphrase?
-That's a hard one.
[ Laughter ]
-"That's a hard one" is your catchphrase?
-Yes. That's it.
-That's a hard one.
[ Laughs ]
That's -- That's a hard one.
There you go.
All right.
[ Laughs ]
Oh, man.
Oh, you're never gonna live this one down.
Oh, gosh.
We have Staff Sergeant Ryan from the United States Army.
His best quality is not his bank account.
And if he were on "The Bachelorette,"
his catchphrase would be, "That's a hard one."
[ Laughter and applause ]
So for this -- [ Laughs ] this last one,
we hope everyone has fun this weekend,
so can you guys do
like a "Party in the USA" kind of song?
Like, a little Miley? Yeah.
Come on.
[ Mid-tempo pop music plays ]
-♪ Sergeant Ryan goes out for the country ♪
♪ And the Army, that's the branch you're in ♪
♪ This week, new season of "Bachelorette" had to begin ♪
♪ Best quality is not your bank account ♪
♪ Okay, everybody behave ♪
♪ "That's a hard one," that's the catchphrase ♪
♪ Come on, oh oh, oh oh oh oh ♪
♪ There's a party on NBC ♪
♪ Oh oh, oh oh oh oh ♪
♪ There's a party here for Fleet Week ♪
♪ Let's get it ♪
-Oh, that was fantastic.
Thank you very, very much.
Thanks to The Roots
and all of our men and women in uniform.