Amanda Seyfried shocks Jimmy Fallon audience with cover of Joni Mitchell’s 'California'

Amanda Seyfried is on quite the press tour for her new Peacock crime series Long Bright River. But it was a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon where she proves there’s really nothing she can’t do—at least musically.

In the clip making the rounds, Jimmy compliments her talent, citing her role as soprano Cosette in Les Misérables and her fabulous turns as Sophie in the Abba-inspired Mamma Mia movies. (Amanda confirms that she agreed with a past interviewer who suggested Sabrina Carpenter could be a great fit to play her daughter in Mamma Mia 3.)

Jimmy asks if she plays any instruments. Amanda shares she played the piano and clarinet when she was younger. With the latter, she admits, "I only lasted a year because it was hard. And there’s literally no flex with that." She adds that she also plays guitar and then asks Jimmy if he knows what a dulcimer is.

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Fallon knows, but for those who might not, Wonderopolis.com explains that this old, hourglass-shaped wooden instrument "was developed in the American Appalachian Mountains in the early 19th century." They go on, "It’s part of the zither category of string instruments. Some historians trace its roots all the way back to the ancient lyre."

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Jimmy just happens to have a dulcimer behind the desk and asks the audience if they might like to hear Amanda play. The crowd cheers, and Amanda eagerly takes the instrument. "Wow, this is what I learned to play during the pandemic for almost two years." She vamps a bit while pretending to tune. "I would love to play something about a state that deserves a lot of love right now."

"California," she exclaims. "Joni Mitchell. Because she wrote a lot of the songs from the Blue album on the dulcimer. And I learned a lot of her stuff from the Blue album when the world stopped. And I’m gonna play it for you."

She then begins to play, as if she’d been born with the instrument in her hands, and as though she were channeling Joni Mitchell through her very fingertips. Jimmy seemingly gets more and more emotional with every verse.

Lyrically, the song is about aching for her California home, with the chorus returning to some version of this:

California, I'm coming home
I'm going to see the folks I dig
I'll even kiss a Sunset pig, California, I'm coming home

Amanda’s magnificently high range truly encapsulates many folk singers of the 60s and 70s. And coupled with her near-perfect strumming/picking on the dulcimer, the crowd seems downright awestruck.

The comment sections across the internet have lit up, with many suggesting—maybe even demanding—that Amanda play Joni in a biopic. On Instagram, a fan wrote, "Someone make a Joni biopic just to cast her."

And on YouTube, commenters agree. "Epic, beautiful, incredible." One shares, "I grew up listening to Joni Mitchell in the 70s and was absolutely blown away when I heard Amanda Seyfried sing California! Had I not seen her, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between the two. AMAZING!" Another agrees: "She really transcended Joni Mitchell, it brought me to tears, just beautiful."

And this person really nails how this rendition proves Amanda’s talent: "Singing a Joni Mitchell composition well is the acid test for any female vocalist. I’m sure if Joni was listening to Amanda’s interpretation, she would pass her with flying colors. Her tone and phrasing were brilliant."