A look at the viral feeling

On February 14, 2025By Littum

Executive producer and showrunner Andy Lassner said Spirit Tunnel has become “a brand new viral sensation.”

Where is the happiest place on TV day? At the “The Jennifer Hudson Show”, where your favorite celebrities and public individuals smile from ear to ear who stroll their personal spirit tunnel that have caught so many hearts online.

For example, Aaron Pierre’s Widely loved entrance Has collected over 65 million views on Tiktok alone. The actress danced down the hall, while the crew gladly sang “Aaron Pierre, it’s Mufasa” before going on stage. He was on the show talking about his rising career and role in “Mufasa” Prequel to “The Lion King”.

His appearance became a sensation, including being relocated on X and shared by popular blogs like The Shade Room. Creators from all over the world published their forgery of his catchy two-stage. Some fans fertilized over Pierre and Even edited with the heartbeat actor in the clip.

“He took over. Aaron Pierre’s Spirit Tunnel was the first time we actually had to turn off the comments on our social media, ”Jennifer Hudson recently revealed On her show.

Other guests include Damon Wayans & Damon Wayans Jr., “Squid Games” starring actor Lee Jung-Jae, actress Angela Bassett, singer Gwen Stefani and rapper Glorilla. Recently, actor Coleman Domingo could not avoid Button and move his shoulders To the crew’s reproduction of Ghost Town DJS ‘1996 “My Boo” and Legendary Singer Usher were caught Grooving down the path in his roller skates to a “yes” remix.

“Yes, we got Usher,” the crew sang. “Made us feel like he’s ready to roll.”

“It gets them hyped up,” executive producer and showrunner Andy Lassner told USA Today, adding that it achieves the same feeling as when an athlete goes through their tunnel and meet with cheer.

“I’ve done this almost 40 years of the day and I got to tell you, I’ve never seen the guests come out so clear and so energetic and saw in the right state to do an interview. It makes them feel welcome and it makes them feel that the building is very happy to have them here. “

During her sitting down with Hudson in October, Glorilla busy That she had a ball in Spirit Tunnel: “They turned me straight up!” she said.

The staff creates the ideas and then performs them to welcome guests

“The Jennifer Hudson Show” is an hour of Time National Syndicated Show launched in 2022. Since the early stages, Hudson knew she wanted her program to be a haven for her viewers “to celebrate, to escape, to having fun, for comfort, for peace, ”said the Egot -Winner under An interview with variation At that time. She also wanted to create that environment for her guests.

The idea for Spirit Tunnel was born in the first season when Hudson came out of her dressing room and was greeted by her staff.

“It made her so happy, and the energy she felt was so contagious that she wanted the show’s guests to start to feel what she felt,” Lassner explained. “When the guests began to get down the aisle on their way into the studio, they were surprised that our staff were doing these spirit tunnels. Then it seemed to take on its own life beyond everything any of us might have expected. “

In an exclusive look at Creating the tunnel, The employees said it started organically with simple clapping, and eventually the vibes were “smoothed” to full -blown songs. As it started to get viral, they would get tags from friends on social media and see comments about them from viewers.

“Every day we produce a talk show. That is our primary goal, but what this has created is a completely different job for everyone who gets them as excited as producing the talk show, ”Lassner continued. “Everyone on the staff who are available at the time can participate and they get to see themselves. They catch their faces in it, and they don’t do it for that reason, but it’s just an added bonus.”

The whole team collaborates to develop the songs, but the younger staff is at the heart of the fun, Lassner said. From trainees to production assistants, the group uses the talent’s interest to create the texts and practice the number, sometimes weeks in advance. Because the tunnel of the spirit has become so popular, many guests ask to come to the show to participate in it.

Lassner noted that a memorable guest was the former first lady Michelle Obama, whose Spirit Tunnel also blasted on social media. Her review has more than a million views on Tiktok at the time of publication. She went on to Promoting Her new workbook and her executively produced the Netflix series “The Later Daters” in December, but not without taking his moment in the tunnel.

“This staff, the people who work here, have created a whole new viral sensation and a whole new piece of pop culture, and it feels exciting,” Lassner said.

Spirit tunnel has been ‘helpful’ for viewership

In the general television landscape of the day the interest has fallen in recent years in the middle of increase of social media and podcasts. For “The Jennifer Hudson Show”, however, Spirit Tunnel has helped to draw more eyes to the program.

“Many of us who work in the area of entertainment struggle every day to get people’s attention,” Lassner said. “So this has been so incredibly useful to us.”

For Hudson, Spirit Tunnels is a reflection of “The Heart of the Show” and her staff and crew “has always understood the task,” she said in a statement.

“Seeing how people from all over the world have associated with these moments of music and partying have not only been a source of fulfillment for all of us, but a reminder that our mission to bring joy to people’s lives remain as important as The day we started, “The host continued.

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA Today. You can reach her at [email protected].