Reggie Watts

Reggie Watts (Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts, born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, musician, beatboxer and actor renowned for his improvisational musical comedy that blends experimental soundscapes with surreal stand‑up. Born in Stuttgart, West Germany, to a French mother and an African‑American U.S. Air Force father, Watts spent his childhood moving across France, Italy and Spain before his family settled in Great Falls, Montana, where he graduated from Great Falls High School in 1990. He began piano and violin lessons at age five, inspired by a televised Ray Charles performance, and later pursued formal music studies at the Art Institute of Seattle and jazz at Cornish College of the Arts. In 1996 he co‑founded the Seattle‑based soul‑fusion band Maktub, and while touring with Wayne Horvitz’s 4+1 Ensemble he refined his looping technique using a Line 6 DL4, a skill that would become central to his solo act. Relocating to New York’s Lower East Side in 2004, Watts merged beatboxing, keyboard loops and absurdist jokes, releasing his first solo single “So Beautiful” in 2005 and gaining viral attention with the CollegeHumor video “What About Blowjobs?”. His first comedy special Why Shit So Crazy? (2010) and the uncensored follow‑up A Live at Central Park (2012) cemented his reputation for rapid‑fire, genre‑defying performances. From 2015 to 2023 he served as bandleader and announcer for The Late Late Show with James Corden, where his band—initially called Karen and later Melissa—provided a platform for his signature “Reggie’s Question” segment. Watts’ Netflix special Spatial (2016) showcased his four‑and‑a‑half octave vocal range and avant‑garde looping, while his later work includes voice roles in major animated films and collaborations with artists such as LCD Soundsystem, Joan As Police Woman and Cibo Matto. Frequently described as a “disinformationist,” he deliberately disorients audiences by switching between earnest musical passages, gibberish, multiple accents and unexpected lyrical themes, making him a singular figure at the intersection of comedy, music and performance art.