Posted by Nick Minichino on 02/09/2011 at 2:00 PM Videos

The Popdust Files: ellen degeneres, james blunt, justin beiber, lady gaga

Buoyed by her successful prediction that the Packers would win the Super Bowl, Ellen decided yesterday on her show to predict the melody of the much-teased Lady Gaga single “Born This Way”—and she enlisted sappy Brit James Blunt and the one and only Justin Bieber to help.

For his part, Blunt seems to have a (probably much-needed) sense of humor about his current one-hit status than Atlantic, his label, which blocked the release of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody “You’re Pitiful” in 2006 even after the accordion-wielding singer got Blunt’s blessing. His “prediction” goes as far as a straight-faced rendition of the lyrics of “Born This Way” to the tune of “You’re Beautiful,” despite continuing protests from his “collaborators.”

But let’s be honest: the real draw here is Bieber, whose “fever” sweeps through the audience when he appears from behind the sliding wall of monitors (on a wheeled platform pushed by a union crew guy who’s apparently the Ellen staff’s most stereotype-affirming member). After tearing through a respectable drum solo (as he did to finish off his 2010 MTV VMA performance), he gets mock-earnest on a keyboard for his own melodic prediction. This appearance displays Bieber’s instrumental prowess in a way similar to his VMA solo, the Grammy promo focused on his drum playing, and his appearance on Late Show With David Letterman last week—but in a much more organic fashion.