-Here at "The Tonight Show," we love songs,
and we especially love songs written by our audience members
in an under an hour.
It is time for "Battle of the Instant Songwriters."
Here we go.
-♪ Sometimes I'm singing a song ♪
♪ And I'm writing a song about another song ♪
-Welcome to "Battle of the Instant Songwriters."
Before the show, we went through our great talented audience
and we picked out two people who said they were musicians
and we gave them each a made-up song title then asked them --
We gave them an hour to write
an original song based on that title.
This is real. Here's a shot of them
practicing backstage a minute ago.
Yeah. I can't wait to see what they come up with.
So let's meet them right now. Come on over, guys.
Come on. Hi.
Good to see you. Pleasure.
Hi. Nice to see you. Thank you for being here.
Welcome to the show.
Let's start with contestant number one.
What is your name and where are you from?
-I'm Gemma Laurence and I'm from Brunswick, Maine.
-Hey! We love Maine! [ Cheers and applause ]
Shout-out to Maine. Oh, I love it.
Now, what was the title of the song that you were given?
-"Is It Love or Is It Cake?"
-Wow. Very topical. I love that.
And what instrument will you be playing?
Is it the banjo?
-I'll be playing banjo, yeah. -I love that.
-Reall-- Yeah? -Yeah, I do love banjo.
-Yeah?
-Is that a big instrument in Maine?
-I think so. People tell me that.
I come to New York, and they're like, "You're banjo girl!"
And I'm like, "Okay?"
-Yeah. Sure, yeah. Why not? I think it's great.
I miss -- I want to hear more banjo.
Yeah, please. -Great.
-Go get settled. Yeah, I love it.
Oh, this is exciting.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Okay.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, here to perform
the world premiere of the soon-to-be classic
"Is It Love or Is It Cake?",
it's Gemma Laurence.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
-♪ Met a girl at the bakery today ♪
♪ Her eyes inviting me to take a plate ♪
♪ And I couldn't help ♪
♪ But come back the very next day ♪
♪ Is it love ♪
♪ Or is it cake? ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ Saw it for the first time through the glass ♪
♪ Oh, I could see she'd be a total snack ♪
♪ Unlike a Kit Kat ♪
♪ She won't give my mind a break ♪
♪ Is this love ♪
♪ Or is it just cake? ♪
♪ Could I be disillusioned? ♪
♪ Without her, I'm a soggy Fig Newton ♪
♪ Do I want her ♪
♪ Or do I just crave gluten? ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-[ Laughs ] I like that!
That curveball at the end. I love that.
Gemma Laurence, everybody! Give it up for Gemma Laurence!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Nice curveball at the end. Alright.
Let's meet contestant number two.
What is your name and where are you from?
-I'm Franklin Rankin from Long Island.
-Franklin Rankin from Long Island.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Franklin Rankin. Great name.
Franklin, tell everyone, please, what your song title is.
-"Can Elon Musk Buy Me Something?"
[ Laughter ]
-"Can Elon Musk Buy Me Something?"
Yeah. He's watching the show tonight.
So, yeah, if it's good, yeah, Elon could probably get --
take care of something.
What instrument will you be playing tonight?
-Guitar. -Guitar!
Alright. Perfect.
Fantastic. I love guitar, too.
Franklin, whenever -- Get ready. Whenever you get settled.
♪♪
"Can Elon Musk Buy Me Something?" Okay.
Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the world premiere
of "Can Elon Musk Buy Me Something?"
by Franklin Rankin.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
-♪ I know he just bought Twitter ♪
♪ And it probably cost a lot ♪
♪ But summer's coming up ♪
♪ And my account's not looking hot ♪
♪ So maybe just a Tesla ♪
♪ Or a glossy diamond ring ♪
♪ Oh, can Elon Musk buy me something? ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ I'd even take a rocket ♪
♪ Or a little bit of Doge ♪
♪ A trip to Turks and Caicos ♪
♪ Or a gift card to Lowe's ♪
♪ When SpaceX hits the moon ♪
♪ Maybe he'll take me for a ride ♪
♪ Oh, can Elon Musk buy me something? ♪
♪ Wouldn't mind a Peloton ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm working on my core ♪
♪ He can hit me up on Venmo ♪
♪ At FranklinRankin4 ♪
[ Laughter ]
♪ If you're running out of pesos ♪
♪ You can borrow from Jeff Bezos ♪
♪ Oh, can Elon Musk buy me ♪
♪ If you're watching, please buy me ♪
♪ Can Elon Musk buy me something? ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Nice Bezos line!
Nice Bezos line right there.
Franklin, thank you very much.
Franklin Rankin.
Now it is time to see who won.
And we're gonna let our great audience decide the winner.
Is it...
[ Drum roll ]
...Gemma Laurence?
[ Cheers and applause ]
Or is it Franklin Rankin?
[ Cheers and applause ]
Looks like the winner is Gemma Laurence!
Gemma, congratulations!
You are the winner
of "Battle of the Instant Songwriters."
You will be going home with, of course, a sweatshirt
that says "I Love Music."
-Yes! -Congratulations.
You really deserve it, and you earned it. Yeah.
Oh, also, you're going home with a Samsung Galaxy 2 Pro.
-Oh, my gosh.
[ Cheers and applause ]
A Galaxy Book2 Pro to write and record songs on.
That is for you. Congratulations.
-Thank you so much. -Franklin...
[ Cheers and applause ]
I'm sorry. [ Laughter ]
But I'm glad you came.
No, I'm just kidding. We have a sweatshirt.
We have a sweatshirt. -Aw, sick.
-Yeah, it says "I Love Music."
[ Cheers and applause ]
That's great. That's your size? It fits perfect.
Alright. We'll be right b-- I'm kidding.
And a Samsung Galaxy Pro.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Write, record, make an album, bud.
Make an album, pal.
Give it up for our two new instant songwriters.