What did Paul McCartney do on Colbert’s finale?

McCartney closes out Colbert’s final Late Show

Paul McCartney appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to close out the program’s run, performing “Hello, Goodbye.”

The timing tied the moment to Beatles history: McCartney performed at the same theater 62 years earlier when the band first played there. That link turned what could have been a simple goodbye performance into a bookend for Colbert’s tenure and for the venue’s pop-culture legacy.

Colbert’s final stretch has featured notable music programming alongside the show’s farewell framing, and McCartney’s slot landed as a finale-level sendoff—visually and emotionally signaling that the end of the show wasn’t just about television moving on, but about classic songwriting still earning a spotlight on today’s late-night stage.

This matters for entertainment coverage because it reflects how mainstream music icons are being used to mark high-profile network transitions. For audiences, it’s also a rare “watch-it-now” moment: McCartney’s performance is presented as part of the last episode’s closing cadence, not just a standalone clip.

In short, McCartney used the occasion to stitch together eras—Beatles to present-day late-night—while Colbert’s show ended its run with one of the Beatles’ most recognizable tracks.