How 'Jimmy Fallon' Whips Its Late-Night Music Competition

When Bruce Springsteen decided to crash late night and whip his hair in November, it was as sure a sign as any that "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" has emerged as a highly coveted platform for musical guests, according to Jason Lipshutz at billboard.com.

Since the Nov. 16 episode that featured the Boss covering Willow Smith's pop hit with Fallon, the NBC talk show has capped off 2010 with Paul McCartney performing his John Lennon tribute "Here Today," R. Kelly playing "Ignition (Remix)" during a two-night stint and Stephen Bishop reviving his "Tootsie" theme song, "It Might Be You," alongside house band the Roots.

The show's booking philosophy for musical talent can be credited to Fallon and Jonathan Cohen, the show's music booker (and former music editor of Billboard). The recent bevy of buzzworthy performances has given the show an edge in online traction, with the official "Fallon" website garnering 511,000 unique visitors in November, up 49% from a year earlier and more than other late-night show websites, including Jay Leno and David Letterman, according to comScore.

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