Michael Stipe and Andrew Watt have delivered the first major television performance of I Played The Fool (Main Title Theme), bringing the music from HBO’s breakout comedy Rooster to a national audience on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
by Paul Cashmere
Michael Stipe and Andrew Watt took I Played The Fool (Main Title Theme) from the screen to the stage this week, performing the song live on Jimmy Kimmel Live as interest continues to build around HBO’s comedy hit Rooster. The appearance comes as the soundtrack album for the series has been released through WaterTower Music, showcasing Watt’s original score alongside the title song that reunited the former R.E.M. frontman with new recorded material.
The performance marked another high-profile moment for a song that has become closely associated with the success of Rooster, the Steve Carell-led series created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses. Since its debut earlier this year, the show has emerged as one of HBO’s most successful comedy launches in recent decades, earning a second season renewal and drawing significant attention to its musical identity.
The collaboration carries significance beyond television. I Played The Fool (Main Title Theme) represented Stipe’s first new release in three years when it arrived in March, while also pairing him for the first time with Andrew Watt, one of the industry’s most in-demand producers. The Jimmy Kimmel Live performance provided a rare opportunity to see the song presented outside the context of the series, highlighting the chemistry between the two musicians and bringing renewed attention to the soundtrack project.
Watt, who composed and produced the complete Rooster score, said the creative team wanted the show’s music to evoke the guitar-driven sounds of the 1980s without directly referencing existing songs.
“In early conversations with Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, we decided the voice of the show should be reminiscent of all the music that Rooster would have listened to while he went to college, the same music Bill, Matt and I listen to,” Watt said.
“It was all made to sound like your favourite 80’s guitar band except you’ve never heard any of the songs. It was a joy to bounce around my studio playing all the instruments and pretend to be Robert Smith.”
The soundtrack album, titled Rooster: Season 1 (Soundtrack From The HBO Original Series), contains Watt’s score across 21 tracks, opening with I Played The Fool (Main Title Theme) and concluding with an instrumental version of the song. The recording features an impressive supporting cast, including Travis Barker on drums and Josh Klinghoffer on guitar and piano.
The television performance also arrives during a particularly active period for both artists. Stipe recently confirmed that his long-awaited debut solo album will be released before the end of 2026, following a television appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert where he debuted new song The Rest Of Ever. The forthcoming album will be the first full-length project released under his own name following the end of R.E.M. in 2011.
For Andrew Watt, Rooster represents a notable expansion of his career. Although widely recognised for producing albums for artists including Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Lady Gaga, the soundtrack marks his first major original composition project for a television series. The producer has described the work as a deeply personal undertaking, performing many of the instrumental parts himself while building the musical framework of the show.
The soundtrack’s release followed Rooster’s season finale, which featured Sam Fender’s The High Road, another song co-written and co-produced by Watt. The track underscored an extended closing sequence that became one of the most discussed moments of the season, further demonstrating how music has become central to the series’ identity.
There is also a broader industry trend reflected in the success of I Played The Fool. Television theme songs once occupied a prominent place in popular culture before largely disappearing in the streaming era. Rooster has demonstrated that a carefully crafted title song can still become an integral part of a show’s appeal, particularly when it is anchored by artists with distinct musical identities.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live performance reinforces that point. Rather than functioning solely as television accompaniment, I Played The Fool has developed a life beyond the series itself, connecting audiences of Rooster with longtime followers of Stipe’s work and introducing a new dimension to Watt’s expanding catalogue.
With Rooster already renewed for a second season and Stipe preparing his first solo album, the collaboration appears unlikely to be a one-off moment. For now, the live performance stands as the most visible presentation yet of one of television’s most talked-about musical partnerships of 2026.
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