LOL, Lisa Kudrow Had to Google How to Play “Smelly Cat” Before the ‘Friends’ Reunion

When Lisa Kudrow learned she’d be singing her iconic Phoebe Buffay song “Smelly Cat” with Lady Gaga during the May 27th HBO Max Friends: The Reunion special, she was really excited and also “really nervous.” Kudrow told Ellen DeGeneres in her June 4th appearance on her show that when she finally began to prepare for the performance, she actually had to relearn how to play “Smelly Cat” on the guitar—thankfully, Google exists.

“That was great,” Kudrow said about playing along with Gaga. “I was really nervous when I first heard that. And then I prepared—I realized I had to learn ‘Smelly Cat’ again. And I tuned my guitar and then realized I don’t know the chords.”

But I Googled it, Kudrow said. All the chords were there for ‘Smelly Cat.’ Yeah! Thank you, world, for posting the chords.

But once she actually relearned how the song goes, Kudrow said her body went against her brain. “My throat closed,” she told DeGeneres. “I was so panicked. I couldn’t get anything out.”

Eventually, though, Kudrow’s nerves settled and she was able to belt out Smelly Cat with Gaga and full gospel choir behind them.

Part of why Kudrow had to rely on Google to help her relearn her most famous song is that she doesn’t actually play guitar, like, at all. She said that she only played guitar (and badly) during the 10 years she spent on Friends, “and then I was done.”

Thankfully, all went according to plan and now we have the Lisa-Lady-Gaga clip that will go down as one of the best collaborations of all time. If they ever decide to team up again to put out an album, we’d buy that ish in a heartbeat.