Watch Leon Bridges Do Sam Cooke Justice With ‘Jesus Gave Me Water’ Cover on ‘Colbert’

Leon Bridges has earned plenty of Sam Cooke comparisons since dropping his Grammy-nominated debut Coming Home in June, so for his appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last night (Dec. 18), Bridges tackled the similarities head-on by covering a song by the late, great crooner.

Bridges delivered his take on “Jesus Gave Me Water” -- a tune Colbert described as his “favorite Sam Cooke song” -- for the occasion, which Cooke did during his time with the Soul Stirrers. Bridges hung around for another web-only performance of his Coming Home original -- although still distinctly Cooke reminiscent -- “Twistin’ & Groovin’.” Watch both performances at the bottom of the page.

Bridges’ Late Show appearance arrives on the heels of his musical guest spot on Saturday Night Live earlier this month. There, he played Coming Home’s “Smooth Sailin’” and beautiful, gospel-flecked album closer “River.”

The Fort Worth, Texas-based singer is currently on tour in Australia, but he’ll return to the states in March with dates scheduled through the end of the month. Then he heads overseas again, with U.S. dates resuming in May and June. See a complete rundown at his website.