Tuesday, August 11, 2020

My Favorite Lip Sync Battle Performances

Lip Sync Battle is one of those shows that has become a guilty pleasure for me. It has been amusing to watch celebrities lip-sync to famous songs and try to make it their own. As the show has gone on, it seems that celebrities are always trying to one-up one another, making each performance an even bigger production than the first. So, from the small segment that it was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, it has grown into a big competition from celebrities in the US to those in different countries all over the world.

I have enjoyed so many performances throughout the years that I thought I had to share some of my favorites here. Hope you enjoy watching them as much as I do!


Alicia Silverstone – Fancy

Alicia Silverstone battled Mena Suvari in this episode. In this performance, she recreated her iconic Cher character from the movie Clueless while performing in an outfit that was popular because of the movie. Lip syncing to Iggy Azalea’s Fancy, she recreated some of the most memorable moments in the film by walking down the replica staircase of her home in the film, the classroom scene, the driving scene with her jeep and all those shopping bags. Anyone who has seen the movie would appreciate the throwback, especially since Alicia still looks the same after all these years!


Zoe Saldana – No Scrubs

This was such a cool performance. I loved TLC back in the day and I loved that Zoe Saldana, who always seemed so serious in her recent roles, had the chance to let loose and channel her inner Lisa Left Eye Lopes while she performed No Scrubs.

In this battle, she was up against her Star Trek co-star Zachary Quinto (more on his performance later). I loved that she was wearing an outfit that was just like the one that TLC was wearing in the video. The best part of it all was that near the end the remaining two members of TLC, T-Boz and Chili (who looks as amazing as ever, can I be her when I grow up?), were on stage to join in her performance, complete with the dance moves! Any TLC fan would love to see that! This really made me miss TLC a lot that I had to go and listen to their songs again!

I cannot help but wonder how they felt looking at Zoe dressed up as Lisa since the resemblance was uncanny. That was so cool!


Ricky Martin – Footloose/Old Town Rock and Roll

I just HAD to include both of Ricky Martin’s performances in this list. Both were just too good not to share!

With the Footloose performance, I just enjoyed watching him move. I miss seeing Ricky Martin perform. I wish he would get back into music and get out there and dance again. He clearly looks like he can still do this! I have always loved the movie Footloose and I thought it was great that he got to do this one on Lip Sync Battle. The open button was a little distracting but hey, the show must go on!

Old Town Rock and Roll of course is a performance that will remind you of Tom Cruise in Risky Business. The only difference is that Ricky Martin can really dance when he is doing it. The ladies will not mind watching him in the outfit that made this moment in Risky Business famous too! He is still so hot!


Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Rhythm Nation

Rhythm Nation is one of the most memorable Janet Jackson songs, and the music video that went with it is nothing but iconic. To see Joseph Gordon-Levitt perform this (with red lipstick on, for some odd reason) was great, I did not know that he could move like that! I loved that he was really into the performance too!

He was battling against Anthony Mackie (Falcon from the Avengers movies) and even he was just overwhelmed by this performance. The moves, the costumes, it was good! I am sure Janet Jackson approved of this one!


Neil Patrick Harris – Smooth Criminal

Smooth Criminal was one of those music videos that was well made that it made you feel like you were watching a movie. It is a music video that never grows old for me. It is that good.

When I heard that Neil Patrick Harris performed this one on Lip Sync Battle for their Michael Jackson special, I was not sure how I would feel about it. I am glad that when I finally saw it that they had done it justice.

I loved that they recreated the setting from the video and that Neil Patrick Harris gave his all in the performance, including that signature tilt that Michael Jackson used to do!


Laverne Cox – Lose My Breath

I have been a fan of Laverne Cox for a while now. I have always found her to be just flawless and glamorous. If I could be her friend, I would want to be her friend. I think she is cool and fun and super talented.

When I saw this performance of Lose My Breath from Destiny’s Child, I just knew that this was going to be one of my favorite performances from Lip Sync Battle. That is all I have to say about that!


Jenna Dewan – Cold Hearted

This one is a performance that you would appreciate if you loved Paula Abdul back in the day. I was such a fan when I was in high school and the music video for this song was one of the most memorable performances that she had when she was still singing and performing.  To see Jenna Dewan perform this in a battle against her (then) husband Channing Tatum was unforgettable because of how much he was practically drooling while he was watching her.

To see Paula Abdul enter the stage and dance with Jenna (who is a great dancer herself) near the end was amazing! If I were in that audience I would have been screaming like crazy!


Channing Tatum – Run the World

Of course, Channing Tatum also gave a great performance in this battle with Jenna Dewan. I think he did her one better not just by performing as a woman and dancing like Beyonce, but he also brought out Beyonce herself who performed with him at the end of the song!

I loved how beautiful Beyonce looked as she walked into the room with people screaming and she looked like it was the most normal thing in the world. I think nobody saw it coming so it was such a shock to everyone when she came out. She looked flawless! She really enjoyed this judging by her big smile at Channing at the end! That whole blessing him thing was a nice touch! 


Tom Holland – Umbrella

Now this is a performance I can watch repeatedly and never feel sick of it.

I think a lot of people are unaware or maybe forget that Tom Holland is/was a dancer and that he played Billy Elliot when he was a child. Seeing him do the first part of singing in the rain was a little expected but seeing him come out as Rihanna and performing Umbrella probably caught a lot of people off-guard!

With his dance background, it was no surprise that he pulled this off. I loved how his co-star, Zendaya, was awestruck with his performance! It was so good! That rain at the end with the flip? Wow!


Special mention performances:


Zachary Quinto – Freedom

As I mentioned earlier, Zoe Saldana performed against Zachary Quinto, who performed George Michael’s Freedom, recreating the video that featured supermodels singing along to this hit.

And how could he recreate it without a supermodel? Naturally, he brought out one. It’s not just any supermodel, mind you, it’s THE supermodel, Cindy Crawford (another woman who drank from the fountain of youth)! 


Kathy Bates – That’s What I Like

I just HAD to include this one in my special mentions. I do not think anyone expected her to be on Lip Sync Battle and NO ONE expected her to perform Bruno Mars!

The great actress that she is, she committed to this performance, it was so fun to watch!


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