I am an unashamed fan of lip sync battles. When I want to blow off some time, I could spend a good hour binge-watching them on YouTube. While it's debatable whether lip syncing actually counts as a talent, it does require a fair amount of skill, and when it's done well, it is quite satisfactorily entertaining. It's ultimately just a bunch of celebrities goofing around in front of a packed audience, which is part of the appeal. Here is a compilation of some of my favorite lip sync battles. This is not a ranking, just some performances that are deserving of my top 10 list:
1. Josh Gad: "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls
This might be my all-time favorite. Josh Gad and backup dancers don orange wigs and three-piece suits to poke fun at Donald Trump's egotism and narcissism. The result is absolutely raucous, involving a wrecking ball with a Donald Trump wig and underwear made of money, and culminating with Gad making out with a wig-clad Johnny Galecki, the Big Bang Theory co-star of Gad's competitor, Kaley Cuoco. It is deliberately over-the-top, and as a result does not disappoint.
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt: "Yeah!" by Usher ft. Ludacris & Lil Jon
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has mad lip syncing skills. He went all-out with "Rhythm Nation," dressing as Janet Jackson and showing off some stellar choreography. But my favorite of his actually involves no choreography, just him lip-syncing. He shows off some groovy dance moves, and superbly mouths Ludacris's rap bit. I've probably watched this performance the most times because it is incredibly entertaining to watch.
3. Julianne Hough: "I Just Had Sex" by The Lonely Island ft. Akon
Somebody had to do this one at some point, and Julianne Hough was just the one to do it. Much to the horror of her brother Derek, whom she battled, she gyrated, twerked, and grinded two shirtless male dancers. It's one of those performances that you cannot watch once...or five times...or ten times.
4. Anna Kendrick: "Booty" by Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull
Anna Kendrick is another celebrity who has proven herself a skilled lip sync-her. When going head-to-head with Lip Sync Battle co-creator John Krasinski, Kendrick delivered two stellar performances. For her second performance, she took it up a notch with some backup dancers and emerged as the clear winner, beating out Krasinski. Kendrick's next competitor should be Jimmy Fallon.
5. Stephen Merchant: "Boom Shake the Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince
This list wouldn't be complete without including Stephen Merchant, the co-creator of the Spike show Lip Sync Battle. His reputation as a veteran of lip sync battles naturally meant a battle with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, as well as Joseph Gordon-Levitt. For his first performance, Merchant took it back to the '90s, and showed off his angry side by expertly mouthing a mad rap. Merchant showed his competitors how it was done and set the bar high, to the satisfaction of the audience, and this viewer.
6. John Legend: "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer
John Legend briefly gave up his soulful ballads to spit some raps in his contest with collaborator Common. For his second performance, he donned MC Hammer's famous outfit with the puffed pants and brought some '90s nostalgia to the battle, assisted by backup dancers. Watching him spit the rap is a treat, and he does so superbly, plus he shows off some pretty groovy dance moves.
7. Jimmy Fallon: "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea
This was the first lip sync battle I ever watched, on Jimmy Fallon's talk show against Emma Stone. Jimmy Fallon is another veteran of lip sync battles, hosting them on his own show, and therefore he had to be included on here. Whether this is Jimmy's best, I'm not sure, but Jimmy is a master at mouthing lyrics. It's fun, it's casual, and it has Jimmy Fallon written all over it.
8. Ellen DeGeneres: "Bitch Better Have My Money" by Rihanna
This was drastically out of character for Ellen DeGeneres, but it proved to be a smart choice in her battle with Jimmy Fallon on his show. After all of those years of being a laid-back, friendly comedian and talk show host, maybe Ellen just needed to throw some shade and blow off some steam. Needless to say, I don't think anyone minds...or if someone did, they might be afraid to say so!
