Top 10 Greatest Co-Star Lip Sync Battles
#10: Joseph Gordon-Levitt vs. Anthony Mackie
Appearing on the show just days after the release of their 2015 Christmas comedy “The Night Before”, these co-stars turned in a couple of memorable performances. In Round 1 Joseph Gordon-Levitt got the crowd on their feet with an energetic performance of Usher’s “Yeah!”, while Anthony Mackie swung for the fences with Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl”. Of course, it was in Round 2 that these two cemented their “Lip Sync Battle” legacies. Mackie’s rendition of "2 Legit 2 Quit" by MC Hammer is hilariously on point, but it’s JGL who truly steals the show, thanks to his spot-on performance of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation”. Fun fact: Joseph Gordon-Levitt rehearsed with Anthony Thomas, the man who created the choreography for the original “Rhythm Nation” music video.
#9: Ilana Glazer vs. Abbi Jacobson
Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson’s comedy roots were on full display during their appearance on season one of “Lip Sync Battle”. In Round 1, the “Broad City” creators and co-stars won over the crowd with their renditions of Outkast's “Hey Ya!” and “The Humpty Dance” by the Digital Underground, respectively. They kicked things up a notch in Round 2, with Jacobson delivering a dramatic lip sync to Jennifer Holliday’s “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going”, and Glazer going all out in her performance of The Weather Girls’ “It’s Raining Men”. Ilana Glazer may have walked away victorious, but we believe those lucky enough to be in the crowd were the real winners.
#8: Anthony Anderson vs. Tracee Ellis Ross
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“Black-ish” co-stars and on-screen parents Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross dropped by season 2 of “Lip Sync Battle” in 2016. For their performances, they selected a couple of familiar favorites in Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” and CeeLo Green’s “Forget You”. However, they also went off the board with a couple of unlikely selections, with Anderson performing “Do Me!” by Bell Biv DeVoe in the first round and Tracee Ellis Ross going with “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar in the second. Ellis Ross blew the audience away with her rendition of the classic 80s track and subsequently won the contest. Something tells us Anderson never heard the end of it on set.
#7: Taraji P. Henson vs. Terrence Howard
On “Empire”, Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard play the megalomaniacal owners of a hip hop label; and they’ve both won awards for their respective performances. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner on “Lip Sync Battle”. The actors engaged in a two part battle for lip syncing supremacy at the end of season one and they did not disappoint. Henson stole Round 1 with her performance of Mary J. Blige’s “Just Fine” - complete with a special appearance from the legendary singer - and she and Howard shined during their duet of "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp". However, it was Howard that ultimately walked away with the crown, with his performance of "Brick House", in all its funky glory, earning the most applause.
#6: Zoe Saldana vs. Zachary Quinto
Another Top 10 Best Lip Sync Battles
In this star-studded episode of “Lip Sync Battle”, Uhura and Spock...err, sorry, we mean Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto, squared off in an epic showdown worthy of their cinematic counterparts. The first round saw Quinto throwing it back to the early ‘90s, performing George Michael’s "Freedom! '90" - with Cindy Crawford reprising her role from the song’s iconic music video. Both actors kicked things up a notch in the second round, particularly Saldana, who performed “No Scrubs” with a little help from original TLC members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Is it lame of us to say that this episode was out of this world?
#5: Laverne Cox vs. Samira Wiley
Bragging rights were on the line when these two “Orange Is the New Black” co-stars faced off back in season three of “Lip Sync Battle”. While both Laverne Cox and Samira Wiley delivered solid performances in round one, we think it’s safe to say that Cox was firmly in the lead at the halfway mark of the show. However, round two saw Wiley pulling out all the stops, absolutely crushing a rendition of “O.P.P.” by Naughty by Nature. Cox tried to keep up with a solid Beyonce impersonation, performing “Lose My Breath” by Destiny’s Child, but it was too little too late.
#4: “Queer Eye”’s Fab Five
Top 10 Queer Eye Moments That Made Us Ugly Cry
The boys from “Queer Eye” kicked off season five of ‘Lip Sync Battle” with a bang, as the Fab 5 brought down the house with a rendition of “Grown Woman” by Beyonce during the first episode. But it’s when the boys split into teams and duked it out in an epic musical showdown that we’re concerned with here. Bobby Berk, Antoni Porowski, and Tan France were up first, and their performance of “Work Bitch” was 100% certified fierce. Next up was Karamo Brown and Jonathan Van Ness, who decided to show the world their version of “Telephone” by Lady Gaga. When “Queer Eye” ends, can these guys get their own variety show? Please? Pretty please?
#3: The Cast of “Stranger Things”
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While we’re still a little upset that Millie Bobby Brown didn’t appear in this episode, there’s no denying that Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin did a bang up job. As they were only given the opportunity to perform one song each, the Hawkins boys took a “go big or go home” approach. We seriously can’t get enough of Matarazzo’s version of “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” while Wolfhard’s “Buddy Holly” is spot-on. However, this episode was all about Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin. Schnapp was adorable dressed up like Mick Jagger and McLaughlin lit up the stage performing LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad”. McLaughlin ultimately took home the show’s top prize, and something tells us he’s never let his co-stars forget it.
#2: Anne Hathaway vs. Emily Blunt
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Emily Blunt played a major role in the creation of “Lip Sync Battle”, having helped her husband, John Krasinski, and actor Stephen Merchant come up with the idea during a brainstorming session. Unfortunately for her, this meant nothing when she went toe-to-toe with her “The Devil Wears Prada” co-star, Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway, in the show’s third ever episode. While Blunt’s version of "Piece of My Heart" gave us goosebumps, this was Hathaway’s show from start to finish. Her performance of “Love” by Mary J. Blige was nothing to scoff at, but it was her Miley Cyrus impression from the “Wrecking Ball” music video that truly whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Few “Lip Sync Battle” performances are remembered quite as fondly as this one. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Joel McHale vs. Jim Rash Amber Tamblyn vs. America Ferrera Uzo Aduba vs. Danielle Brooks Melanie Field vs. Brendan Scannell Josh Gad vs. Kaley Cuoco
#1: Tom Holland vs. Zendaya
Yet Another Top 10 Best Lip Sync Battles
Having met on the set of the superhero flick “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, it was only right that Tom Holland and Zendaya turn in a superhuman performance on “Lip Sync Battle”. Both had plenty of song and dance experience prior to appearing on the show, thanks to their theater and musical backgrounds. The two traded solid performances in round one, but things got cranked up to 11 in round two. Zendaya’s performance of “24K Magic” is spot on, and her uncanny resemblance to Bruno Mars definitely helps. However, it’s Holland who ultimately steals the show, thanks to his epic performance of Gene Kelly’s “Singin’ in the Rain”, which then seamlessly morphs into “Umbrella” by Rihanna. Holland’s moves are insane, and his total commitment deserves a standing ovation!
