Top 10 Surprise Celeb Guests on Lip Sync Battle
#10: Nicole Scherzinger
In season three of “Lip Sync Battle,” “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland faced off against NBA player DeAndre Jordan. Each contestant sang two songs, with Hyland capping off her appearance with a performance of “Don’t Cha” by The Pussycat Dolls. Flanked by a crew of backup dancers, Hyland put on quite the show, steaming up the stage with a downright sexy performance. Just when the audience thought it couldn’t get any hotter, who should appear but Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls herself! As she and Hyland finished the song together, all DeAndre Jordan could do was look on in disbelief. Suffice it to say, Hyland walked away victorious.
#9: Paula Abdul
To kick off season two, Channing Tatum battled his wife, actress and dancer Jenna Dewan. The competition ended in a tie, partly because both parties brought a celebrity guest to help them out – more on that in a minute. For her first song, Dewan performed “Cold Hearted” by Paula Abdul and boy did she ever use every tool in her arsenal. Dewan’s dancing roots were on full display, as she absolutely nailed the routine. However, the performance got turned up to 11 when Dewan was joined on stage by Abdul, who clearly hasn’t lost a step since dropping “Cold Hearted” on the world in 1989.
#8: Mary J. Blige
Top 10 Times The Mary Tyler Moore Show Tackled Serious Issues
To cap off season one, Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson did battle in a two-part episode, which featured both actors impersonating a slew of iconic musical artists. In “Part 1,” Henson delivered an earth-shattering version of Mary J. Blige’s 2007 hit single “Just Fine.” Dressed in all black and rocking a blonde wig (just like Blige did in the music video), Henson absolutely killed it. However, the crowd was justifiably stunned when Blige appeared on stage with Henson to finish off the track. How Henson didn’t walk away with the crown in this battle we will never understand.
#7: Backstreet Boys
In this season two battle, model Gigi Hadid went toe-to-toe with “Teen Wolf” actor Tyler Posey. After a spirited rendition of “That's Not My Name” by The Ting Tings, Hadid went for the jugular, dropping an epic impersonation of the Backstreet Boys’ 1999 smash hit “Larger than Life.” With the crowd already going nuts, A.J. McLean and Nick Carter emerged from out of nowhere to help Hadid bring the performance home. Both Backstreet Boys members did their best to whip the crowd into an even bigger frenzy and all but solidified the win for Hadid. Our only beef: that the rest of the Boys weren’t there as well. C’est la vie.
#6: TLC
Top 10 Behind the Scenes Secrets About Lip Sync Battle
One of the best things about “Lip Sync Battle” is that it pits celebrity friends against each other in a competition of epic, if somewhat goofy, proportions. Take this season two episode, in which friends and “Star Trek” co-stars Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto clashed in a battle that featured multiple celebrity guest surprises. To cap off her appearance, Saldana decided to perform “No Scubs” by TLC. Honestly, she would have probably beaten Quinto even if she hadn’t been joined on stage by the two surviving members of the girl group, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Saldana was nothing short of brilliant, but in the end, she still paid her respects to her musical idols, bowing down before them at the end of her performance.
#5: Stevie Wonder
Top 10 David & Stevie Moments on Schitt's Creek
For its 2016 live special, “Lip Sync Battle” highlighted the lip-syncing talents of Terry Crews, Olivia Munn, Michael Phelps and John Legend. The special featured a handful of surprise appearances, though none were quite as surprising as when musical icon Stevie Wonder joined John Legend on stage for a performance of OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” The two legends (no pun intended), delivered a pitch perfect rendition of the classic 2000s track, even nailing the outfits seen in the song’s music video – which was based on The Beatles 1964 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Legend’s André 3000 is spot on, but it’s Wonder who garners the most praise at the end of the performance; and deservedly so!
#4: Mariah Carey
In season five, duel triple threats Darren Criss and long-time Mariah Carey collaborator Jermaine Dupri teamed up to give “Lip Sync Battle” fans a Mariah Carey Tribute for the ages. They performed a trio of iconic Carey tracks, including “Heartbreaker,” “Shake It Off” and “Emotions.” For “Emotions,” Criss and Dupri performed together, which was already a pretty big surprise for audience members. However, they nearly blew the roof off the building when they dropped a giant white curtain to reveal the Queen herself sitting on a giant pink and white swing! Carey may not have done much, but the excitement in the building was palpable none the less.
#3: Christina Aguilera
In this season two battle, perennial TV stars Eva Longoria and Hayden Panettiere squared off in a “Lip Sync Battle” that will not soon be forgotten. Both women started off strong with renditions of “Low” by Flo Rida and “One Way or Another” by Blondie, respectively. However, round two saw both of them taking it to a whole notha’ level. While Longoria’s version of “Anaconda” was amazing, we simply can’t get enough of Panettiere’s performance of “Lady Marmalade” - probably because Christina Aguilera joined her on stage halfway through and straight up stole the show. Aguilera went all out for her performance - shaking her hair, dropping it low and even caressing Panettiere’s legs! We’re speechless.
#2: Jennifer Lopez
Top 10 Funniest Jennifer Aniston Bloopers on Friends
We’re going all the way back to season one, episode four for this one! During a battle with “Lip Sync Battle” co-creator John Krasinski, Anna Kendrick decided she was playing for keeps. After a spirited rendition of “Steal My Girl” by One Direction, Kendrick brought out the big guns. The petite actress decided to tackle “Booty” by Jennifer Lopez - and boy did she ever nail it! The look on Krasinski’s face as Kendrick struts onto the dancefloor says a thousand words but is nothing compared to the look he sports when J-Lo emerges from backstage and joins Kendrick for the end of the performance. It was the first time the show featured a celebrity guest surprise and the crowd was understandably shocked. Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions: Bell Biv Devoe Cindy Crawford Nelly Ma$e Meghan Trainor
#1: Beyoncé
“Lip Sync Battle” has had a ton of awesome celebrity guest surprises, though none have been bigger than this one. For years, the show’s executive producer Casey Patterson had been trying to get Beyoncé to make an appearance, but to no avail. However, when Channing Tatum said he wanted to use “Run the World (Girls)” for one of his performances, Patterson knew that this was her chance to land Queen B. The audience, not to mention Jenna Dewan, Chrissy Teigen and LL Cool J, were justifiably flummoxed when Tatum emerged in full Beyoncé regalia. However, nothing could have prepared them for what was about to come next: Queen B herself! The image of Tatum and Beyoncé dancing side by side will never, EVER, get old!
