Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Spike has a huge hit with ‘Lip Sync Battle’
Lauren Cohan and Sonequa Martin-Green may be known for killing zombies in AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” but the actresses are killin’ it on another cable channel this week. As survivors of a zombie apocalypse in the AMC drama, they have each other’s backs, but now they’re going head to head.
Instead of battling the undead, they battle each other for bragging rights as they compete in an all-new “Lip Sync Battle,” airing Thursday, March 31, on Spike. The actresses try to outdo each other as they lip sync to popular songs in the hit series spawned by Jimmy Fallon. Filmed in October, the episode prompted Martin-Green to boast that it was going to be #thebesttimeever! on her Instagram account.
A word to the wise: do yourself a favor and tune in an hour early to see one of the most memorable lip sync battles in the show’s history as Spike rebroadcasts the season 2 premiere, featuring Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike,” 2012) versus his real-life wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum (“Step Up,” 2006). She rocked the house with her best Magic Mike moves to Ginuwine’s “Pony,” but it was her hubby who brought the house — and Internet — down with his rendition of “Run the World (Girls),” thanks to a very special appearance by Queen Bey herself, Beyoncé. She performed alongside a booty short-clad, blond-wigged Tatum, much to viewers’ delight.
The Tatum faceoff quickly went viral, as so many of the battles do, which is one of the things that makes “Lip Sync Battle” such a hot commodity for Spike. The episode garnered more than 50 million video streams, which contributed to the over half a billion streams of clips from the show since it premiered last April. It was no surprise when the channel announced that the show had been renewed for a third season a mere two weeks into season 2.
“’Lip Sync Battle’ is a multiplatform pop culture phenomenon that has played an integral role in delivering a new and broader audience to Spike,” said Spike executive Kevin Kay in the renewal announcement in January.
It all began — as awesome things often do — with Jimmy Fallon (“Saturday Night Live”). Actually, it was actor John Krasinski (“The Office”) who first brought the idea to Fallon, who, in turn, developed it into a recurring segment, first on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” and later “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” The premise is simple: two celebrities engage in two rounds of epic lip sync competition and the winner is determined by the studio audience.
The battles on Fallon’s shows have featured such celebrities as Lena Dunham (“Girls”), Will Ferrell (“Elf,” 2003) and Paul Rudd (“Ant Man,” 2015). Audience reaction was so positive, Krasinski and the game’s co-creator, Stephen Merchant (“Hello Ladies”), pitched the idea for a full-length series to NBC, USA Network and Bravo, but they all passed.
Luckily, Spike saw the show’s potential and it’s been a huge win for the cable channel. Hosted by legendary rapper-turned-actor LL Cool J (“NCIS: Los Angeles”), the standalone version of “Lip Sync Battle” has been a huge boon for the network as the most-watched original series in its history, with many episodes attracting more than two million live viewers, not to mention online views. Social media-savvy supermodel Chrissy Teigen serves as the show’s color commentator, adding even more flavor.
The original version of the show is now seen in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide and has inspired international adaptations such as “Lip Sync Battle: Face à Face” on Canada’s French channel MusiquePlus/V, “Lip Sync Battle UK,” “Lip Sync Chile” and “Lip Sync Battle Philippines,” as well as Chinese, Polish and Indonesian versions. There’s even a “Lip Sync Battle Africa” in the works.
It seems everyone wants a piece of the lip sync action, and one of the reasons could be that viewers get to see celebrities as they never have before. The no-holds-barred competition allows stars to perform and have fun without the pressure of trying to get “exposure” or selling their next movie or project. It looks like the participants are genuinely having fun in “Lip Sync Battle” as they try to outdo each other with their moves, facial expressions, outrageous costumes and more.
So far, this season of the Spike series has featured high-profile faceoffs between Josh Gad (“The Comedians”) and Kaley Cuoco (“The Big Bang Theory”); Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson (both from “Black-ish”); and Eva Longoria (“Desperate Housewives”) and Hayden Panettiere (“Nashville”).
No stars have been announced for “Lip Sync Battle’s” third season, but we do know it will consist of 20 halfhour episodes, which will tape later this year. A premiere date for season 3 hasn’t been announced yet, but, for now, enjoy the last episodes of season 2, beginning with the Cohan/ Martin-Green matchup, airing Thursday, March 31, on Spike.