Hosted by LL Cool J with colorful commentary provided by Chrissy Teigen, Lip Sync Battle is the perfect show to turn to lift your spirits — or to keep them up when you’re already having a great day. Watching those famous faces act a fool while lip syncing, it’s absolute perfection when the best Lip Sync Battle performances get underway.
With a few seasons now, it’s easy to judge who’s been the best and well, who’s been the worst. We’re not here to focus on the celebrities who let us down. No way, we don’t have time for that kind of negativity. we’re here to note the best Lip Sync Battle performances of all time. We’re talking about Justin Bieber, the kids from Stranger Things, Julianne Hough and many, many more.
17. Tom Holland
It’d be embarrassing to say how many times I’ve watched Tom Holland dance to Rihanna‘s “Umbrella” on Lip Sync Battle. Quite possibly more times than I’ve seen the actual music video. His performance on this show was the ONLY reason I even bought a ticket to Spider-Man: Homecoming so it looks like the publicity worked. Who knew he’d look so good in drag?
Watch it here!
16. Zachary Quinto
To celebrate the release of one of the many Star Trek movies, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto went head to head. Quinto had jaws on the floor (especially LL’s) when he came in from the ceiling sporting his Missy Elliot best for “Get Ur Freak On.” We still can’t believe he didn’t win! Granted, Zoe had her own secret weapons that we’ll be talking about in just a moment…
Watch it here!
15. Zoe Saldana
Okay, we can’t just walk away from that episode because while Quinto was great, Zoe Saldana was even better. Homegirl brought out T-Boz and Chili for TLC‘s “No Scrubs.” Not to mention Zoe was a picture perfect Left Eye in that silver attire and wacky hair. Name a more iconic trio.
14. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Watch it here!
There was no denying that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was going to take down Anthony Mackie in Lip Sync Battle. I mean, he came out in full “Rhythm Nation” garb. He had everyone pretty much believing he was Janet Jackson reincarnated by the end of it! Boy was dedicated to the max and everyone was obsessed.
Watch it here!
13. Julianne Hough
What made Julianne Hough’s performance on Lip Sync Battle so immaculate was that she was really stoked to be on the show. One can assume she’d wanted to participate since the segment took off The Tonight Show. So when she stepped on that stage she killed with “I Just Had Sex” by The Lonely Island, it was pretty perfect. What was also perfect was her brother, Derek Hough‘s disturbed reaction.
Watch it here!
12. Gigi Hadid
Personally, anyone could have performed with Backstreet Boys and I would’ve placed it on the best Lip Sync Battle performances list. Gigi Hadid lived out the dream of every fan girl alive in 1999 when she got to perform with this iconic boy band. Even die-hard *NSYNC fans probably would’ve jumped at the opportunity. Well, maybe.
Watch it here!
11. Shaquille O’Neal
Let’s just be real. Seeing a man that size lip sync “Love Shack” by The B-52‘s was something we didn’t know we needed in our lives until it happened. To top it off he also did “Maniac” in full ’80s attire. Yes, yes, yes. He committed and that’s 90% of what makes these Lip Sync Battles so good.
Watch it here!
10. John Krasinski
We really have John Krasinski to partially thank for Lip Sync Battle in the first place. Of course, Jimmy Fallon we thank because it’s his show, but it was John’s Boyz II Men performance that made the segment really hit that viral level. He was great then and he was just as good when he came by to perform Tina Turner‘s “Proud Mary.” He lost to Anna Kendrick but it was pretty fair considering the Pitch Perfect star did bring out Jennifer Lopez.
Watch it here!
9. Jenna Dewan-Tatum
We’ve seen what Channing Tatum had to offer in Magic Mike, but dare we say his wife was even better? Her “Pony” routine was absolute fire and watching Channing go crazy over it was even funnier. This one might be the most iconic lip sync battle performance of all time, but you can choose for yourself.
Watch it here!
8. Katherine McPhee
Speaking of fire performances… we needed an extinguisher after this American Idol contestant’s Jason Derulo impression. The best part was that she was actually up against Jason that night! For those of you who thought she was going to be basic and lip sync some cliche soccer mom song, she proved you WRONG and did quite the opposite.
Watch it here!
7. Taye Diggs
By the third season, you’d think LL Cool J would be done being surprised with some of this show’s absurdity. But, nope. When Taye Diggs came out in Madonna‘s iconic cone-bra for “Vogue,” he lost it. Granted, we did too — but still! LL looked like Steve Harvey does anytime one of those families say a ridiculous answer on Family Feud.
Watch it here!
6. Anne Hathaway
Once upon a time, the world kind of hated on Anne Hathaway. Maybe it was because she came off as snooty at awards shows? We’re not really sure why considering her body of work is A+ materal — this Lip Sync Battle included. If nothing else, her performance proved without a shadow of a doubt that she was not as “snooty” as some were led to believe. She was as far from stuck up as possible with this Miley Cyrus parody.
Watch it here!
5. Cassadee Pope
For those that had no idea who Cassadee Pope was before she won The Voice, let us clue you in. She was in a little pop-punk band called Hey Monday and they toured with the likes of Fall Out Boy. Many thought she’d lost her harder roots when she went country. But nah, she proved she still had some ~scene~ left in her when she brought out Panic! at the Disco‘s Brendon Urie for “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” A classic.
Watch it here!
4. Justin Bieber
Love him, hate him, who cares? The boy can throw down when it comes to Lip Sync Battle. I mean, he didn’t win while up against Deion Sanders‘ Madonna but he put up a good fight. Who knew he had some Ozzy Osbourne up his sleeves? It’s extra funny considering Ozzy once infamously said he has no clue who JB even was…
Watch it here!
3. Don Cheadle
We can see why Don Cheadle is a critically acclaimed actor. He should’ve won an Emmy for this performance of the iconic ’90s hit “Mo Money Mo Problems,” TBH. Everything was on point from the shiny suit to Ma$e joining him on stage. Again, Emmy worthy right there. It’s no wonder the video is slowly creeping up to one million views on YouTube.
Watch it here!
2. Stranger Things Cast
It’s honestly scary how multi-talented every single Stranger Things star really is. All four of the boys from this Netflix hit came by Lip Sync Battle for an epic battle. Each had one chance to win over the crowd and while every one tried their very best, Caleb McLaughlin pulled out LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad,” so he had to win.
Watch it here!
1. Channing Tatum
Channing Tatum could have come out, done his Magic Mike routine and called it a day. Why take the easy route to the winner’s circle though? Channing went above and beyond to take the crown. First, he made us laugh (and cry) performing “Let It Go” from Frozen. Then he made everyone lose their freaking minds when Beyoncé joined him for “Run the World (Girls).” He wasn’t exactly pretty, but he was hilarious.
Watch it here!