Last night, Spike TV premiered a new “competition” series hosted by LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen, Lip Sync Battle, where musicians, actors, and celebrities alike sang along karaoke-style to some of the most popular songs of our day. And by “sang along karaoke-style,” I mean “do the awkward soft shoe and saing like nobody’s business.” The “undercard” (first episode) had Jimmy Fallon lose to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but it was the main event that fully caught my attention.
John Legend squared off against Common in the second episode, and after Com sang the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” John Legend – with fake grill and “old man in the club” dance moves – busted out Soulja Slim’s opening verse on on Juvenile’s “Slow Motion.
Things got even more crazier, as Common performed Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” as his second song, coming out in a Jheri Curl wig and at one point breaking into a backspin mid-song. No, seriously:
Then John Legend came out to MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” and did the most off-beat Running Man I’ve ever seen.
Surprisingly, this was one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen this week. The complete irony that something of this nature is on Spike TV and not any channel with the word “Music” in its title (ahem) isn’t lost on me, however. Lip Sync Battle, you have a fan.
