Lip Sync Battle

Lip Sync Battle is an American musical reality competition television series which premiered on April 2, 2015, on Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John Krasinski, in which celebrities battle each other with lip sync performances. The idea was first a recurring segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon before being developed into a separate show.

Lip Sync Battle
Logo of the first three seasons
Genre	Reality competition
Created by	John Krasinski Stephen Merchant
Directed by	Beth McCarthy-Miller
Presented by	LL Cool J Chrissy Teigen
Theme music composer	Marc Bolan Robert Ginyard
Opening theme	"20th Century Boy" performed by T. Rex (seasons 1-3) "It Takes Two" performed by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock (season 4-present)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	91 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	John Krasinski Jimmy Fallon David Larzelere Stephen Merchant Casey Patterson Jay Peterson Rick Schwartz
Producer	LL Cool J
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	23 minutes
Production companies	Eight Million Plus Productions Matador Content Sunday Night Four Eyes Entertainment Casey Patterson Entertainment
Release
Original network	Paramount Network[1]
Picture format	HDTV 1080i
Original release	April 2, 2015 – present
Chronology
Related shows	Lip Sync Battle Shorties
External links
Website

The premiere episode was the highest-rated premiere in Spike's history. Lip Sync Battle has been a hit show for the network. The series' success has led to the creation of various international adaptations. In August 2018, the show was renewed for a fifth season which premiered on January 17, 2019.

On September 22, 2020, it was announced that the series would move to another ViacomCBS network as part of the Paramount Network's upcoming shift to movies.[2]

Overview

Lip Sync Battle debuted on the American cable network Spike, on Thursday April 2, 2015.[3] It is produced by John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant and hosted by rapper and actor LL Cool J.[4][5] Model Chrissy Teigen serves as color commentator.

The show is a spin-off of a bit first introduced on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Merchant, Krasinski and Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt, were brainstorming ideas for Krasinski's upcoming appearance on Late Night when the idea took shape.[6] Jimmy Fallon then developed it into a recurring segment on his show. The game pits two celebrities against each other in a lip syncing battle for two rounds with the crowd determining the winner of the battle after both rounds have been completed. The winner is presented with a Lip Sync Battle belt reminiscent of the WCW Television Championship title belt.

In 2014, Merchant, Krasinski and Fallon pitched the show to NBC. The network passed on the show as NBC felt that the pitch lacked sufficient development to merit a separate show. NBC's cable channels USA Network and Bravo also passed.[6] The competition series was eventually picked up by Spike cable channel, which was in the process of rebranding. "Part of what I wanted to do with Lip Sync Battle is increase co-viewing, but also add diversity to the network," said Kevin Kay, the president of the network.[7]

Lip Sync Battle has been a major success for Spike. With 2.2 million viewers, its series premiere was the highest-rated non-scripted premiere in Spike's history.[8] Kay described the show as "a television and viral rock star for Spike."[9] The show was renewed for a second season on April 22, 2015, with the network ordering 20 new episodes.[9]

The show continued to deliver high ratings. In January 2016, the network renewed the series for a third season consisting of another 20 episodes. "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 Kevin Kay, the president of the network.[10]

In July 2016, the show received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Structured Reality Program category.[11]

In 2017, it was announced that the show would air a live hour-long special (Lip Sync Battle Live: A Michael Jackson Celebration) on January 18, 2018, in honor of the relaunch of Spike as Paramount Network. Neil Patrick Harris, Taraji P. Henson and Hailee Steinfeld were announced as the first set of performers in January 2018 for the Michael Jackson-themed special, which originated from the Dolby Theatre and also included a presentation from Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas residency Michael Jackson: One.[12] On August 22, 2018, the show was renewed for a fifth season consisting of 12 episodes that premiered on January 17, 2019.[13]

Episodes

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	18		April 2, 2015	August 20, 2015
	Christmas			November 19, 2015
	2	21		January 7, 2016	June 23, 2016
	Live			September 11, 2016
	3	24		October 12, 2016	July 19, 2017
	Hip Hop			October 10, 2017
	Soul Train			November 25, 2017
	Michael Jackson			January 18, 2018
	4	17		January 25, 2018	October 29, 2018
	5	13		January 17, 2019	June 27, 2019

Reception

Critical response

Josef Adalian writing for Vulture noted the show's success by saying that Lip Sync Battle is "looking like a legitimate hit, both on TV and online." He also added that the show's creators "opted not to impose artificial demographic targets. They also went out of their way not to futz up the very simple premise that worked so well on Fallon’s late-night shows."[14] Amy Amatangelo of The Hollywood Reporter said that the debut of the show "had moments of great fun," although she added that the series "still seems like it is better suited as an interlude on The Tonight Show," and that "some things are better in small doses."[15] Adelle Platon of Vibe wrote that the show "is a welcome break from other singing shows crowding primetime," also adding that "with the in-house crowd serving as judges, the spirit of competition between both parties makes it a fun-for-all".[16] Emily Yahr from The Washington Post was more negative towards the show by saying that "taking out all the spontaneity and replacing it with the cheesy-slick production values of an American Idol group medley, Lip Sync Battle will probably wear out its welcome soon."[17]

Ratings

The series premiere of Lip Sync Battle delivered 2.2 million total viewers via Nielsen ratings, including a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is the most important to advertisers. The episode notched the largest viewership for an unscripted series debut in the network's history and the largest average audience in the slot in more than eight years.[18][19] The total audience for the first several episodes of the show, including DVR replays and multiple reruns, has climbed past 15 million television viewers. Spike has also stated that various performance clips from the first three half-hour episodes of the show had already generated nearly 100 million online streams, as of April 2015.[14]

In Australia, the series premiere scored 1.124 million viewers in preliminary overnight viewership, making it the fourth most-watched program on free-to-air television for the evening.[20][21] The second episode the following week scored 1.087 million preliminary overnight viewers and ranked the fifth-highest-rated program on free-to-air television of the night.[22] This success has led to suggestions by commentators that a local adaption could be imminent.[23]

International versions

Country	Title	Network	Host	Premiere
MENA	Lip Sync Battle Bel Arabi ليب سينك باتل بالعربي	MBC 1	Abdallah Al-Nasr	March 20, 2017
Canada ( Quebec)	Lip Sync Battle: Face à Face[24]	MusiquePlus/V	Joel Legendre Marie-Soleil Dion	October 2, 2015
Chile	Lip Sync Chile[25]	TVN	Karen Doggenweiler	July 6, 2015
China	Lip Sync Battle Chinese: 对口型大作战	Shenzhen TV/Sohu	Nic Li Yu Shasha	January 29, 2016
Hungary	Playback párbaj	RTL Spike/RTL Klub	Laci Gáspár Zsófi Szabó	December 2, 2016[26]
Indonesia	Celebrity Lip Sync Battle[27]	NET.	Ananda Omesh	October 12, 2015
India	Lip Sing Battle[28]	Star Plus	Farah Khan	September 16, 2017
Lebanon	Lip Sync Battle Waleha[29]	LBCI	Dolly Ayash Tarek Abou Jaoude	April 16, 2016
Morocco	Lip Sync Battle Maroc	Al Aoula	Ali Mesbahi	November 26, 2019
Mexico	Lip Sync Mexico[30]	Comedy Central/Azteca 7	Nicky Jam Adriana Ron Pedrique	July 6, 2016
Panama	Lip Sync Battle Panamá	TVMax	Ingrid De Ycaza Miguel Oyola Franklyn Robinson	July 28, 2016
Peru	Los reyes del playback[31]	Latina	Cristian Rivero Jesús Alzamora Jazmín Pinedo	February 15, 2016
Philippines	Lip Sync Battle Philippines[32]	GMA Network	Michael V. Iya Villania	February 27, 2016
Poland	Lip Sync Battle. Ustawka[33]	player.pl	Natalia Jakuła Piotr Kędzierski	January 27, 2016
Portugal	Lip Sync Portugal – Playback Total	SIC	César Mourão João Manzarra	January 13, 2019
South Africa	Lip Sync Battle Africa[34]	MTV Africa e.tv	Pearl Thusi D'Banj	April 14, 2016
Russia	Kings of Lip Sync[35][com 1]	Channel One Russia	Pavel Priluchnyy Yana Koshkina	September 16, 2017
Thailand	Lip Sync Battle Thailand[36]	ONE HD 31 (Season 1) GMM 25 (Season 2)	Niti Chaichitathorn Panisara Arayasakul (Season 1) Thanakrit Panichwit (Season 2)	July 17, 2017
Ukraine	Lip Sync Battle Ukraine[37]	1+1	TBA	TBA
United Kingdom	Lip Sync Battle UK[38]	Channel 5	Mel B Professor Green	January 8, 2016
Vietnam	Kỳ Phùng Địch Thủ – Lip Sync Battle[39]	HTV7	Vân Sơn Ngọc Trinh Trấn Thành	August 6, 2016

Spin-off

A one-hour special hosted by Sarah Hyland aired on Nickelodeon on December 11, 2016 (followed by a repeat airing on Spike on December 14).[40] In March 2017, a series order was announced for the kid-centered spinoff.[41] In August 2017, it was announced that Nick Cannon would be replacing Sarah Hyland as the host and that JoJo Siwa would be joining him as his sidekick on Lip Sync Battle Shorties, which was expected to premiere in early 2018.[42]

See also

• Great Pretenders
• Lip Service

Notes

1. Plywood is a Russian slang term for "lip-sync record".

References

1. Known as Spike until the Soul Train special, including the first 3 seasons. The first episode broadcast as Paramount Network was the Michael Jackson special.
2. White, Peter (2020-09-22). "Paramount Network To Rebrand As Paramount Movie Network; Focus On Television Movies, Cancels Non-Scripted Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
3. "Lip Sync Battle – Overview". Zap2it. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
4. Goldberg, Lesley (March 3, 2015). "Spike TV Rebrands, Inks Deal With Dwayne Johnson". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
5. "Lip Sync Battle – Episode Guide". TV Guide. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
6. Rose, Lacey (May 8, 2015). "How NBC Passed on Jimmy Fallon's 'Lip Sync Battle' and Gave Spike a Hit Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
7. Ross, L.A. (April 16, 2015). "How Jimmy Fallon's 'Lip Sync Battle' Launched SpikeTV's Rebrand: 'Right Swing at Right Moment'". The Wrap. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
8. Kuperberg, Jonathan (April 3, 2015). "'Lip Sync Battle' Breaks Ratings Records for Spike". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
9. Kenneally, Tim (April 22, 2015). "'Lip Sync Battle' Renewed for Season 2 by Spike TV". The Wrap. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
10. Porter, Rick (January 19, 2016). "'Lip Sync Battle' renewed for Season 3 on Spike". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
11. Craddock, Lauren (July 14, 2016). "Emmy-Nominated 'Lip Sync Battle': The 7 Best Battles (So Far)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
12. "'Lip Sync Battle LIVE' announces first three celebrities for Michael Jackson celebration". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
13. Petski, Denise (August 22, 2018). "'Lip Sync Battle' Renewed For Season 5 By Paramount Network". Deadline. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
14. Adalian, Josef (April 16, 2015). "How Spike's Lip Sync Battle Became Such a Stunning Success". Vulture. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
15. Amatangelo, Amy (April 3, 2015). "'Lip Sync Battle': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
16. Platon, Adelle (April 3, 2015). "Review: Spike TV's 'Lip Sync Battle' Is Worth Every Note". Vibe. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
17. Yahr, Emily (April 7, 2015). "'Lip Sync Battle': Aw, isn't it so cuuute when celebrities goof around? Ugh, enough!". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
18. Kenneally, Tim (April 3, 2015). "'Lip Sync Battle' Premiere Delivers Ratings Record for Spike". The Wrap. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
19. de Moraes, Lisa (April 8, 2015). "'Lip Sync Battle' Scores Live+3 Ratings Victory". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
20. Knox, David (June 30, 2015). "Q & A wins timeslot on strong night for ABC". TV Tonight. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
21. Knox, David (June 30, 2015). "Monday 29 June 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
22. Knox, David (July 7, 2015). "Monday 6 July 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
23. Knox, David (July 7, 2015). "1.09m viewers….. should Nine produce a local Lip Sync Battle?". TV Tonight. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
24. "Lip Sync Battle Face a Face: animé par Joel Legendre" (in French). MusiquePlus. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
25. "Batalla de famosos" (in Spanish). Televisión Nacional de Chile. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
26. winnie (November 4, 2016). "Hírpéntek – Workaholics-kasza!". Sorozatjunkie. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
27. "Indonesian version of Lip Sync Battle" (in Indonesian). NET. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
28. "Lip Sing Battle New Show On Star Plus". filmymama.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
29. "Lebanese version of Lip Sync Battle -first episode" (in Arabic). LBCI. April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
30. "Mexican version of Lip Sync Battle" (in Spanish). Comedy Central. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
31. "Los Reyes del Playback". Los Reyes del Playback (in Spanish).
32. "Lip Sync Battle Asia to be aired via GMA". Adobo Magazine. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
33. Slowik, Adriana (November 17, 2015). ""Lip Sync Battle Ustawka". Nowe show platformy player.pl". Telemagazyn (in Polish). Retrieved February 6, 2016.
34. "SA's getting its very own Lip Sync Battle TV show soon!". Channel24. February 9, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
35. Clancy, Michelle (September 5, 2017). "Channel One Russia". Rapid TV. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
36. Clancy, Michelle (March 31, 2017). "Viacom brings Lip Sync Battle to Thailand, Russia". Rapid TV. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
37. "Телеканал "1+1" работает над новым звездным развлекательным шоу пародий". ТСН.ua (in Russian). 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
38. Lee, Ben (August 3, 2015). "A UK version of Lip Sync Battle is coming to Channel 5". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
39. "Lộ ảnh hậu trường, Ngọc Trinh sắp "công phá" sóng truyền hình với vai trò host" (in Vietnamese). Retrieved June 30, 2016.
40. Stone, Natalie (November 17, 2016). "Mic Drop! Sarah Hyland to Host Lip Sync Battle Shorties". People. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
41. Littleton, Cynthia (March 2, 2017). "'Lip Sync Battle Shorties' Grabs Series Order From Nickelodeon". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
42. Petski, Denise (August 1, 2017). "Nick Cannon to Host "Lip Sync Battle Shorties" on Nickelodeon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Lip Sync Battle at IMDb
• Lip Sync Battle at TV Guide