We’re in week three of Spike TV’s biggest hit ever, and Lip Sync Battle isn’t losing any momentum. This episode brings executive producer John Krasinski in against little Anna Kendrick, which means Vulture is back again for our post-match analysis of who lip-synced it best. Was John Krasinski’s cross-dressing performance as Tina Turner enough to beat Anna Kendrick? Roll the tapes!
Battle 1: John Krasinski’s “Bye Bye Bye” vs. Anna Kendrick’s “Steal My Girl”
Anna Kendrick knows how to build a performance and embody a character. You can see it even in this somewhat subdued performance of One Direction’s “Steal My Girl.” That said, the entire performance is really all about the joke that she’s stealing Krasinski’s wife Emily Blunt, which is fine, but the best way to dis someone in a lip-sync battle is to win it. Krasinski, meanwhile, hits allll the millennial nostalgia buttons by choosing ‘N Sync’s “Bye Bye Bye,” including an excellent reference to the marionette sequence at the beginning of the video. Sure, I would have liked to have seen him hit the hand-quacking sequence a little harder, but this is boy-band beauty, and we can see the Tiger Beats now.
Winner: John Krasinski
Battle 2: John Krasinski’s “Proud Mary” vs. Anna Kendrick’s “Booty”
The irony about Krasinski’s performance is that it’s disappointing once he makes the big “reveal.” Ripping off your breakaway suit to reveal a silver fringe dress underneath is a great stunt, but if you can’t actually embody the performance, then you’re just a man in a dress. Anna Kendrick is a firecracker, and she actually seems to go into the zone here. As such, Kendrick delivered what is one of the tightest lip-sync performances yet both in terms of precision and choreography. She hits all her marks, and more important, it feels like a diva just stepped onto the stage. J.Lo strutting out at the end capped off what was already a win.
Winner: Anna Kendrick
While John Krasinski acquitted himself well with both performances, what matters is how high the highs are, and Anna Kendrick was mean and impressive. She could definitely make it as a K-Pop star if she wanted.
