Honestly, it’s hard to remember a time before every late-night host had a recurring segment involving celebrities making fools of themselves for clicks. But back in 2016 and 2017, Lip Sync Battle Season 3 was doing something different. It wasn't just a "segment" anymore. It had evolved into a full-blown cultural phenomenon that forced A-list actors to trade their dignity for a championship belt and a lot of glitter.
You remember the vibe. LL Cool J was presiding over everything like a hype-man king, and Chrissy Teigen was essentially the audience's inner monologue, reacting from behind her DJ booth. Season 3 was when the show really leaned into the "spectacle" over the "song." It wasn't just about moving your lips; it was about the budget, the backup dancers, and the sheer audacity of the casting.
The Night Tom Holland Broke the Internet
If we’re talking about Lip Sync Battle Season 3, we have to start with the umbrella in the room. Or rather, the "Umbrella."
Tom Holland vs. Zendaya.
Usually, these battles are fun but forgettable. This one? It’s basically etched into the permanent archives of pop culture. When Holland stepped out in that Rihanna-inspired corset and wig, people expected a joke. What they got was a masterclass in stagecraft. The flip? The practical rain? The fact that he actually out-danced most professional pop stars? It was wild. To this day, that clip generates millions of views because it captured a "pre-spoiler" era of Holland’s career where he was still proving he could carry a massive stage.
Zendaya’s Bruno Mars tribute was technically incredible, too. She had the swagger. She had the lip-sync timing down to a science. But Holland’s performance was a "moment." It shifted the show's gravity. After that episode, the stakes for the rest of the season felt impossibly high. You couldn't just stand there and mock-sing a rock ballad anymore. You had to bring a literal monsoon.
Behind the Scenes of the Lip Sync Battle Season 3 Production
People often ask if the celebrities actually pick their own songs. The answer is: mostly, yeah. But the production team, led by executive producers like Casey Patterson and John Krasinski (who helped conceive the bit on The Tonight Show), had to handle the logistical nightmare of licensing these tracks.
In Season 3, the clearance department was working overtime. Think about the variety we saw. We had the Stranger Things kids—Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp—going head-to-head in a chaotic four-way battle. Getting the rights to "Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting" and "Mama Said Knock You Out" for a bunch of pre-teens isn't just a phone call. It’s a legal marathon.
The show's choreographer, Danielle Flora, is the unsung hero here. She had to teach actors—some of whom had zero dance background—complex routines in a matter of days. In Season 3, the choreography became noticeably more aggressive. It wasn't just side-stepping. It was pyrotechnics and aerial work.
The Casting Genius of the Third Season
Variety was the name of the game. You had:
- Lupita Nyong’o doing "Whatta Man" and proving she has more comedic timing than she ever gets credit for.
- LaVar Ball (yes, really) taking on his son Lonzo.
- Uzo Aduba channeling her inner Sia.
- Skylar Astin vs. Metta World Peace, which is a pairing that could only happen in a fever dream or on Spike TV in 2017.
The beauty of the third season was the lack of "brand protection." These days, agents are so protective of a star's image. Back then, it felt like these celebs actually wanted to win the belt. There was a genuine competitive streak, especially in the episode where T-Pain went up against DeRay Davis. T-Pain doing "Sway" by Dean Martin was a legitimate vocal performance—well, a "lip" performance—that showed he actually understood the theatricality of the old school.
Why the Format Eventually Burned Out
Let’s be real. Lip Sync Battle Season 3 was the peak, but it also contained the seeds of why the show eventually faded.
The "wow" factor started to require more and more money. When you start with a guy in a Spider-Man suit dancing in the rain, where do you go for Season 4? You can't just have two sitcom actors doing "Don't Stop Believin'" in jeans anymore. The audience became desensitized to the spectacle.
Also, the "viral-first" nature of the show started to feel a bit manufactured. In the beginning, it felt like a party we were crashing. By the end of the third season, it felt like a series of meticulously planned PR moves. Every performance was designed to be a GIF. While that's great for social media metrics, it sometimes sucked the soul out of the "battle" aspect.
But looking back, the pure joy of seeing Ben Kingsley (not in Season 3, but you get the point) or someone of that caliber let loose was the draw. In Season 3, the standout "I can't believe they're doing this" moment was probably the Stranger Things cast. Seeing those kids, who were at the height of their initial fame, just being kids and arguing over a belt was wholesome in a way the show rarely was.
Notable Matchups You Probably Forgot
Everyone remembers Holland. But do you remember Nicole Richie vs. John Legend? Or Regina Hall vs. Lupita Nyong'o?
Regina Hall’s "Earned It" by The Weeknd was a masterclass in physical comedy. She managed to be both alluring and hilarious, which is a tightrope walk most actors fail. She understood that the secret to a great lip sync isn't just knowing the words—it's the facial expressions. It’s the way you hold the microphone.
And then there was the "Orange is the New Black" battle with Danielle Brooks and Uzo Aduba. That episode felt like a theater kid's dream. They weren't just "performing"; they were acting.
The Cultural Impact of the "Battle"
This show changed how we view celebrity accessibility. It broke the "untouchable" wall. It paved the way for TikTok challenges and the current era where celebrities have to be "relatable" or "game for anything" to stay relevant. Before this, you didn't see Oscar winners doing drag on cable TV for fun. Lip Sync Battle Season 3 made it a requirement for a certain type of stardom.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you're looking to revisit this era or if you're a content creator trying to capture that same "viral" lightning in a bottle, there are a few takeaways.
- Commitment is everything. The reason Tom Holland won the internet wasn't the costume; it was that he didn't wink at the camera. He performed it like he was at the Grammys. If you're doing something ridiculous, do it with 100% sincerity.
- Contrast sells. The best battles were the ones where the celebrity's persona didn't match the song choice. Seeing a rugged action star do a bubblegum pop song is inherently more interesting than a singer doing a song in their own genre.
- The "Live" Element. Even though the show was edited, it was filmed in front of a live audience. That energy is impossible to fake. If you're producing content, find ways to incorporate real-time reactions.
The legacy of Lip Sync Battle Season 3 isn't just a bunch of funny clips. It was a specific moment in time when TV and the internet shook hands and decided that watching famous people pretend to sing was the most entertaining thing on the planet. While the show eventually ran its course, that third season remains the definitive blueprint for how to do celebrity competition right.
If you want to re-watch the best moments, most of the Season 3 highlights are still officially available on the Paramount Network’s YouTube channel. It’s a fascinating time capsule of 2017's pop culture landscape—a time when we were all just waiting to see who would put on a wig next.