Hollywood's Relationship with Lip Sync Battle

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen:

It is no coincidence that John Legend appeared on the show with his wife Chrissy Teigen, who is the DJ/Host on the show. Legend is a very successful musician, but his acting chops were not strong enough for Lip Sync Battle and his appearance on the show was a little flat - after all he is a singer, pretending to be - you guessed it - a singer, albeit a caricature of a singer. Similarly, Chrissy Teigen is a beautiful model with Sports Illustrated credits and has appeared in her husband's All Of Me music video. Teigen's TV experience has been limited and in this show, it appears she may be uncomfortable in the her role as DJ without any real responsibility as she doesn't actually perform any function other than to talk to LL Cool J and hold up the winners belt, which looks much like a WWE wrestling belt, only flashier (if that is possible) LL Cool J introduces Teigen and reads some scripted jokes from the teleprompter, "Chrissy Teigen has a degree in shopping," Teigen responds with "Yes, that's true," but you feel that Teigen just set herself, and women everywhere, back by fifty years. Sadly it doesn't stop there, Teigen tries to hold it together but takes five takes to record one short line of dialog from the teleprompter, showing that she just recognized the rampant misogyny in TV production in New York City and she felt utterly powerless to respond.

Big Celebrities On The Show:

In an effort to boost ratings (and the chance that the show will be picked up) Merchant, Krasinski, Blunt and Fallon have all signed on to do actual appearances on the show, with the hope that as the show becomes more mainstream celebrities reps will allow their more famous clients on the show. The show has experienced the problem that many new shows have at getting A-list stars on the show at the start of their run. For example, in the signing competition show genre, American Idol and The Voice weren't able to garner any serious celebrity endorsement (other than the hosts) until their 3rd season. The talent booker at Lip Sync Battle probably has the hardest job in town, but they probably do have access to Blunt's, Fallon's, Merchant's and Krasinski's Rolodex.

Comparison To The Lip Sync Battle On Fallon's Tonight Show:

The Lip Sync Battle show fails to capture the luster of the original bits on YouTube that were shot on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, that included Paul Rudd, Emma Stone, John Krasinski and Joseph Gordon Levitt. It was those bits that captured over 40 million views per video and the interest of the nation at large. Fallon and his featured guests made audiences wide-eyed with glee, whereas Spike TV's show is merely mildly interesting. It is clear that Spike TV executives on the show do not yet grasp that actors work the best in the role, as lip-syncing is actually acting. Actors actually take time to memorize the lyrics of the song and will then develop an impromptu dance routine to match, which makes the segment both hilarious and compelling. Non-actors tend to baulk at the challenge.

The Best Audience Seats In The Studio:

This TV show is shot in studio 3C, which is on the third floor of the Paramount ABC studios at 320 W. 66th street in New York City. The studio is only served by two elevators so getting in and out of the studio is slow. There are three main areas in this TV studio that the audience can be in during the recording. The areas are the: the main floor, the balcony are the rear seats. Standing on the main floor in front of the stage is where all the fun is. Standing on the side balconies has a better view, but a little further back from the stage. Sitting in the seats at the back is much further back and the boring corporate types tend to sit there. We suggest the first two spots for the most enjoyment, but bear in mind you will be standing for over 1.5 hours, especially if they have to re-shoot any scenes, which can extend taping by another hour.