We can all agree that the YouTube lip-syncing craze is the gift that keeps on giving. What started out as two geeky college boys recording themselves mouthing the words to the Backstreet Boys has evolved over the years into a well oiled lip-dub YouTube machine (see Toddrick Hall’s Beyonce-Cinderella mashup, Cinderonce).
The genre is no longer dominated by lonely girls singing into hairbrushes (or in the case of the chick from the “Disturbia” video, breaking out some impressive dance moves in her bedroom). While the standard today is considerably higher, and more and more celebrities are getting in on the action (Justin Bieber and friends’ version of “Call Me Maybe” was deemed YouTube’s No. 4 trending video of 2012), we can’t forget the epic renditions over the years. We present to you eight of our absolute favorites.
1. One of the early hits of YouTube was an interpretation of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” by two Chinese university students. The “Back Dorm Boys” (what they are affectionately known as today), can be held responsible for kicking off the lip-sync era on YouTube in 2005.
2. It really doesn’t get more entertaining (or weirder) than two guys lip-syncing to a Spice Girls song. Apparently some guy found this video and decided to upload it to YouTube sometime in 2008 for all of our viewing pleasure. The video has garnered 5.5 million views. Now that’s impressive.
3. When doglover199709 posted her rendition of “Disturbia” on YouTube, the Internet broke. Well, not really. But this pretty amazing (amazing as in totally awkward) lip sync circa 2008 is well worth watching. Her dance moves alone will blow your mind.
4. Keenan Cahill instantly rose to fame in 2010 when he uploaded a video of himself lip-syncing to Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream.” Today, that video has seen more than 56 million hits on YouTube.
5. Have you seen the creepy video of a Filipino lady lip-syncing to Mariah Carey on YouTube? This 2010 clip is great, mostly because it is completely unexpected. And we’ll just leave it at that.
6. In May 2012, two 6-year-old kids lip-synced to Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and it made everyone cry. The video, which has now been viewed by 6 million people, was filmed over a few car rides. According to the YouTube description, “When they rode in the car together, they would request it constantly and loved singing it.” How precious.
7. The award for the most well produced YouTube lip-sync has to go to Cinderonce. The drag interpretation of the Cindarella story is narrated through select tracks from Beyonce’s catalog, and it’s amazing.
8. This year saw quite a few disturbing “Wrecking Ball” parodies. I mean, the video (Miley Cyrus riding a wrecking ball naked and then licking a sledgehammer) is kind of asking for it. BBC Radio DJ Greg James’ flawlessly lip-synced remake totally takes the cake. Proceed with caution.
Now that we’ve celebrated eight of the more ridiculous clips of the past, don’t forget to check out some actual legitimate videos nominated in YouTube’s first ever Music Awards. The show will be live-streamed on Nov. 3. Fans can still vote for their favorite nominees, so get on it!
