Will Ferrell Leaves Kevin Hart, Jimmy Fallon ‘Frozen’ in Lip Sync Battle
Katy Perry pulled out the fireworks and animatronic lions during her Super Bowl halftime show performance – but over at The Tonight Show, Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart and Jimmy Fallon took a more minimalist approach in their “Super Bowl of lip sync battles.” The three comedians went head-to-head during a special Sunday night taping. The winner, as always, was the audience.
In the above clip, Ferrell kicks off the battle with “Drunk in Love,” a seductive jam from “the Queen B: the one, the only Beyoncé.” His chest-rubbing and sassy hand gestures earn huge laughs, though he ends his performance looking a tad winded. (“You can never un-see that,” says Fallon.) Next up, Fallon builds an entire narrative during his rock-star take on Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone”: He opens by sitting on the stage during the bittersweet first verse, glancing at a necklace to get in character; as the chorus erupts, he straps on a fingerless glove and dramatically shrieks the liberating hook. After lowering the microphone height, Hart closes out Round One with John Legend’s yearning piano ballad “All of Me,” dedicated to his “one and only true love” – which turns out to be Ferrell.
Ferrell opens Round Two with a song from “Adele Nazeem”: “Let It Go” from the Frozen soundtrack. It’s the flashiest performance of the night, as he incorporates glitter and literally becomes frozen by the song’s conclusion. Fallon follows with a choreographed take on Dirty Dancing theme “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” bringing out former Fever Pitch co-star Drew Barrymore as the Jennifer Grey to his Patrick Swayze. Hart then closes out the segment with an energetic version of Katy Perry’s Super Bowl stand-out “Roar.”
The episode also featured some un-mimed singing via an all-star a cappella version of Queen’s arena-rock anthem “We Are the Champions.” Fallon and the Roots open the bit, singing lines from within a Brady Bunch-styled grid screen – and they’re joined by Sam Smith, Carrie Underwood, Ariana Grande, Usher, Blake Shelton, Meghan Trainor, One Direction and Christina Aguilera.