See Miley Cyrus Emulate Talking Heads’ ‘Stop Making Sense’ in Lip Sync Battle
Miley Cyrus‘ weeklong residency on The Tonight Show ended Friday with the singer and host Jimmy Fallon facing off in a “Lip Sync Battle” where Cyrus “sang” one of her new favorite songs and emulated Talking Heads‘ iconic “Once in a Lifetime” performance from the concert film Stop Making Sense.
Fallon (and two puppets) kicked off the battle with a ventriloquist-inspired version of Julia Michaels’ “Issues” before Cyrus took the stage for her first “performance.”
“Sometimes a new song comes and you can’t get it out of your head, and this is that song,” Cyrus said before introducing Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still.” Fallon countered with an eyeliner-smearing take on Hole’s “Violet.”
To finish out the battle, Cyrus donned David Byrne’s oversized suit jacket and glasses for “Once In a Lifetime.” The Tonight Show‘s cameras and lighting department mimicked the ambiance of Jonathan Demme’s legendary 1984 Talking Heads concert film for Cyrus’ spastic performance.
Fallon closed out Miley Week on The Tonight Show by airing professionally shot footage of Cyrus and Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” duet during the latter’s Madison Square Garden concert earlier in the week: