- I'm a showman at heart.
We'll see how my feet do,
but the upstairs parts, I'm all in.
(upbeat electronic music)
- Hello and welcome to the LSB's inner sanctum.
You won't be able to find this place on a map,
but this amazing secret underground bunker
is the headquarters for all things Lip Sync Battle pre-show.
And this week we're setting up for a pretty fantastic event.
We're doing Lip Sync Battle live,
a Michael Jackson celebration.
- Yeah, four lucky contestants are going to lip sync live
to the king of pop himself, and who has a better catalog?
You've got Dirty Diana, you've got Black or White,
you've got Beat It, it's like the options are endless.
- I know, what an amazing week, right?
- Yeah, I'm so excited.
Oh! - Ooh!
Oh, this is nice, huh? - Perfect.
- Thank you, one for you,
- Yes, thank you.
- One for me, okay, go.
- Get out of here.
(chuckling)
- Here is to a great pre-show.
- Wonderful.
- Elliot.
- Yes.
- I have to admit, all dressed up, I'm very impressed.
You look handsome.
- Oh my gosh, thank you, Lee.
You look really beautiful.
- Thank you, I know.
- Oh, shoot.
- Oh no.
- Can you just hold...?
- Okay, yeah, oh buddy.
- I always do this, I'm just a butterfingers.
- Oh!
- Ah, golly.
- Ezekiel!
- What, what are you wearing?
- Oh this, this is a mock tuxedo shirt, okay?
So it basically keep my jacket from getting bunched up
and I don't know, I feel like it looks cool,
and it keeps my dry cleaning bill
super low because technically,
it's categorized as a handkerchief.
So, anyway, let's get down to business
and see who the contestants are
in this lip sync battle showdown.
Alright boys, bring in the battle board.
(sports music)
- Wow, what an incredibly talented group of people.
I mean, I could not be more excited.
Lee, who do you think is going to win?
- Honestly, I have no idea.
I am super stumped, so I even asked my psychic.
- Wait a minute, I thought Esmerelda was still in prison.
- Oh yeah, she definitely is but oh,
hold on, hold on, I got a text.
- Oh, I didn't know you could do that.
- Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
Okay, she says that the contestant
that's going to win will be someone
who performs a Michael Jackson song.
- That is fascinating, how does she do it?
- Now, our interview with beautiful and talented contestant,
Taraji P. Henson.
(funky music)
- It's fun, you know I studied musical theater in college,
so this process is always really fun to me,
to start at the bottom, and you know,
you have like a skeleton and you just slowly add the meat,
the bones, the blood, the veins,
and then when it's all done you feel so good
because you know you started in the dance studio like this,
and then now it's this big production.
(funky music)
I chose this song because I feel like
it's one of his most popular songs.
It's just a good chance for me to be on a platform,
to pretend like I'm Michael Jackson.
(laughing)
Instead of in the shower or in my mirror,
I get to do it in front of actual humans.
(funky music)
I want to show the world that I know how to moonwalk.
That's really the only Michael Jackson move I know,
no, I know this, I don't know what you call it,
and the this, oh, and I know the...from Thriller.
I've got a couple moves.
(laughing)
(funky music)
Lip Sync Battle, I am back to take that belt home.
You put me in a race, I want to win, so.
(laughing)
- She is awesome.
- I know, I cannot wait to see her performance.
In the meantime, let's check out some highlights
from when I went to Las Vegas and saw Michael Jackson One
by Cirque de Soleil.
- Yeah, how cool would it be
if the pre-show actually sent you to Vegas?
- Yeah...
- The pre-show actually sent you to Vegas?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Was it fun?
- Boatloads.
Oh, oh hello.
I'm Lee Newton from Lip Sync Battle Preshow,
and I'm here in Las Vegas, Nevada
to get an inside scoop on Michael Jackson One.
(snort)
I know, they sent me to Las Vegas alone.
(laughing)
I'm here at the legendary Michael Jackson One theater
at Mandalay Bay hotel and casino,
and I'm going to be talking to some of the amazing
cast and crew to find out
how they make this show happen night after night.
But first, let's take a look around.
(funky music)
Look at this foyer!
Oh this, that's the actual costume from Smooth Criminal.
Isn't it just amazing, right?
- Ma'am, ma'am, please don't touch the glass.
- Yep, okay, I've actually been told before multiple times,
so sorry, thank you.
That's Michael Jackson's jacket.
An entire store devoted to the king of pop himself.
I'm going to need this three-piece shot set,
because I have family.
Uh, socks, yes.
Who doesn't need socks?
Oh, a key chain.
You know what?
I'm just going to, because they make great gifts.
Okay, do you take Bitcoin?
- No, we do not.
(groaning)
- So we are here with Greg Penn
to show me some of the dance moves.
Okay, good.
- You want to start?
- I'm ready, I'm ready.
- I'm telling you, three, four.
- Oh no, there's numbers.
Telling you, three, four.
- Perfect.
From here you're just going to cross your legs
and open your hands.
- 63 artists from 17 countries.
We have Olympic gold medalists,
we have guys from Brazil on the slack line.
- The slack line for me is the easy part.
Michael was so magical, he's so special,
his moves are so unique, it's amazing to be part of it.
- We have over 225 moving lights,
we have over 5,412 speakers.
Things you couldn't even have experienced in a concert,
we're able to bring him to life here.
Enjoy the show.
- Oh I can't wait.
Elliot, I'm sad that you weren't here,
but at the same time, I needed this,
and you didn't.
Coming back, coming back to LA a changed woman.
- Okay, Lee, that was actually really great.
And you know what, I've practically been to Vegas anyway
because I play gin rummy with my gam-gam every Sunday.
- Oh, thanks Elliot.
- Anytime.
Now, before we let you guys go,
Lee and I have some very exciting news.
We just got our tickets for Lip Sync Battle Live:
a Michael Jackson Celebration.
- So now we're going to find out
if they gave us good seats or great seats.
(chuckling)
- Mine says seat filler.
- Yeah, mine says seat filler too.
- Huh.
- Does that mean that we see bits of the show
while people with real seats go to the bathroom?
- Yup.
- Awesome. - I know, right?
- Oh my gosh, boom!
Alright, let's check in with our next contestant, NPH.
- Who?
- You know, NPH from DHMD and HIMYM.
- Oh my god, I love him, Neil Patrick Harris.
(funky music)
- I'm a fan of Lip Sync Battle.
I've always looked for a reason to be able to do it.
I'm excited about this big celebration of Michael Jackson.
I mean, his music is inspiring,
and to have four different performers
doing different versions of his songs,
it's going to be a cool hour.
(funky music)
- It takes place in a speakeasy with a microphone, hats,
some craps is being played, I flip a guy.
This song is so good, it's such a classic,
and there will be all these people around me
and all these people in front of me
that the energy of the song,
the vibe that MJ created,
will sort of pass on through all of us.
(funky music)
I'm excited about the energy of doing this live.
I think the audience there will be pumped up.
I'll certainly be pumped up.
As I tell my kids, the one thing that you always should do
when you have the opportunity is dance.
You really only get one shot at it, so better make it good.
(funky music)
I want to blow the roof off the theater.
I want this to be one of those fun moments
that everyone can cheer and scream at.
I'm excited, for sure.
I'm nervous, indeed.
Let's do this.
- What a fun interview.
This is going to be such a good live show.
- I love live anything.
I mean, live comedy, live music, live human friends.
- As opposed to imaginary robot friends?
(chuckling)
- Duh.
- Oh.
- Sorry, Paul.
- Let's check in with our next competitor.
Still talking to Paul?
- Yeah, I talk to Paul a lot.
He's a good dude.
- Yeah.
(funky music)
- This experience so far, working on LSB, has been amazing.
I've had so much fun, and as a fan of the show,
I am so excited.
I've been singing, lip singing, lip syncing
since I was a young'un, in the mirror, with the hairbrush,
the whole nine yards.
(funky music)
It feels like we're all a family
and we're all here to celebrate Michael
and that's what we're doing.
But yeah, of course I want to win,
and I'm going to do everything I can.
(funky music)
So this performance alone, this one song performance,
is basically everything I've ever dreamed of
in like a full-length show,
and it's all happening in under two minutes,
which is insane.
There are effects, there's a lot of movement,
there may or may not be some running up and down objects.
With everything we've got going on for this performance,
it's going to be amazing, no doubt.
(funky music)
I'm going to go out there,
I'm going to honor Michael Jackson,
might shed a couple tears here or there,
but I'm going to go out there
and I'm going to have a good time.
Michael Jackson, this one is for you.
Thank you for your dedication to your art,
and thank you for inspiring me.
I hope this makes you proud.
- Wow, the competition is intense this week,
so be sure to tune into Paramount Network on January 18th
at nine, eight central, for the epic live showdown.
- Good luck to all the competitors, and remember,
don't stop til you get enough.
- Alright, thank you for watching.
- Don't let the belt get stolen by a smooth criminal.
I'm sorry, I just, I love Michael Jackson puns.
- It's fine, it's all good.
- I guess it's just human nature.
- Alright, we'll see you next time, everybody.
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel,
and leave a comment down below.
- Beat it!
- That's it, you don't have the keep saying puns.
- You know Elliot, the way you make me feel
feels like I want to be starting something.