Ellen DeGeneres knows how to win over a crowd, and she did just that in a lip sync battle that won’t soon be topped against The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night.
Singing “B**** Better Have My Money” by Rihanna, Ellen brought the raucous crowd to its feet, the Huffington Post reported Thursday morning . DeGeneres strutted around the stage with Fallon and guest Justin Timberlake watching in uncontrollable laughter from the side of the stage.
When Ellen finished, she threw the microphone. The standing ovation cemented the conclusion that DeGeneres would be crowned the winner of the variety show segment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=53&v=fe5ggZVpWcc
Jimmy went first, singing “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers. DeGeneres followed up with the slow ballad “Do You Know Where You’re Going To” by the legendary Diana Ross.
“My first song that I have chosen, everyone, is Diana Ross has a lot of upbeat, fun dancing songs, and this is not one of them,” Ellen deadpanned to introduce the song.
After a seemingly even first round, Jimmy pulled out the pop cultural phenomenon “Watch Me” by Silento. Fallon whipped and nae nae’d to numerous outbursts by the audience, and he appeared to be on his way to scoring the win over Ellen.
That’s when DeGeneres stole the show with her second song. The 2015 hit for Rihanna was introduced in the characteristic short-version-long Ellen style.
“This song is a business transaction I believe that happened someone loaned someone some cash, and either they forgot that they borrowed it, or they don’t want to pay it back, at least not in a timely manner. This person wants the cash and is aggravated, frustrated… This is ‘B**** Better Have My Money’ by Rihanna.”
Lip Sync Battle is a popular segment on The Tonight Show , and numerous guests have tried their hand against Jimmy Fallon. Ellen can add her name to a list that includes Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Justin Timberlake was the special guest judge for the event between DeGeneres and Fallon, although the winner was a no-brainer for The Tonight Show audience.
DeGeneres was returning the favor by appearing on The Tonight Show after Fallon had appeared on her show earlier this week. The Ellen DeGeneres Show kicked off its 13th season this week as Jimmy was one of many big-name guests to appear on the day-time television show.
Was the lip sync battle between Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Fallon the best you’ve seen? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
[Image by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images]