There are a lot of women shaking their asses in this episode of Lip Sync Battle, which seems important for Spike TV to retain its identity. This is another way of saying we’ve got an extremely straightforward lip-sync battle between singer–So You Think You Can Dance judge Jason Derulo and Smash alumna Katharine McPhee. Let’s get to it:
Battle 1: Katharine McPhee’s “Shake Ya Ass†vs. Jason Derulo’s “Ponyâ€
Katharine McPhee continues the grand tradition of waifish white girls appropriating the signature styles of black male rappers with Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass.†All told, she’s good. She also adds the requisite ass-shaking as though she were schizophrenically issuing the commands to herself. You know, she’s keeping it sexy. Anyway, it’s a better performance than Jason Derulo’s “Pony,†which feels just feels hackish at this point. Yes, he has abs and yes, he has slick dance moves, but our senses have been so dulled by the resurgence of this song that if you don’t really bring something new to it you might as well go home. For one, Jenna Dewan Tatum has already done a much better performance of the Ginuwine classic in a callback to her husband’s performance in Magic Mike XXL. Derulo was neither magical nor XXL.
Winner: Katharine McPhee by a shake of the rump.
Battle 2: Katharine McPhee’s “Want to Want Me†vs. Jason Derulo’s “Super Freakâ€
Katharine McPhee chose Jason Derulo’s song, “Want to Want Me†and adds some clever drag queen affectations as she plays the girl tottering on Vicodin before doing some expert body rolls and flips. The overall effect is one of Broooooooooadwaaaaaaaaay, and may make you wonder, Are we back on Smash? And as strange as it is to say, Jason Derulo’s Rick James felt strangely muted. And like his first pick, it just felt like a watered-down version of something we’ve already seen.
Winner: Katharine McPhee by a nightie.
Overall: Katharine McPhee deservedly won.