Whenever Tom Holland and Zendaya are in the news cycle, Tom’s famous Lip Sync Battle performance inevitably starts trending. You know the one I’m talking about. Tom starts out doing his best Gene Kelly impersonation as he dances and lip syncs to “Singin’ in the Rain.” Then, midway through, he changes into a black corset with hot pants, a wig, and fishnets before tearing it up to Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” I’ll embed the video below. It is guaranteed to cheer you up on a rainy day (pun intended).
Tom was the guest on the most recent Scrambled with Gordon Ramsey. While they were chatting and making spicy fried chicken sandwiches, Gordon brought up that epic Lip Sync Battle routine. Tom said that no matter what else he does, his “Umbrella” performance is the thing that he gets asked about the most. He also revealed how the whole thing came about, from choreography to fishnets to getting rained on.
It’s safe to say that Tom Holland’s Lip Sync Battle performance is one of the greatest videos of all time.
As I’m sure you know, Tom channeled Rihanna in a short black wig and fishnet stockings as he put on an incredible performance of her hit song “Umbrella.” Tom was competing against his now-fiancé, Zendaya, whose performance of Bruno Mars’s “24K Magic” was super tame* in comparison to his “Singin’ in the Rain” X “Umbrella” mashup.
In fact, when Tom underwent a quick outfit change as the song “Umbrella” began playing, Zendaya was filmed looking super shocked with her hands covering her mouth as she watched her Spider-Man costar strut his stuff.
Now reflecting on the iconic performance, Tom has revealed that he and Zendaya actually agreed beforehand that they would keep their performances super chilled — which would perhaps explain her memorable reaction.
“Zendaya and I, we were chatting at the time about what we were gonna do. And we had agreed that we would take it easy,” Tom told chef Gordon Ramsay in a recent YouTube video.
Naturally, Gordon was super shocked by Tom’s admission. “What?!” he said, prompting Tom to continue, “That was the agreement. Like, ‘I’m not gonna do anything crazy, you’re not gonna do anything crazy, we’re just gonna keep it nice and easy breezy.”
“And then when I was working with the creative team, coming up with the ideas, they kind of pitched this ‘Umbrella’ thing. And as we were rehearsing, it got crazier and crazier. And the rain machine came in, and then I was like, ‘Fuck it, I wanna wear fishnets and do this. And I want a wig, and a quick change and stuff,’” Tom recalled.
When Gordon asked what Tom’s family said about the performance, the Spider-Man actor admitted that his dad wasn’t quite on board.
“When I told my dad, he was like, ‘Son, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think you should do that,’” Tom shared. “I was like, ‘No, Dad, it’ll be really fun, like I’m gonna have a good time.’”
Tom then explained, “I think he was just… At that time in my career, he was very worried about me becoming too famous too quickly. So he was really keen for me to not do extra TV shows that I didn’t have to do, to try and maintain that part of my childhood.”
I love hearing behind-the-scenes stuff like that. It’s so funny that it started out small and just spiraled into this huge viral sensation. Thank goodness Tom didn’t listen to his dad’s concerns. I’ve probably watched that video a dozen times over the last eight years and I always chuckle whenever I see Zendaya’s reaction to Tom’s performance. Obviously, she wasn’t mad that he didn’t keep it “nice and breezy” because they got together sometime after that. Someone once commented that you can see “the moment” that Zendaya fell for Tom, and I totally agree. I’m pretty sure that’s the moment that the entire Internet fell for Tom, too, lol. He’s talented, he can gyrate, and he’s not afraid of getting wet. What’s not to love?
Tom was trending on social media this past weekend for a different reason. Spider-Man: Brand New Day started filming in Scotland, and there were a lot of pictures showing Tom in what appears to be a new Spider-Man costume. Technically, it wasn’t a new suit, but a nicer-looking version of the homemade one that Peter Parker had at the end of No Way Home. The “big” deal was that the pics showed Tom’s unedited bulge. Allegedly, it’s someone’s job to edit Tom’s bulge down while he’s wearing the Spidey suit. I didn’t know that was a job someone could have, but I’d like to know how to apply for it.
Here’s Tom’s Lip Sync Battle.