You might not think that Anne Hathaway would have much to prove to the world. She has won an Oscar for her performance in Les Miserables. Her movies have grossed over $6 billion. In 2009, she made the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, confirming her as one of the most powerful celebrities in the world. But, in April 2015, there was one prize that Hathaway was desperate to get her hands on.
Earlier that month, there had been the first airing of the Lip Sync Battle. This was a spinoff of a segment – thought up by Stephen Merchant and John Krasinski – used on Jimmy Fallon’s talk shows. The show, hosted by actor and rapper LL Cool J, was an immediate huge success. The first episode featured Fallon vs Dwayne Johnson. The third episode saw Hathaway pitted against fellow actor, Emily Blunt (the wife of Krasinski). This proved to be a competitive match-up beyond anyone’s expectations.
Blunt was a worthy opponent for Hathaway. She performed blistering versions of “Piece of My Heart” by the Big Brother and the Holding Company and “No Diggity” by Blackstreet. However, as good as these were, they paled in significance to Hathaway’s juggernaut theatrics as she took on Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” in a performance that has been viewed over 28 million times on YouTube.
Firstly, she ran onto the stage wearing a white tank top and black sweatpants and made passionate mimes as she sang along to the verse. Then, as the chorus hit, Hathaway and her dancers ripped off their trousers to reveal skimpy white shorts like Cyrus wore in the song’s video. On the side of the stage, Blunt laughed hysterically, knowing that this would be very hard to compete with. Hathaway and her dancers used construction props, which they slammed to the ground dramatically.
As the second verse began, the dancers left Hathaway on the stage alone to lip sync and mime with a show of sorrowful intensity. With a nod to Cyrus’s habit of licking people or objects, Hathaway stuck her tongue out to lick the hammer she held, much to the audience’s delight. Dropping the hammer, she ran across to sing in Blunt’s face for the line, “Guess I should have let you win”. As the stage went dark, Hathaway prepared herself for the second chorus.
There was only one thing to do to complete her flawless performance. As the lights went on, a wrecking ball was revealed to be swinging from the stage. The audience screamed with anticipation as the actress sprinted towards it and hurled herself at the giant ball. For a moment, you couldn’t help but worry about Hathaway’s safety.
Thankfully, the stunt went to plan, and she swung back and forth, with the audience in a total frenzy. Knowing that victory was hers, Hathaway even raised a cheeky middle finger in Blunt’s direction. Like the metaphorical wrecking ball of the song, Hathaway had broken her opponent with the sheer force of her performance.