However, "Umbrella" was the producers' first choice for Holland's performance, and it was ultimately approved by the publisher to be used on Lip Sync Battle. Just in case "Umbrella" didn't go through, we had a backup performance. We actually created two different sets of costumes for him and all of the dancers.
According to costume designer Jeanie Cheek, they even had costumes prepared: The backup number would've had Holland dressed in a red latex jumpsuit, like the one worn by Spears in the song's music video, and even featured a cameo from the singer herself as an astronaut - another callback to the music video. According to a creative brief viewed by Insider, Lip Sync Battle's producers had a backup song prepared if they couldn't secure the rights to use Rhianna's "Umbrella," and that song was "Oops I Did It Again" by Britney Spears. In Ashley Spencer's oral history of Holland's Lip Sync Battle performance for Insider, in honor of the episode's four-year anniversary, the creatives involved in the number spoke about how it all came together.
#TOM HOLLAND RIHANNA UMBRELLA MOVIE#
Related: Every Upcoming Tom Holland Movie However, the actor came close to performing an entirely different song and routine. The clip quickly went viral online, and is regularly shared on social media sites even now. In the season 3 episode, Holland and Zendaya battled it out, lip syncing along to the songs Nelly's "Ride Wit Me," Erykah Badu's "Tyrone" and Bruno Mars' "24K Magic." But it was Holland's performance of Rihanna's "Umbrella" that stole the show. It was as part of the long promotional tour for Spider-Man: Homecoming's July 2017 release that Holland appeared on Lip Sync Battle, facing off against his co-star Zendaya, who plays Michelle "MJ" Jones in the Marvel franchise. The actor has a background in dance, having starred in Billy Elliot the Musical, and, prior to his MCU casting, often posted videos to social media of himself jumping and flipping much like Marvel's wall-crawler. The Spider-Man actor had been chosen as Marvel Studios' Peter Parker after an extensive casting search, and one aspect of Holland's experience that endeared him to fans was his physicality. After he did the final flip, Holland was firmly cemented in the cultural zeitgeist, not as Spider-Man but as the guy who can dance his butt off and was also in Spider-Man.Tom Holland almost performed Britney Spears' "Oops I Did It Again" on Lip Sync Battle instead of Rihanna's "Umbrella." In May 2017 when the episode premiered, Holland was working to promote his then-upcoming first solo superhero movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, after making his initial Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War.
![tom holland rihanna umbrella tom holland rihanna umbrella](https://64.media.tumblr.com/facfb9323790bc8c5e880cd30b2cb92f/tumblr_pgsmmvhJuj1qdeafb_1280.gif)
No one knew how big that performance was going to be at the time. (Think about Judy Garland and Debbie Reynolds)Īctors who sing and dance without training and preparation aren’t as common these days, which makes Holland’s performance even more special. Not only were they popular with moviegoers, but studios could rely on any one of the actors on payroll to step in and sing and dance. There’s a reason Hollywood made so many musicals back in the day. Though he’s primarily acting these days, there are lots of people who would love to see Holland make a musical because he’s just that good. He played dancer Billy Elliot as a youngster, so dancing is second nature to him. vkvHCvXgEdĪs a relative unknown, many people had no idea that Holland started out in theater.
![tom holland rihanna umbrella tom holland rihanna umbrella](https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-05/8/17/campaign_images/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/tom-holland-did-rihannas-umbrella-choreography-an-2-25845-1494277294-0_dblbig.jpg)
The modern world can be divided into two distinct eras: before performed "Umbrella" on "Lip Sync Battle," and after.Īlmost everyone knows the performance that amounts to two minutes and 10 seconds of perfection in every sense of the word.