Metea’s broadcast journalism class hosted their second annual lip sync battle this past Wednesday in the auditorium. This year, eight acts competed for the $500 cash prize.

Though it had the same idea as last year’s competition, it was modified a little bit. For example, rather than having the solo or group acts go through multiple rounds like last time, they only had one round this year followed by a spontaneous lip sync round. The objective of the performances was to get points from the judges along with audience reactions. Contestants came from all grade levels as they all tried to grab the $500 cash prize.

The Mane students started the show with their own act. Sophomores Yusra Mulla, Zoe Rountree, Veda Kodithala, and Madison Monroe kicked off the event with their opening act. Hosts Sofia Petrov and Zara Saleem then went over the ground rules and introduced this year’s mystery guest judge, teacher Ethan Purrington. The show was then divided into two parts, split by an intermission.

“We created the Lip Sync Battle to bring the school together for one night of fun,” Monroe said, “It was fun to host this event.”

Returning acts like “Alvin”, “Rashi and Veda”, and “Double Sensation” had the crowd cheering them on. However, it was the new acts that stole the show this year, as the top two performances were both new acts.

“Straight Outta A-Town” was the first to perform. Though they kicked it off, they still managed to get the entire auditorium hyped up as they danced to Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic. “Sugar and Spice” also had a great crowd reaction as they danced. Other new acts, like “Triple Threat”, “Pink Print”, and “The Sugar Brownies” also excited the crowd.

The top two acts of the night were “Straight Outta A-Town” which was a duo act with junior Oscar Rivera and freshman Alex Vierling and “Sugar and Spice”, made up of Kayla Harris and Gabby Tucker. The two acts then faced off in an impromptu live lip sync battle. The audience then got to vote for which act they liked the most. “Sugar and Spice” were determined the crowd favorite in a close audience poll. Yet, “Straight Outta A-Town” scored higher points from the judges so they were deemed the winners of this years’ Lip Sync Battle and won the grand prize of $500. 

Though the performers from the Lip Sync Battle put in a lot of work, the Mane crew worked just as hard, if not harder. This year, the students had to battle many different problems such as sound issues during the actual show. However, they were able to make it through the show despite all of the setbacks.

 “It was hard to put on a show this year but we were able to stick together and do it,” Monroe said, “Some things were not the best they could be but all we could do was keep the show rolling.”

The Metea Mane crew plans to bring back the event for a third  Lip Sync Battle next year.