The Backstreet Boys Lip Sync Battle Takes Us Way Back To The Nineties

Wilmer Valderrama has had a hard time finding a TV gig that has stuck around in the years since his tenure on That ‘70s Show ended, however, we contend he may have found his niche in the episode of Lip Sync Battle that is set to air later this week. The actor popped up on the series to reenact the monster and mayhem-filled music video for “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” and it is one of the best performances we’ve seen in recent memory. Prepare to be transported back into the nineties with this video. Check it out!

There’s no denying that Wilmer Valderrama is a pretty handsome dude, although the actor doesn’t really look all that much like A.J. McLean did back in 1997. All in all, though, he has the majority of the dance moves down, which is pretty impressive. I especially like the attitude he employs when he gets to the line, “Am I sexual?”

backstreet boys

He also doesn’t have to share the stage with four other Backstreet Boys band members, and gets to dance around with a gaggle of girls all by himself for a good chunk of this. At one point, more dudes do show up to help out with the heavier dance sequences. It would have been awesome if Wilmer Valderrama had been able to coerce Nick Carter and co. to pop in—especially as they have been game to perform “Everybody” in the past—but the whole thing still works. The results are pretty spectacular, but just in case you don’t remember the original. Or, in case you don’t want the epic dancing and monster weirdness to end, you can catch the original Backstreet Boys video, below.

This week, Wilmer Valderrama is competing against Gina Rodriguez, otherwise known as the Golden Globe-winning lead on Jane the Virgin. A lot of times the people appearing on Spike's Lip Sync Battle also have some sort of rivalry on a TV series, etc. but that doesn't seem to be the case this week. We'll let you know as soon as the network releases footage of Gina Rodriguez's performance.

In the meantime, if you have a hankering to revisit the time that Jenna Dewan Tatum gave her husband Channing Tatum a lapdance or that time Clark Gregg crushed a Britney Spears song, we have you covered.

You can catch new episodes of Lip Sync Battle on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET. To find out what else is coming to TV, check out our summer TV premiere schedule.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.