Freshman Lip Sync makes for a fun-filled night on campus

Lipscomb’s newest students brought nostalgia and fun to Collins Auditorium Tuesday night during Freshman Lip Sync. 

Seven groups put their twist on this year’s theme: Disney Channel songs. Two teams walked away winners: Team Seven, performing a Descendants medley, won fan favorite, and Team Four, performing “The Boys are Back” from High School Musical 3, won overall best. 

Each group, however, created an electric atmosphere in the auditorium.

Team One kicked off the show with the High School Musical love-song “Start of Something New.” Two students led, while five others supported them with slick and coordinated moves. Toward the end, the performance took an unexpected yet hilarious turn with freshman Evie Chaffyn donning a werewolf mask and doing cartwheels behind the group.

Though the team didn’t win, Chaffyn expressed her gratitude for the experience as it made her step outside her comfort zone. Her teammates, freshmen Elliot Edwards and Sam Klear, echoed her sentiment, with Edwards calling participating in Lip Sync “eye-opening.”

Team Two took the stage next, performing “Stick to the Status Quo” from High School Musical. After emerging onto the stage, the troupe broke into three groups of five. Each group represented a different high-school “clique,” such as jocks and nerds.

The performance provoked plenty of cheers and laughs from the crowd. It ended on a high note, with dancers doing “the worm” and breakdancing.

However, freshmen Ella Snyder and Addy Sher confessed that the road to the stage proved slightly bumpy.

Sher and Snyder choreographed and taught the performance themselves. Due to this, Snyder described rehearsals for the show as chaotic.

Regardless, Sher said her group had fun and didn’t face many nerves.

“I didn’t realize [the performance] was happening until we were on the stage,” she noted with a laugh.

Team Three made a bold statement about “What a Girl is” with the upbeat Liv & Maddy song. A 10-piece,  all-female ensemble took the stage in trash bags before revealing outfits representing various fields of work. With the troupe’s smiles stretching from ear to ear, the audience could see the sincerity in the girls’ performance.

Hosts Luke Green and Lydia Knobloch then gave the audience a chance to showcase their karaoke skills to Camp Rock 2’s “Wouldn’t Change a Thing.” 

The audience then settled back down for Team Four. “The Boys are Back” began with girls dressed in basketball jerseys and baggy shorts before exploding into a rousing performance complete with blow-up plastic basketballs and a full-on dance break.

When asked how they felt after their win later in the night, Clara Ivey said she was “super hype and sad it’s over.” Her teammate Lauren Bostic said she “honestly blacked out” while accepting the win for best overall performance. The girls said they practiced five hours a week throughout the past month.

Following them, Team 5 performed an entertaining Disney Channel dance medley. The ensemble of 14 started with “Hoedown Throwdown” from Hannah Montana, with the dancers boasting cowboy hats and a clean line-dance formation. Once in the groove, the troupe didn’t break out of it, flying into “I Don’t Dance” from High School Musical 2 and “Gotta Be Me” from Teen Beach 2. Each song featured fun costuming, such as the cowboy boots for “Hoedown Throwdown” and the pink puffer jacket for “Gotta Be Me”.

Team Six opted for a simpler approach than early groups, starting their rendition of “I Want It All” with two leads. Four backup dancers later joined the leads on stage. While the entire entourage sported bubblegum-pink attire, the female lead’s bright flapper dress stole the show.

Ending the night with a bang, Team Seven burst onto the stage with energy, attitude and fun. They performed a Descendants medley, beginning with “Ways to be Wicked” before moving on to “Chillin’ Like a Villain” from Descendants 2 and other well-loved songs from the series. Donning pirate hats and wigs, the team captured the energy of the songs and sent the crowd into a frenzy with their dance moves.

Before Green and Knobloch could announce the winners, the hosts gave the Student Activities Board center stage through a pre-recorded lip sync performance of their own to the tune of “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” from Hannah Montana: The Movie. The video featured Assistant Director for Freshman Activities Hannah Gill as well as Assistant Dean for Student Engagement Landon Parrish. Throughout the video, Lipscomb students danced at various Nashville locations, including Baja Burrito and Lower Broad.

Right when it seemed the winners would finally be announced, dancers from various troupes throughout the night joined Green and Knobloch on stage to dance to “We’re All in This Together.” While the performance brought the energy, the audience seemed restless to hear the result.

President McQueen then took the stage to announce the night’s winners. She proclaimed that “we’re all winners at Lipscomb.” The crowd reacted with boos to this, showcasing the playfully competitive spirit that permeated the night. Upon revealing the two winners, the crowd broke into a whopping applause. 

President McQueen may have been right about everyone winning in the end, after all. Chaffyn, Edwards and Klear all asserted that participating helped them meet new people and step outside their comfort zone. Snyder and Sher said the same.

When asked what makes a freshman sign up for something as daring as Freshman Lip Sync, Ivey and Bostic agreed that “it sounded fun.” This spirit of fun defined the evening, bringing people together for a night of entertainment.