Watch Tom Cruise Channel Meat Loaf, the Weeknd in ‘Lip Sync Battle’
Tom Cruise scorched The Tonight Show stage Monday night during an epic “Lip Sync Battle” that left host Jimmy Fallon wide-eyed and slack-jawed. The Mission Impossible actor’s turn was so good, he at one point relegated Fallon from the role of host to glorified coat rack.
Cruise kicked off the game with a rendition of The Weeknd’s summer smash, “I Can’t Feel My Face,” that was so sultry and smooth its creator offered this praise on Twitter, “I can’t believe @TomCruise is singing my song. @jimmyfallon you’re the MAN for this one… that shit got me hype… lol I can’t lie.”
The Weeknd was an equal opportunity praiser, tweeting to rival host Jimmy Kimmel, “you’re still my boy too.”
The kind words were ultimately deserved as Fallon settled into his rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Undercover of the Night.” Already well-versed in mimicking Mick Jagger’s mannerisms, Fallon pursed his lips and strutted like a frantic peacock, but had to nix the frontman’s ostentatious hand claps due to his bandaged finger.
For his follow-up, Cruise feigned the most obvious selection, Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll.” He even slid up to the mic to the opening piano stabs like he did in Risky Business, before grinning at Fallon and admitting, “That wouldn’t be fair, would it?” Instead, Cruise made Fallon hold his jacket while he performed Meat Loaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” with the melodramatic theatricality — hands to the heavens, down on his knees, the mic stand haphazardly discarded several feet away — only a trained actor could muster.
Fallon essentially ceded the contest after that, but rules are rules, and the host dutifully performed his final song, the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” — the second most obvious choice from the Cruise oeuvre. Fallon fittingly dedicated the song to Goose from Top Gun and insisted Cruise join him. The pair then proceeded to croon the track and compete for the charms of a lucky lady in the front row, alternately kissing her hand, blowing her hair and rubbing her face.