Grand Valley State University’s Campus Activity Board (CAB) held their annual Lip Sync Battle on Friday, Oct. 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Grand River Room located in Kirkhof Center.
The Lip Sync Battle was held as part of the homecoming week celebration, with the theme “battle of the genres.” During the event, teams of ten or more people compete by dancing and lip-syncing to a song of a specific genre of their choice. The winning team won a trophy and cash prize for their organization.
As the event kicked off, the room flooded with students and faculty waiting for the performances to start with judges in the middle, including GVSU’s mascot Louie. After each performance, one of the judges gave feedback and students cheered on their peers.
A surprise appearance was made at the very end by GVSU’s Move 2 the Beat Dance Crew.
Some of the common genres the teams showcased were music from boy bands, pop icons and rap stars. Teams created their own choreography and rehearsed their performance leading up to the event.
The crowd watching was loud and an immense amount of support was heard from the audience as they cheered on each team.
“Teams go all out for lip sync, so I was really excited to see what they had come up with,” Bridie Tolley, president of CAB, said. “I also really like the community that lip sync builds. In past years, all of the teams really hype each other up when they perform, and it creates a really good vibe in the room.”
Jay Chapa, the Living Center Director for Murray, VanSteeland, and the Grand Valley Apartments guest starred as a judge for the Lip Sync Battle. During the judging period, the judges were looking for how well each team lip-synced to the music and how coordinated the groups were during the presentation.
At the end of the event, the Latino Student Union and Monarcas- Ballet Folkloric, a student dance organization, won first place at this year’s Lip Sync Battle. Second place went to Delta Zeta and Alpha Tau Omega, and third place was awarded to Phi Mu.
The Monarcas and Latino Student Union Organizations performed songs from the Latin Pop genre, featuring work from Shakira and Daddy Yankee.
“I wanted to show people that there are a variety of different genres in different languages and to show that there is diversity at Grand Valley,” Jose Medina, team member for the Monarcas and Latino Student Union, said.
Medina said the main reason the organizations decided to participate in this event was to show his parents and other students’ culture.
“They (his parents) have made such an impact in my life, and I wanted to represent them at GV and show that the new generation of Latinos is breaking barriers in the way and making a difference,” Medina said.
The event ended with the winners being celebrated and students mingling as the event winded down. CAB holds this event every year, and Tolley expressed how she is already looking forward to next year’s Lip Sync Battle.
“The energy in the room was fantastic, and it really makes you understand what Homecoming is all about, the GVSU community and what it has to offer,” Tolley said.
