Tom Holland had an innate sense that he was destined to sing and dance beneath the rain's embrace. While the Marvel superhero, renowned for his portrayal of the affable Spider-Man in the neighborhood, openly admitted that he gained even more fame for his unforgettable 2017 appearance on Lip Sync Battle, where he channeled Rihanna in a captivating rendition of "Umbrella." Yet, according to Tom, he and his fiancée, Zendaya, who faced off against each other during that iconic episode, had initially agreed to keep their performances modest and unpretentious.
"We were discussing our plans at the time," he recently confessed on Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled. "We had a pact to keep it laid-back. It was like, 'I won't go overboard. You won't go overboard. We'll just keep it chill and effortless.'"
However, once Tom embarked on collaborating with the Lip Sync Battle team, his intentions spiraled into a whirlwind of creativity, especially as he prepared to mesmerize and mislead the audience, transitioning seamlessly from "Singin' in the Rain" to "Umbrella."
"The rain machine rolled in," recalled the 29-year-old. "I thought, 'Hell yeah, I wanna rock fishnets and own this stage. I need a wig and a swift costume change.'"
The performance, which saw Tom donning a burlesque-inspired ensemble accompanied by a bevy of backup dancers, also served as a platform to flaunt his exceptional dancing prowess. He joked about keeping a low profile to explode onto the scene with a "bang," notably pulling off an epic back flip at the grand finale.
While Zendaya, who performed Bruno Mars' "24K Magic," was equally astounded by Tom's performance as the audience, Tom revealed that his father, Dominic Holland, had reservations about the then-21-year-old's participation.
"At that stage in my career, he was apprehensive about my fame escalating too rapidly," explained the Cherry star. "He was keen for me to avoid unnecessary TV appearances to preserve a part of my childhood innocence."
Fortunately, Tom pressed ahead with the performance, which has solidified his status as one of Lip Sync Battle's all-time greats, garnering over 34 million views on YouTube alone. "It's absurd," he chuckled. "Honestly, among all the works I've poured my heart and soul into—blood, sweat, and tears—it's Lip Sync Battle that everyone remembers. Never Spider-Man, never any of my other films. It's always Lip Sync Battle." Tom quipped, "It haunts me."
As for the legendary fishnets he wore? Tom joked that they belonged to his granny, adding, "They're actually framed and displayed at the Metropolitan Museum." And Zendaya, who couldn't help but rave about her fiancé, understood perfectly, telling Esquire in 2021, "He absolutely killed it."
