Justin Bieber and veteran Brit rocker Ozzy Osbourne have met before, but never like this.
The 21-year-old singer was styled up and performed as Osbourne in a face-off with Deion Sanders (homaging Madonna), to shoot an episode of Lip Sync Battle in Los Angeles on Sunday night. The edition will air in April.
Variety reports LL COOL J is hosting the Spike TV-commissioned series , which pits guest celebrities lip synching hits against each other, with supermodel Chrissy Teigen in the role of a “color commentator.” It premieres on April 2 at 10:00 pm ET/PT on Spike TV, and was recently extended for another eight episodes that will be filmed in L.A. throughout March.
Back to Justin Bieber channeling Ozzy Osbourne.
After a reportedly uproarious taping, the Canadian retweeted a post from Sanders. The ex-NFL legend now CBS Sports and NFL Network analyst had effusive praise for the crooner, perhaps because the Biebs was attentive to Sanders’ daughter at the taping. Based on her Twitter posts, she is a Belieber.
Replying to Deion’s tweet, which was posted last night, Justin wrote,
@DeionSanders great times. Thanks for the kind words and the epic battle ? #LipSyncBattle lol
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) March 9, 2015
Sanders added pictures of himself hanging out backstage at Paramount Studios with his daughter and the Biebs.
He also tweeted a photo of Justin in his Osbourne costume, alongside LL Cool J , Teigen and her husband, John Legend.
. @johnlegend . @chrissyteigen . @llcoolj . @justinbieber . I had so much fun battling da Biebs it was amazing. #Maddonna pic.twitter.com/1pTUY37aMY
— Deion Sanders (@DeionSanders) March 9, 2015
Thanks to tweets from some of the audience members who attended the show taping, a few reveals have emerged. One fan, identified as @champagneshelbs on Twitter, posted, “When Justin walked out when they announced him at the lip sync battle he pulled his shirt up and was like rubbing his abs ahzksjakzk.”
That appears to be borne out by @AshleyAnne805 on Twitter, who claimed , “Justin shows his calvin’s during the #LipSyncBattle.”
Another guest, known as @JayeCooley, wrote , “I can’t believe I saw Justin Bieber , LL cool J, John Legend & Deion Sanders today at Paramount Studios! #LipSyncBattle.”
In a post which bodes well for the upcoming episode, she notes , “Justin Bieber KILLED his Ozzy Osbourne performance tonight lmfaoo.”
According to @champagneshelbs, Justin was “goofy” on set and interacted well with fans during breaks. She also claimed the hitmaker lip synched to Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and another song, presumably one of Osbourne’s.
Another fan tweeted an image of the sunglasses and the faux bat which Justin pretended to bite the head off a bat, just as Ozzy did in 1982 — although his was reportedly the real deal and reprised his similar beheading of a dove in 1981.
@justinbieber Thanks for the bat babe pic.twitter.com/n6t8Az9Pzx
— l (@lizzieangelos95) March 9, 2015
Like other fans, @champagneshelbs enthused about Justin’s lip sync rendition as Ozzy, writing, “Justin KILLED the lip sync battle. Omg! @dankanter would of been stoked on his performance #OzzyOsbourne.”
She added, “Justin[‘]s ozzy outfit slayed. He was too convincing with his big ol scary eyes and s***.”
In one post, she tweeted, “The best thing too is that justin waited [t]il a commercial break to come up to us. That shows how much fans mean to him. Not just for show.”
Apparently, at one point, Justin quipped to fans, “He was like ‘wasn’t [I] 12 like last week. What happened.. Where did the time go[?]’”
It is claimed the “Where Are Ü Now,” singer pretended to flirt with Teigen, which prompted Legend to go after the Biebs.
Jb was hardcore flirting w John Legends wife so John Legend came out on stage and chased him and pretended to choke him
— ™ (@champagneshelbs) March 9, 2015
Bieber’s appearance on Lip Sync Battle follows recent multiple appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , and comes ahead of his anticipated Comedy Central Roast which airs on March 30.
The singer’s team’s efforts to humanize Bieber and separate him from frequently fictional headlines , appears to be positively impacting those who meet him in person and view the tabloids with healthy skepticism.
Justin did Big Girls Don’t Cry and the way he was moving got me feeling some type of way.
— PaolaLola (@la_paolalola) March 9, 2015
Today I went to see the #LipSyncBattle show. GREAT show, epic performances! Cant wait to see it on air in April!
— Caroline Txbq (@CarolineTxbq) March 9, 2015
I saw #JustinBieber on the #LipSyncBattle show today and now I like him. Really nice dude. Great performer. (The shows on air in April)
— Caroline Txbq (@CarolineTxbq) March 9, 2015
[Images via Spike TV/Instagram]
