ECTC announces winners of Lip Sync Battle

Nearly a dozen contestants took the stage to give some serious “lip,” but if the buzz of the crowd was any indication, every contestant left tongues wagging.

Emerald Coast Theatre Company (ECTC) hosted the second annual Emerald Coast Lip Sync Battle on Nov. 10 at its new performance space at 560 Grand Boulevard, upstairs at Grand Boulevard at Sandestin. This charity event promised an evening of music, dance and fun and delivered.

“I thought it might be hard to top last year’s extraordinary performances, but his year’s event did that and more, and we’re so grateful to everyone for making 2016 a huge success,” said ECTC producing artistic director Nathanael Fisher.

Local “stars” took the stage to enjoy their “15 minutes of fame” in the spotlight performing live the songs they’ve been practicing in front of their bathroom mirrors for years. The line up included a range of solos, duos and ensemble acts performing everything from Broadway hits to Disney animation gender bender numbers.

A panel of local judges, including Cory Davis with 30A Radio, Steve Barber with VIP Destin magazine, Chelsea Alayne with Q92 and Zandra Wolfgram with Wordplay Ink, judged each act on originality, creativity, audience interaction, costume choice and appearance and dedication to performance The top three finalists were asked to perform a second song during the final battle for the title.

The 2016 winners are: Best Costume - Scott Russell, who performed “Sweet Transvestite” from “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Tomorrow” from “Annie;" Best Dance Move - Sean Newberry, Nicole Agner, Ryan Magee and Marissa Marinan; People’s Choice - Sherry Londe, who performed “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse; and the title of Overall Lip Sync Battle Winner 2016 also went to Newberry, Agner, Magee and Marinan, who performed “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke and “Sugar” by Maroon 5.

All proceeds from the evening benefited ECTC and its educational and theatrical programming fund.