BY CAITLIN LAFLOWER
On June 3, students from clubs, honor societies, and sports teams participated in the annual Lip Dub. The lip-syncing tradition began in 2013 and has occurred almost every year since then.
This year’s theme “School Spirit” represented the adoration for the school community, which unites faculty and students. “When searching for a theme, we wanted something the whole school could get into,” said Ellis Davies.
Students interested in lip syncing in the Lip Dub submitted their auditions through the Knightly Wrap Up Instagram account. The flyer shared on the account encouraged auditions from every grade level. “We had roughly over 100 auditions this year and about 50 spots we could fill for singers, so it was a difficult process to select people,” Olivia Cedeno shared. Those auditioning had the choice of singing to “Latch” by Disclosure, “Style” by Taylor Swift, or “Nice for What” by Drake in their fifteen second submissions. The Lip Dub’s soundtrack includes all three of these songs.
The Lip Dub included a mix of throwback songs and modern hits such as “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa, “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan, and “Evacuate the Dancefloor” by Cascada. “We wanted to keep it sounding upbeat, going through several mixes before arriving at the final version you hear in the lip dub,” Davies shared.
Students had various reasons for deciding to work on the Lip Dub. “I’ve been in the TV Production program for the last three years and have always been enamored by the magic of having something you made be appreciated,” said Bryce Corcoran. “I knew with my unique combination of talents, deejaying and video editing, that I could offer something special to the festivity of the Lip Dub.”
The Lip Dub’s success resulted from hard work put forward by students and staff. “We had about three or four rehearsals where we put students in their spots, taught them their part of the song and then ran through the path,” explained Olivia Cruz. “The choreography was student made by those who were chosen.”
While singers in the Lip Dub had a few weeks to prepare, those behind the camera worked for months. “We started in March after we got back from Disney, so about three months,” said Cedeno. These students took up responsibilities such as viewing auditions, choosing songs, discussing possible themes, and recording.
Students who worked on the Lip Dub felt positive about the final product. “A lot of people both inside the school and in the town have reached out to tell me I did a good job,” said Corcoran. “I’m pretty confident saying that it came out as a positive experience for all of Old Bridge.” Not only did it arise as a hit in school, it collected around 3.4 million views, 685.5 thousand likes, and 2,164 likes on the TikTok account @pharbbryce.
The 2024 Lip Dub joins ones from former school years as an amazing way to memorialize trends of the school year and the graduating class.
Posted on 6/17/24
Photos by Caitlin LaFlower
Knight Life 