Not even Simone Biles and Aly Raisman could keep Michael Phelps from another victory.
Phelps won the first Lip Sync Battle: All-Stars Live Championship with his performance of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” on the Spike TV show Sunday night.
Phelps beat celebrities Terry Crews, John Legend and Olivia Munn, despite Munn pulling out all the stops with her performance, including cameos from Biles and Raisman.
Phelps’ choice of Eminem was very fitting. Known for listening to music before his races, Phelps has heard Eminem’s rhymes pulsating through his headphones since at least 2003.
From Phelps’ 2004 book, “Beneath the Surface,” after Phelps beat Australian Ian Thorpe and Italian Massimiliano Rosolino in the 200m individual medley at the 2003 World Championships:
“A reporter asked about the music I listened to on my headphones as I walked onto the pooldeck. I told them it was from Eminem. The next reporter asked Massi what he would do to try to beat me next time. ‘The first thing I’m going to do is buy that CD,’ he said. ‘Then I will listen to all the songs to see if one of them can make me swim that fast.’ Ian and I were sitting next to each other, joking about different things when we weren’t answering questions. I took a piece of paper in front of me and scribbled the words: It’s not about the CD.”
Phelps’ rapper of choice during the 2004 Athens Olympics was Eminem. He listened to “Till I Collapse” while walking out for his first final at those Games.
The rapper was reportedly still on Phelps’ playlist leading up to the Rio Games.
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