By Xa’riyah Mitchell ’25
Derby High School showcased its 6th annual lip sync battle this year on Nov. 2, 2023. Cassie Silkoff ‘25 and Kylin Santamaria ‘24 blew the judges away with their amazing performance of the song “Whip My Hair” by Willow Smith.
Santamaria and Silkoff nailed their routine and took the win of this year’s lip sync battle, bringing so much energy and charisma to the stage. They had the crowd cheering and singing along as they actually whipped their hair. The costume and dance moves were also on point, and it was altogether an entertaining performance to watch. They shared the $500 prize and treated themselves to a shopping spree. They both explained how preparing for the lip sync battle was an easy process; they practiced and had their performances down the day before the battle, and although their group was supposed to be bigger, it still went really well.
Both Santamaria and Silkoff expressed their feelings while being on stage, “I was a little nervous,” Silkoff said. Santamaria had fun and was excited while being on stage, too. They both said they felt nauseous after the performances and shaking their heads so much, but overall Santamaria and Silkoff were both happy to win this year’s battle and they had fun competing.
Aniyah Rogers ‘25, David Clark ‘24, and Jamie Orazietti ‘24 shocked and entertained the audience with their amazing embodiment of the celebrities Ice Spice, Fetty Wap and Nicki Minaj. They prepared by having many practices and learning new dance moves and the songs. “Being on the stage felt very natural,” Orazietti says. She remarked that she loved everyone’s performance but she wished that her group was at least in the top three. But, they all had fun and that’s what made it a success. Their dance moves and costumes had the crowd cheering in their seats. Soon after this they became the audience’s fan favorites by a vote at the end of the show.
English teacher Nicole Borges talked about her experience being a judge, and why she probably will never do it again, “I was a judge three years ago for the battle and it was a lot of fun, but I took a break from it because I felt guilty and didn’t want anyone to be disappointed on results or not winning.”
Borges went on to say how being a judge is a lot of pressure; she wants everyone to be happy with their results, but the experience is still very fun. “I think the performances get better and better every year and I think that’s what makes it so hard. But I was genuinely impressed with most of them this year,” Borges said. “ The top two I enjoyed the most were Kylin and Cassie and JP and Aiden.”
Audience members also enjoyed the evening. “The lips sync was really nice and I think it’s really good for the school environment; it adds entertainment and interaction to the school,” said Jaylynn Donaldson ‘25. When asked what she thinks the outcome of this year’s battle should have been, she said that she believes Orazietti, Rogers, and Clark’s group should have placed higher and some of the performances needed a little more practice. “My favorite performance had to be Jamie’s group and Kylin and Cassie though,” Donaldson said.
Diana Ladouceur 24′ said, “I feel like who won was pretty fair, but the people I was voting for were Aniyah, Jamie, and David. I feel like they brought the energy to this year’s battle.” Ladouceur said there was a good amount of people at the lip sync battle and it was nice seeing people from the school show up which made it more enjoyable. “The other performances were pretty interesting, it was hype, and I liked it,” Ladouceur said.
This year’s lip sync battle was really fun to watch. The energy was off the charts and everyone gave their all on stage. It was cool to see all the performances and witness everyone’s creativity. Let’s give it up for all the DHS students who participated. DHS can’t wait to see what everyone has in store for next year.
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