Tom Holland had a feeling he was meant to sing and dance in the rain.
While the Marvel star is of course well known for his role as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, he admitted he’s even better known for his iconic 2017 turn on Lip Sync Battle, in which he channeledRihanna for a performance of “Umbrella.”
But according to Tom, he and fiancéeZendaya—who competed against each other on the episode—had originally agreed to keep the performances simple.
“We were chatting at the time about what we were gonna do. And we had agreed we would take it easy,” he recently confessed onGordon Ramsay’sScrambled. “It was like, ‘I’m not gonna do anything crazy. You’re not gonna do anything crazy. We’re just gonna keep it nice and easy breezy.’”
However, once Tom started working with the Lip Sync Battleteam, his plans just “got crazier and crazier,” especially as he prepped to bait and switch the audience, starting with “Singin’ in the Rain” before jumping over to “Umbrella.”
“The rain machine came in,” the 29-year-old recalled. “I was like, ‘F–k yeah, I wanna wear fishnets and do this. And I want a wig and a quick change.’”
The performance—which indeed featured Tom in a burlesque-inspired outfit as well as a slew of backup dancers—also gave him a chance to show off his own dancing skills, with him joking that he kept it quiet so that he could come “out with a bang,” including that epic back flip at the end.
And while Zendaya—who performed Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic”—was just as stunned by the performance as the audience, Tom revealed that his dad, DominicHolland, didn’t think it was a good idea for the then-21-year-old.
“At that time in my career, he was very worried about me becoming too famous too quickly,” the Cherry star explained. “So he was really keen for me to not do extra TV shows that I didn’t have to do to try and maintain that part of my childhood.”
Luckily, Tom moved forward with the performance anyway, which has now cemented him as one of the all-time Lip Sync Battle greats, with over 34 millions views onYouTube alone.
“It’s ridiculous,” he laughed. “Honestly, of all the pieces of work I’ve done, that I’ve put my heart and soul into—blood, sweat and tears—the Lip Sync Battle is the thing that everyone brings up. It’s never Spider-Man, it’s never any of my other movies. It’s always Lip Sync Battle.”
Tom quipped, “It haunts me.”
As for what became of the iconic fishnets he wore? Tom joked that they were his granny’s, adding, “They’re framed, actually. At the Met.”
And even Zendaya would understand why, as she couldn’t help but gush over her fiancé, tellingEsquire in 2021, “He obviously killed it.”
For a look back and a few of Tom and Zendaya’s most adorable moments, keep reading.
July 2016: Comic-Con Fun
Tom Holland and Zendaya shared a laugh during the Marvel panel event at San Diego Comic-Con International 2016 in San Diego, Calif, ahead of the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
May 2017: MTV Movie & TV Awards
The Spider-Man: Homecoming stars spoke onstage at the award show in Los Angeles.
June 2017: Promoting in Spain
Tom and Zendaya attended a photo call for Spider-Man: Homecoming in Madrid.
June 2019: Par-tay
The duo appeared at the after-party for the premiere of Spider-Man: Far From Home in Hollywood, Calif.
September 2021: Birthday Shoutout
Months after their romance was confirmed, Tom gushed over his onscreen and offscreen girlfriend.
“My MJ, have the happiest of birthdays,” he wrote, referring to Zendaya by her character’s name, in his Sept. 1 post. “Gimme a call when your up xxx”
December 2021: Back to London
The two attended a photo call for Spider-Man: No Way Home at The Old Sessions House in London.
December 2021: Promoting Spider-Man: No Way Home
Tom and Zendaya spoke during SiriusXM Radio’s Town Hall with the cast of Spider-Man: No Way Home in New York City.
December 2021: Spider-Man: No Way Home Premiere in L.A.
The actress, in a custom Valentino gown, and Tom, in a Prada suit, posed for pictures at the premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home in Los Angeles.
December 2021: Celebrating a Dream Fulfilled
After their third Spider-Man film hit theaters, Zendaya heaped praise over her leading man.
“My Spider-Man, I’m so proud of you,” she gushed, “some things never change and good thing @tomholland2013.”
February 2022: Taking in a New York Minute
The duo dressed to impress as they enjoyed a belated Valentine’s Day night on the town in NYC Feb. 16.
June 2023: Tom’s 27th Birthday
Zendaya shared this sweet shot of her boyfriend enjoying the water in honor of his birthday.
June 2023: Tom’s “Sexiest” Pic Ever
Tom unveiled this beauty for his 27th birthday, joking on Instagram, “A gift from me to you. I thought I’d share possibly the sexiest picture ever taken of me!” Zendaya was into it, reacting with a heart-eye emoji.
March 2024: Acing a Tennis Date
Zendaya channeled her inner Tashi Duncan ahead of her movie Challengers‘ release during a tennis outing with Tom and her longtime assistant Darnell Appling at the Men’s Final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
April 2024: All Smiles
The two enjoyed a night out in London.
May 2024: In Fair Verona
Zendaya supported Tom after the debut of his play Romeo and Juliet in London, where the pair were seen holding hands following the show.
October 2024: Bero Launch Party
As Tom debuted his non-alcoholic beer company, Bero, Zendaya was by his side in a coordinating burgundy look.
November 2024: Low Key Date Night
While visiting Zendaya in Newbury, Massachusetts, where Zendaya was filming her movie The Drama, the duo popped out for a pint of Bero.
“I’m heading out to a bar to have my first Bero in the wild,” Tom, wrote on is Instagram story alongside a shot of his longtime girlfriend smiling in the background. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
