Jimmy Fallon Probably Should Never Have Challenged J. Lo to This Dance Battle

1 minute read

There are bad ideas and then there’s Jimmy Fallon, suit-wearing television host, challenging Jennifer Lopez, international pop star, renowned dancer, and former Fly Girl, to a dance battle. What was he thinking?

On The Tonight Show, Fallon threw down the gauntlet and declared war on the dance floor against J. Lo. For the battle, Fallon and Lopez had to draw phrases out of a “velvety dance bag” and then make up dances to go with them, while The Roots provided a soundtrack for the action.

Fallon went first, freestyling to “Putting on Skinny Jeans”, even dropping to the floor to show off some of his sweeter moves. Lopez followed with a stellar routine that translated the phrase “Washing Machine on Spin Cycle” into a wonder of head-whipping choreography. Fallon quickly got out of breath, but Lopez came to his rescue, suggesting they perform a dance battle duet that helped Fallon regain his dance floor cred.

Watch the full clip below.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com