Lynne & Tessa
Encyclopedia
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, who have released internet videos of themselves lip-synching to famous pop songs that, for a brief period during 2006-2007, brought them a considerable online following as well as local media attention.
Lynne Part (born January 1986) is 5 ft. 7 in. tall, and has chestnut brown hair, a brownish skin tone with round, sensuous facial features and a buxom figure. Tessa Watzik (born 6 December 1986) has dark brown hair, a noticeably lighter complexion with more angular facial features, and is slightly taller and more slender in figure; she also has a piercing with a silver stud above her chin as well as a tongue stud, which are sometimes removed. Between the two of them, Lynne has a more casual and relaxed command of English as well as a more expressive face and fluid body language. Tessa sometimes forgets the lyrics of the songs and usually appears to be following, and responding to, Lynne's lead during her part of the performance.
History
In their videos, Lynne and Tessa mime to current pop hits, gamely pulling exaggerated "emotive" faces while lip-syncing and performing a variety of silly gestures, hilariously overwrought dance moves, clever physical comedyPhysical comedy
Physical comedy, also known as slapstick, is a comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humour.Physical comedy, whether conveyed by a pratfall , a silly face, or the action of walking into walls, is a common and rarely subtle form of comedy...
routines, and other spontaneous and charming antics. Sometimes they use common household items for makeshift props
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
and improvised sight gags meant to parody certain song lyrics (such as holding up black kittens for the "black cats" mentioned in Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
's "Livin' La Vida Loca
Livin' la Vida Loca
"Livin' la Vida Loca" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. It was released on March 23, 1999 from Martin's self-titled debut English album. The song was composed by Desmond Child and Draco Rosa and topped the charts during 1999...
", as well as squirting a plastic water-spray bottle in front of the camera for "dancing in the rain"). Their ability to engage and sustain the viewer's attention for several minutes with only a basic fixed single-camera set-up demonstrates not only their wit and talent as performers, but also a well-developed understanding of how to create an interesting and dynamic visual experience within a static frame.
Lynne and Tessa have been featured on several German television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channels, including RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
, Sat.1
Sat.1
Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....
and Pro 7
Pro 7
ProSieben is a commercial television station in Germany distributed to a large extent via cable and satellite along with DVB-T in larger population centres. It began operations on January 1, 1989. Since 2003 the station, as part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media, is owned by a group of investors led by...
, on the German radio station YOU FM
YOU FM
You FM is one of the radio networks owned and operated by Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for the German state of Hesse. Originally operating under the name hr XXL, the network featured the popular show XXL Clubnights which highlighted the night club scene in Hesse...
, and in the print media. Their videos have met with great popularity and have been viewed more than 16 million times by people around the world. Before their original videos were mysteriously removed from Google Video
Google Video
Google Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
around December 7, 2007, several could be found on Google Video
Google Video
Google Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
's Top 100 list at any given time. One video, based on Aqua
Aqua (band)
Aqua is a Danish dance-pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group released two...
's 1997 hit "Barbie Girl
Barbie Girl
"Barbie Girl" is a song by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua, who released the song in 1997 as their third single overall, and the first United Kingdom release...
", was ranked as Google Video
Google Video
Google Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
's 8th most popular video overall. Fans have dedicated tribute or remake videos to the pair.
In July 2006, Lynne and Tessa won the Google Idol Pop Webcam Competition 3. In December 2006 and January 2007, they hosted a lip-sync video contest on the German website clipfish.de. In May 2007, in conjunction with Clipfish, the duo hosted a TV program, The Lynne & Tessa Show, which aired on the German network channel RTL2
RTL II
RTL II is a privately owned, commercial, general-interest German television channel.It was founded as a second-generation commercial broadcaster in 1993. It quickly became infamous for its perceived "trash programming", comprising lots of soft porn as well as shows such as Peep and many...
on the evening of May 28, 2007. The show consisted of a collection of humorous video clips that have circulated on the internet, intermixed with commentary and several short skits by Lynne and Tessa. Viewership was below expectations, and Tessa subsequently announced in her blog that by mutual agreement no more shows will be produced. In September, 2007, the two made an odd video which appears to be part of an online marketing scheme for a new Pringles
Pringles
Pringles is a brand of potato and wheat based snacks originally developed by Procter & Gamble. Pringles are sold in more than 140 countries and have yearly sales of more than...
product. They have made no further videos or media appearances since late 2007—and now that two of them have gone back to being students full time, it appears that Lynne and Tessa's meteoric rise to internet and television stardom has ended.