Two of the Marines who lip-dubbed a Britney Spears song in a viral video said Tuesday that filming the clip was a “great morale booster.”
Created by Cpls. Adam Purdy and Andrew Tarin, the video has received more than 2 million hits. In it, Marines from the 266 Rein, stationed in Afghanistan, strut their stuff while lip-syncing to Spears’ “Hold It Against Me.”
And the performance even caught the attention of the pop star herself. “I am in LOVE with this … I always knew our soldiers were fierce! Thanks for everything you guys do," Spears tweeted about the clip.
According to Cpl. Purdy, who spoke to Ann Curry Tuesday on TODAY, the four-minute clip took three months to make.
“We love it. We never expected it to get this big,” Purdy said via Skype. “It’s a great thing and a great morale booster for everyone here.”
“My family loves it,” Tarin added.
The recognition this clip received — including the star’s support — has spawned a flurry of other troops lip-dubbing over their own favorite songs.
It's become a way for soldiers to get creative in their downtime — and for their family and friends (and, well, Britney Spears) to see how they're doing, the Marines said on TODAY. “They like to see that even though we’re in such conditions, we’re having a good time,” Tarin said.