Before 2012, you probably never once tried to slam a cup on a table in rapid succession to see what sound it would make or ever thought to google “a cappella groups at [insert the name of your university].” But with a hilarious take on the surprisingly cutthroat world of college singing competitions that was like Glee but (hot take) funnier, Pitch Perfect changed all of that.
On top of making $115 million at the box office, it also gave us a she’s-a-movie-star-now performance by Anna Kendrick; the absolute banger of a line, “I’m gonna kill him! I’m gonna finish him like a cheesecake”; and the true phenomenon here, “Cups.”
The refresher you probably don’t need: In the film, Kendrick sits onstage in a dark auditorium to perform the song as her audition for The Bellas. And even though her routine lasts just 30 seconds, it was a big-enough deal to prompt a single on the movie’s soundtrack and a stand-alone music video which now has upward of 638 million YouTube views. Basically, it’s the type of viral sensation that would have taken over TikTok—had TikTok existed back then—and maybe still will, given the fact that a new show set in the Pitch Perfect universe is just about to drop on Peacock. In the meantime, please enjoy this ultimate behind-the-scenes experience.
Kendrick first saw a video of the folk-pop song “Cups (When I’m Gone)” by musical duo Lulu and the Lampshades on Reddit, where it hadn’t gotten much traction. She studied its clap-smack-table choreography—at that point, basically just a party trick—before auditioning for the role of Beca.
Anna Kendrick: I spent a day annoying my roommate and teaching myself to do this thing with this cup. So when the Pitch Perfect folks needed me to sing something to make sure I didn’t sound like a dying cat, I thought, There’s this weird thing that I can do, so why not? Because that’ll be a good use of those several hours that I wasted.
Max Handelman (producer): Every actor was required to come up with their own song. There was a heavy amount of Lady Gaga and Adele. But Anna came in and said, “I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, but I saw this really cool song online,” and then she sat down at this table and did “Cups.” It was obvious that it was a great song and different from everything we were hearing.
Jason Moore (director): We knew we wanted [Kendrick’s character] Beca to sing something contrary in the movie for her audition for The Bellas. Everyone else is singing a Kelly Clarkson song, and we wanted her to do something slightly unique or a little bit “fuck you.” She was supposed to sing “I’m a Little Teapot,” but I thought, Why don’t we just put “Cups” in the movie?
Kendrick: Jason and I were debating trying to put it in the shower scene, where I ended up singing “Titanium,” by David Guetta and Sia. Like, maybe I was doing it with a shampoo bottle or something, but we ended up feeling like the best place for it was in Beca’s audition.
Anna Camp (actor, Aubrey): When we were shooting, I had to be Aubrey instead of myself and act a little less impressed than I was because Anna Camp, the actress, was actually very impressed.
Choosing the exact right kind of cup to film was its own challenge. Kendrick and Moore were practically a couple of cup hoarders, Kendrick says, trying to find the best. There was, of course, a debate about Solo cups.
Kendrick: Jason and I would steal every cup we found lying around that might be a different texture or material and therefore might produce a different sound. For people who’ve tried it, I’m sure they’ve discovered very quickly that if you just do it with a red Solo cup, it doesn’t sound very good.
Handelman: There was a lot of internal debate about whether we could use a red cup or a yellow cup because cups were synonymous with drinking beer and fraternity parties, and the Motion Picture Association of America had a lot of restrictions because the movie was marketed to younger kids.
Kendrick: Jason and I had a bag full of cups that we then started banging on the stage to figure out which was the right one. So we were like, “Let’s make it Anna Camp and Brittany Snow’s cup of pens.” I steal it off their table, and that’s how I started doing it.
“Cups” became the most iconic part of the movie and practically begged for its own Big Thing. It got it, in the form of a stand-alone music video with Kendrick’s character working as a baker in the back of a diner. As she daydreams about leaving her job, she—and the patrons—pass the time by clapping and smacking cups on the table.
Moore: Somebody had the idea to set “Cups” to music to do a Lumineers sound—that kind of American folk sound that was on pop stations. The song went either double platinum or triple platinum. That became a radio track, which, again, shocked everyone to death. So it was like, “Well, let’s make a music video for it.”
Kendrick: Look, I’ll be honest, when they first floated the idea of doing a music video, I was like, “What are you guys talking about? That’s so strange.”
Moore: It was an unusual opportunity to make a music video to an American folk song. We had open-call auditions. I think 300 people showed up, from 5 years old all the way to 80.
Aakomon Jones (music video choreographer): Part of the audition was bringing in people to see how they do their own version of “Cups,” because it had obviously become such a popular thing by that point.
Moore: The day of the music video, Anna and I agreed we didn’t want anyone to see her do it beforehand so that it would surprise people and we could record that as well. It’s a very genuine look you’re getting from other actors when they’re like, “Holy shit, she’s doing it.” The idea was, “Let’s show off Anna’s virtuosic abilities by making her do the whole song in one take.” It’s just one shot interrupted by one cut or two cuts. I knew she would be really good at that because she’s so skilled and theater is her background.
Kendrick: My roommate at the time is an extra in the music video. He’s the guy in the blue shirt and the brown hoodie.
Kendrick’s fame skyrocketed in the wake of the video, and the runaway success of “Cups” was in part responsible for making two more Pitch Perfect movies happen.
Kendrick: Someone walked up to me at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, shoved a glass in my face, took out their phone, and they were like, “Do ‘Cups.’” It was the wildest thing. It’s a fancy party, and I would have shattered the glass into a million pieces if I tried.
Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect screenwriter): “Cups” symbolized how this strange movie that took a while to be made led to this sensation. It represents the success of the franchise, and I think that’s what we needed. Because I’d have a hard time selling that movie now.
Camp: The movie musical was really big for a very long time, and then things died down. But Pitch Perfect brought it back in a fresh way that we hadn’t seen before. It was more reality-based than a fantasy version—it made the genre more accessible to a younger generation that wasn’t used to watching music in movies.
Handelman: The Green Bay Packers’ offensive line famously ended up in Pitch Perfect 2 because they were obsessed with the soundtrack. And I know Kobe Bryant was a big Pitch Perfect fan and loved the soundtrack.
Ten years later, “Cups” is still a phenomenon. It has inspired many other pop culture moments and, yes, that new spin-off. Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin will follow Bumper Allen (actor Adam Devine) as he tries to relaunch his music career. Whether or not Bumper gets his own earworm remains to be seen.
Sarah Webster (Pitch Perfect music supervisor): The success of “Cups” is similar to what Kate Bush had this past summer, what Stranger Things did for “Running Up That Hill,” which I remember from the radio when I was a kid. It’s wonderful there’s an entire new generation that recognizes Kate’s artistry and the beauty of her voice and her music.
Luisa Gerstein (Singer, Lulu and the Lampshades): Someone named Tasha did “Cups” on the UK’s Love Island recently. It continues to reverberate. Me and Heloise Tunstall-Behrens of the band bought an apartment together with the money we got from “Cups.”
Kendrick: To this day, parents will still give me the stink-eye guy because their kid won’t stop doing “Cups.” And all I can ever say is, I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry.
Moore: I get a lot of calls from friends of mine who are like, “Thanks a lot.”
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