Kelis’s “Milkshake” Quoted By Spelling Bee Judge, Everyone Wins: Watch

Two winners were crowned at this year’s Scripps Spelling Bee for the first time in 52 years. The competition was intense as always, with 31 semi-finalists culled down to 12 for the May 29 championship finals. So when 14-year-old Sriram Hathwar was tasked to spell “feijoada” (a Brazilian stew) then asked to use the word in a sentence, the last thing he and officiators expected was for Kelis to be quoted.

“Tabitha discovered that while her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard…” a judge said, the crowd laughing as officiators told him to stop. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was reading the wrong sentence.”

Not that Hathwar wasn’t thrown by the judge quoting Kelis’ 2003 breakout hit “Milkshake.” In fact, he ended being one of this year’s two winners, along with 13-year-old Ansun Sujoe. “I think we both know that the competition was against the dictionary, not against each other,” Hathwar said after the tournament. And when Kelis found out, she was flattered by the “mistake.” So by our count, everyone wins.

Watch a Scripps Spelling Bee judge quote Kelis’ “Milkshake” up top, then revisit the delectable video below.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.