Weird Al Yankovic has has built quite the successful career on his ability to parody well-known pop songs -- and he looks to have another tongue-in-cheek hit with "Perform This Way," a send-up of Lady Gaga's hit single "Born This Way." Though it looked for a while like Gaga might not give Al permission to include the song on his new album Apocalypse (on sale now), Mother Monster and Weird Al have dispensed with that "misunderstanding" -- and the Internet (and world) is a better place for it. The music video for "Perform This Way" has hit YouTube, starring Weird Al as a wig-and-meat-dress-wearing, perenially gyrating stand-in for Gaga. Watch the video below!
In the "Perform This Way" video, Weird Al's head is superimposed onto a gyrating body which appears in a dizzying array of increasingly bizarre costumes -- including a dress made of raw meat, a humorous nod to Lady Gaga's notoriously kooky couture. He starts off by "hatching" from an egg, singing:
My mama told me when I was hatched
Act like a superstar
Save your allowance
Buy a bubble dress
And some day you will go far...
I'm sure my critics will say
It's a grotesque display
Well, they can bite me, baby
I perform this way
I might be wearin' Swiss cheese
Or maybe covered with bees
It doesn't mean I'm crazy
I perform this way!
When Lady Gaga's single was first released, many remarked on its similarities to Madonna's hit from 1989 "Express Yourself". Originally, Lady Gaga responded in an interview with Jay Leno with the comment: "There is no one that is more of an adoring and loving Madonna fan than me. I am the hugest fan, personally and professionally."
As media and fans continued to compare her to Madonna, however, Gaga grew frustrated and called such comparisons "retarded." Yankovic has a lot of fun with that mini-controversy in his video by having a Madonna lookalike in blond curls and a gold bullet-bra (Madge's Blonde Ambition tour getup) continuously try to dance her way into the frame, only to have Gaga (played by Weird Al) push her out of the way.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and Yankovic's lyrics and gyrations capture the bizarre and entertaining phenomenon that is Lady Gaga. As a bonus, Yankovic plans to donate proceeds from the single to the Human Rights Campaign. So everyone wins!
