Lady Gaga denies Weird Al

[ZipperJJ]

Weird Al wanted to do a parody of "Born This Way" but Gaga denied it

Summary of the very nicely written blog post from Al's blog:

Al got 11 of 12 songs ready for his new album but didn't have his "hit" yet. He waited until "Born this Way" came out, and came up with a concept for a parody. Since the song is a "human rights" song, he expected to give proceeds to the Human Rights Campaign. He asked Gaga (through her "people") who said "gotta read the lyrics first." Al came up with his lyrics (the song is called "Perform this Way") and sent them off, only to be told "Need to hear the whole song first," which sort of confused Al because she had the lyrics and she knew the song, but whatever. He NEVER pre-records a song to get an artists' blessing but he took the risk and recorded it anyway. Then Lady Gaga said "no" after hearing it.

Al released the song on YouTube (frankly I think it's a little boring) but it won't get a video or make it on an album.

Lots of Gaga and Al fans on this board...what do you think?

[Joey P]

Is the album already out? Maybe he'll put it on anyways. Remember, he's only asking to be nice, he doesn't need their permission to do a parody. Of course, I get the feeling Al is a nice guy and if they say no, I'm sure he won't put it on the album.

ETA, I'm guessing that's the 'demo' version and the real version would be a bit...'flashier' Also, that seems like a song that wasn't really meant to be heard on it's own but accompanied by a video, or rather Weird Al dancing around in odd dresses.

[CandidGamera]

Thumbs down for Gaga.

[Antinor01]

Meh. It's her song (that I didn't really like anyway) and her choice to say yes or no. From what I understand, he can abide by that or not. I can't bring myself to care one way or the other.

[muldoonthief]

Sounds like someone who'd have been a sideshow attraction at best 100 years ago is taking herself a bit too seriously.

[miss elizabeth]

I really like Lady GaGa, and I ADORE Weird Al, so I was hoping this would be a nice amicable "I wanted to do this song but she thought a parody would be in poor taste, oh well" type thing. But it seems GaGa is being a bit of a bitch and that makes me sad. I wish she would relent, and maybe if this gets a bit of press she will.

[levdrakon]

All I can figure is Gaga takes herself far more seriously than I thought she did, and Al's lyrics hit too close to home.

Does Lady Gaga really think she's something other than what Al just described?

Besides, Al can write lyrics in his sleep, but apparently Gaga vomits them and spends weeks, months and years "honoring her vomit," whatever that's supposed to mean.

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

I guess Gaga prefers to be her very own self-parody and feels Al's song would be redundant...

So to my knowledge, that brings the list of artists who have said no to an Al song parody up to 2: Lady Gaga and Prince. And, of course, there's also the Coolio, Eminen, and James Blunt abberations as well, with their own unique backstories...

[gaffa]

Originally Posted by levdrakon

All I can figure is Gaga takes herself far more seriously than I thought she did, and Al's lyrics hit too close to home.

She would have to be insanely thin-skinned to be offended by that song.

She goes into the Weird Al Hall of Shame for the Humorless along with Prince and James Blunt's record company. Most artists take Al parodying one of their songs as an honor, or a rite of passage at the very least.

[MsWhatsit]

The only way I can figure this is -- and this actually seems pretty likely to me -- she calculates every action she takes based on gaining maximum press coverage for it. Letting Weird Al do a parody of her song = a little press, but nothing major. Telling Weird Al he can't do a parody of her song = lots of press, for at least a few days.

Joey P, Al says in his blog post that the video for the song was going to be awesome. I'll agree that the song on its own is sort of meh for me. I mean, it's not awful, but I've heard a lot better parodies from Weird Al.

[Cat Whisperer]

That's a foolish choice by Gaga, but whatever. There's plenty more fish in the sea to lampoon.

[Maggie the Ocelot]

Love Gaga, but she blew it. Especially since he was going to donate proceeds to the HRC, which I think she would appreciate.

As Chamillionaire said: "It’s one thing to go platinum. Where do you go from there? Then Weird Al calls.”

[ZipperJJ]

Originally Posted by MsWhatsit

Telling Weird Al he can't do a parody of her song = lots of press, for at least a few days.

I was surprised that no one had posted this to the Dope yet, and the YouTube video of the song only had 330 views!

I am not a huge fan of either artist (I think Al's pretty fun and respect Gaga enough) and I heard this through my brother, who heard about it on his music geeks forum. Doesn't seem like the story has "hit" just yet...but interesting theory.

[Justin_Bailey]

Originally Posted by gaffa

She goes into the Weird Al Hall of Shame for the Humorless along with Prince and James Blunt's record company. Most artists take Al parodying one of their songs as an honor, or a rite of passage at the very least.

Kurt Cobain told everyone he didn't become a rock star until Al did "Smells Like Nirvana"

[MsWhatsit]

Originally Posted by ZipperJJ

I was surprised that no one had posted this to the Dope yet, and the YouTube video of the song only had 330 views!

The video has showed as having 330 views since several hours ago. I think it's not updating for whatever reason. There are over 4,000 "likes" on it already.

[YogSosoth]

I like both of them. Wish Gaga would reconsider

[Mahaloth]

Who else has said "no"?

Coolio didn't like Amish Paradise and says he said no, but Al insists Coolio said yes initially(and I believe Al).

Anyone else deny usage?

[Snowboarder Bo]

I like it more than I like her song. I guess she said no because it pokes fun at her, and she's a very serious artiste.



I can't wait to find an mp3 of this!

ETA:

Originally Posted by Al

My parodies have always fallen under what the courts call “fair use,” and this one was no different, legally allowing me to record and release it without permission. But it has always been my personal policy to get the consent of the original artist before including my parodies on any album, so of course I will respect Gaga’s wishes. However, given the circumstances, I have no problem with allowing people to hear it online, because I also have a personal policy not to completely waste my stinking time.

So I uploaded the song to YouTube, and will be making free mp3 downloads available on weirdal.com shortly. Hope you enjoy it.

[MsWhatsit]

Originally Posted by Mahaloth

Who else has said "no"?

Coolio didn't like Amish Paradise and says he said no, but Al insists Coolio said yes initially(and I believe Al).

Anyone else deny usage?

I turned up this list. I knew about Eminem, Coolio, and James Blunt, but the rest were news to me.

[ministryman]

Lady Gag Gag needs to STFU and get a sense of humor, and a life, as her 15 minutes of Fame are coming to an end.

[KneadToKnow]

Originally Posted by MsWhatsit

I turned up this list. I knew about Eminem, Coolio, and James Blunt, but the rest were news to me.

From the linked article:

Daniel Powter. In a classic, classic case of someone misunderstanding his status on the music food chain, Daniel Powter wouldn't give permission to Al to parody "Bad Day". He just refused.

Until... right before Al was set to hit the studio to record his new album and Daniel Powter had a change of heart. In a rare double denial, Al said it was too late, and he rejected Powter. Powter hasn't been heard from since.

As I literally have no idea who Daniel Powter is, I found this entry on the list high-larious.

Prince turning Al down repeatedly was news to me, also, and disappointing. I actually think Prince has a pretty good sense of humor about himself.

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by MsWhatsit

Joey P, Al says in his blog post that the video for the song was going to be awesome. I'll agree that the song on its own is sort of meh for me. I mean, it's not awful, but I've heard a lot better parodies from Weird Al.

Maybe we need to look at this from the other side. Maybe Lady Gaga said no to Al not because she doesn't want him doing a parody, but because she just plain doesn't like the song. On the one hand it seems like kind of a bitch move to make him jump through all those hoops before saying no (based on reading the OP and nothing more) when she could have just said no right off the bat, OTOH, maybe she was thinking about saying yes, but by the time the song was written she was 'meh' about it also. As much as I really don't like most of her music, it's anything but 'meh'.

[Snowboarder Bo]

Originally Posted by KneadToKnow

Prince turning Al down repeatedly was news to me, also, and disappointing. I actually think Prince has a pretty good sense of humor about himself.

I have friends who've toured with Prince and they report that he has no sense of humor at all, especially about himself.

[Cat Whisperer]

Originally Posted by KneadToKnow

<snip>
Prince turning Al down repeatedly was news to me, also, and disappointing. I actually think Prince has a pretty good sense of humor about himself.

Prince does things for Prince reasons. He said recently that he thinks the internet is over - I love his music deeply, but I don't look to him for reason and logic.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by Mahaloth

Coolio didn't like Amish Paradise and says he said no, but Al insists Coolio said yes initially(and I believe Al).

What apparently happened was that Yankovic contacted Coolio through intermediaries (which is routine). The message was sent back to Yankovic that Coolio had been asked and had given his permission. So Yankovic recorded and released the parody. It then came out that apparently the intermediaries had not actually asked Coolio - they had just given the permission and said it was from him.

[gaffa]

Originally Posted by Joey P

Maybe we need to look at this from the other side. Maybe Lady Gaga said no to Al not because she doesn't want him doing a parody, but because she just plain doesn't like the song.

Or maybe she was offended by the fact that, from a technical standpoint, Al's lyrics make it a much better song. I just read the lyrics for both, and hers are filled with strained rhymes and barely scans.

"No matter black white or beige
Chola or Orient made"

Seriously, that is some mediocre songwriting. Al's parody on the other hand scans, rhymes well and has clever internal rhymes. No contest.

[gaffa]

The view counter is stuck at 330.

Al broke YouTube.

[Maggie the Ocelot]

Honestly, I think it was probably too soon is all.

Born This Way is still getting some serious airplay, and she likely didn't want a song with the same tune causing confusion between the two in the public mind. If Al had waited 6 months, or had picked one of the songs off her previous album to parody, I bet she would have been fine with it.

[MsWhatsit]

Originally Posted by Maggie the Ocelot

Honestly, I think it was probably too soon is all.

Born This Way is still getting some serious airplay, and she likely didn't want a song with the same tune causing confusion between the two in the public mind. If Al had waited 6 months, or had picked one of the songs off her previous album to parody, I bet she would have been fine with it.

I feel like she could have mentioned this before putting Al through the rigamarole of writing and producing the song, though. It's not like it's a secret that he uses the same tune as the actual song.

[gaffa]

Originally Posted by Maggie the Ocelot

Honestly, I think it was probably too soon is all.

Born This Way is still getting some serious airplay, and she likely didn't want a song with the same tune causing confusion between the two in the public mind. If Al had waited 6 months, or had picked one of the songs off her previous album to parody, I bet she would have been fine with it.

From his post, the album wasn't going to be released for another eight weeks. By the time Al's parody came out, it would work perfectly, she would be off promoting her next single and Al's parody would renew interest in her original which would be flagging.

[ZipperJJ]

Originally Posted by Maggie the Ocelot

Honestly, I think it was probably too soon is all.

Born This Way is still getting some serious airplay, and she likely didn't want a song with the same tune causing confusion between the two in the public mind. If Al had waited 6 months, or had picked one of the songs off her previous album to parody, I bet she would have been fine with it.

Good answer.

Woulda been cool if he did uhm...well, her most famous song (IMHO, as it's the only one I know) - "Bad Romance." I think it's a better song than "Born This Way" and we all know Al could have come up with some fine lyrics.

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

Originally Posted by Maggie the Ocelot

Honestly, I think it was probably too soon is all.

Born This Way is still getting some serious airplay, and she likely didn't want a song with the same tune causing confusion between the two in the public mind. If Al had waited 6 months, or had picked one of the songs off her previous album to parody, I bet she would have been fine with it.

One of Al's consistent challenges when doing parodies is that he has to strike while the iron is still hot -- doing a parody of a song that's a year old doesn't work, as the material is now stale. Getting it out while it's still very much in the public's thoughts is a critical part of making the parody effective. Consequently, he almost never records parodies months in advance of an album release, opting instead to wait to the last minute before going into the studio to write and record parody material.

Basically, Gaga has just been a humourless idiot for saying no.

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

I guess I just don't see how Weird Al has made a career of this stuff. No disrespect intended for his fans here, but beyond 8-12 year olds I can't comprehend the appeal.

Don't get me wrong, when I was in the age I mentioned I thought he was a laugh riot, but now I just shake my head with wonder.

It's her song. If she doesn't want it used I don't see how anyone can fault her for it. For me it's no different than artists/writers who don't want their songs used for commercials. It's something she created.

[Steophan]

Originally Posted by MsWhatsit

I turned up this list. I knew about Eminem, Coolio, and James Blunt, but the rest were news to me.

That link also explained why he was asking for permission, as he's not obliged to. Apparently it's on principle, which is fairly admirable.

[gonzoron]

One wonders if Ms. Gaga was as courteous in asking Madonna before recording the song in the first place. :P

[FlightlessBird]

Breaking news: (or whatever)
TMZ link: Lady Gaga -- I Didn't Reject Weird Al Yankovic.

Seems like a weird bit of he said she said.

[Great Antibob]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

What apparently happened was that Yankovic contacted Coolio through intermediaries (which is routine). The message was sent back to Yankovic that Coolio had been asked and had given his permission. So Yankovic recorded and released the parody. It then came out that apparently the intermediaries had not actually asked Coolio - they had just given the permission and said it was from him.

Well, that's Coolio's story after the fact, and his entourage is almost guaranteed to "remember" it that way.

The record producers and Al himself remember a somewhat different story.

[beartato]

Originally Posted by gonzoron

One wonders if Ms. Gaga was as courteous in asking Madonna before recording the song in the first place. :P

Pretty much what I was going to say! Madonna's given her blessing to Weird Al in the past for parodying; he should have just asked her for permission to do this song and claimed confusion later.

[Bosstone]

Originally Posted by Sleeps With Butterflies

I guess I just don't see how Weird Al has made a career of this stuff. No disrespect intended for his fans here, but beyond 8-12 year olds I can't comprehend the appeal.

Don't get me wrong, when I was in the age I mentioned I thought he was a laugh riot, but now I just shake my head with wonder.

How sad that you seem to have forgotten what fun is. I suppose all those artists who consider it an honor to be parodied by Al are children too.

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

Originally Posted by Bosstone

How sad that you seem to have forgotten what fun is. I suppose all those artists who consider it an honor to be parodied by Al are children too.

Thanks for the laugh. No longer liking Weird Al=forgetting what FUN is. Good stuff. Melodrama, we have arrived!

How sad it is that you think that everything we enjoyed when we were younger automatically translates to adulthood. Aw, now we're both sad.

[Bosstone]

Originally Posted by Sleeps With Butterflies

Thanks for the laugh. No longer liking Weird Al=forgetting what FUN is. Good stuff. Melodrama, we have arrived!

How sad it is that you think that everything we enjoyed when we were younger automatically translates to adulthood. Aw, now we're both sad.

Right, I shouldn't have risen to the bait. My bad.

[levdrakon]

Originally Posted by Sleeps With Butterflies

I guess I just don't see how Weird Al has made a career of this stuff. No disrespect intended for his fans here, but beyond 8-12 year olds I can't comprehend the appeal.

Well, for someone trying not to be disrespectful of his fans here, that sure sounded disrespectful.

You know who else was disrespectful and had no sense of humor???

[MsWhatsit]

Originally Posted by Sleeps With Butterflies

I guess I just don't see how Weird Al has made a career of this stuff. No disrespect intended for his fans here, but beyond 8-12 year olds I can't comprehend the appeal.

Don't get me wrong, when I was in the age I mentioned I thought he was a laugh riot, but now I just shake my head with wonder.

It's her song. If she doesn't want it used I don't see how anyone can fault her for it. For me it's no different than artists/writers who don't want their songs used for commercials. It's something she created.

Then she should have said no up-front, rather than putting Al through the rigamarole of actually producing and recording the song before deigning to say no.

Didn't I just say this earlier?

As for the rest of your post, congratulations for sharing your opinion. I mean, personally I don't feel the need to bang out a few sentences of stream-of-consciousness opinion about every artist that has any sort of thread started about them regardless of topic, but that's just me, and our differences make the world go around, am I right?

[Bosstone]

Originally Posted by MsWhatsit

Then she should have said no up-front, rather than putting Al through the rigamarole of actually producing and recording the song before deigning to say no.

Actually, things are a little more interesting than it seems at first glance. TMZ's got an update, and it sure as hell sounds like someone is being squirrely.

But sources extremely close to the singer tell us, "There must have been a misunderstanding because [Gaga] is in no way trying to block the release of the parody."

According to sources, "She's busy touring and hasn't heard the song yet. Her manager hasn't had a chance to play it for her yet" -- adding, "She's a huge Weird Al fan."

A bizarre situation -- because Al claims Gaga's manager is the one who denied him in the first place ... forcing him to release "Perform This Way" unofficially on YouTube.

Either Al is lying -- unlikely, as he's got a rep for being a decent guy -- or the manager tried to shut Al down and realized he dug a hole. Or there was honest miscommunication.

[Red Barchetta]

Originally Posted by ZipperJJ

I was surprised that no one had posted this to the Dope yet, and the YouTube video of the song only had 330 views!

The view counts lag behind by hours and always stop right around the 330 mark--I've uploaded over 800 vids and have seen it with tons of them.

[voltaire]

Originally Posted by KneadToKnow

Prince turning Al down repeatedly was news to me, also, and disappointing. I actually think Prince has a pretty good sense of humor about himself.

Heh, Prince is weird that way. The Foo Fighters covered Darling Nikki, and in response during an interview Prince said that he didn't appreciate it and that they should write their own tunes.

Fast forward to Prince's 2007 Superbowl half-time show, where he included a cover of Foo Fighters' "Best of You" in a mashup of several other covers. And no, the Foos had not given permission and had no clue that he was going to do that, but of course they didn't have a problem with it. But then, the Foos are A LOT less full of themselves than most others in the music business.

[Argent Towers]

Lady Gaga has less talent than a wart on Weird Al's pecker.

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by FlightlessBird

Breaking news: (or whatever)
TMZ link: Lady Gaga -- I Didn't Reject Weird Al Yankovic.

Seems like a weird bit of he said she said.

And thus the story gets more coverage then her just agreeing in the first place. I'm inclined to back MsWhatsit's take on the matter.

[hajario]

Originally Posted by Sleeps With Butterflies

I guess I just don't see how Weird Al has made a career of this stuff. No disrespect intended for his fans here, but beyond 8-12 year olds I can't comprehend the appeal.

Don't get me wrong, when I was in the age I mentioned I thought he was a laugh riot, but now I just shake my head with wonder.

I totally agree with this and was set to say pretty much the same thing.

It's her song. If she doesn't want it used I don't see how anyone can fault her for it. For me it's no different than artists/writers who don't want their songs used for commercials. It's something she created.

I kind of disagree with you here though. If I were an artist, I'd tell him "no" from the get go and not make him actually record the song first. I mean either you like his work and you'd trust him to do it in his usual style or you don't like his work and just refuse. If for some reason this particular parody was way far afield from his normal work then I take all of this back.

Finally, anyone who honestly thinks that Weird Al will be remembered more through the ages than Gaga is just delusional. I don't care for the output of either of them but there is a clear difference between a novelty act with some hardcore fans and a cultural phenomenon.

[billfish678]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Lady Gaga has less talent than a wart on Weird Al's pecker.

There's a "Can't Touch This" joke in here somewhere.