Parody song superhero Weird Al Yankovic has been doing his thing his way for over 25 years now; for a good stretch of that time, getting a Weird Al remake was a sign you had truly made it, and everyone from Michael Jackson to Nirvana gave their hearty approval at Weird Al's accordion-laced, PG-13 homages. But it seems Weird Al has hit a little snag with his latest parody: the Lady Gaga doth protest. [HAPPY UPDATE BELOW]
Weird Al recounts the whole saga on his website in a long post—you can read it all here, but suffice to say, he described the parody as such:
I’d like to do a parody of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” called “I Perform This Way.” The basic concept is that I, as a Lady Gaga doppelganger of sorts, describe the incredibly extravagant ways in which I perform on stage. Meat dresses and giant eggs would most likely be referenced, but also much more ridiculous made-up examples of bizarre wardrobe and stage production. As with all my parodies, it would be respectful of the artist, while having a bit of fun with her larger-than-life image.
Lady Gaga eventually heard the finished product, and then curtly said "no." Weird Al told the Times today that it was incredibly rare for someone to refuse him (he only cites James Blunt, blaming it on his record company), and "unprecedented" that Gaga asked to hear the finished song before saying either way. He adds that he legally doesn't need her permission, but "always feel more comfortable knowing that I’ve got the artist’s blessing on it."
He also said that he was planning to donate all the money from sales of the song and music video to the Human Rights Campaign, and that it would have been in Gaga's financial interest as well...were this 1992: "I was talking to a record executive from Nirvana’s label who said he firmly believed that because of my parody, Nirvana sold an extra million copies of Nevermind."
Even though Weird Al said that Gaga's camp "expressed over and over that it was in fact Lady Gaga herself making the decision," sources told TMZ that Lady Gaga denied rejecting, or even hearing, the parody: "There must have been a misunderstanding because [Gaga] is in no way trying to block the release of the parody. She's busy touring and hasn't heard the song yet. Her manager hasn't had a chance to play it for her yet...She's a huge Weird Al fan."
So either she's covering her tracks after Weird Al went to the media with the story, or the whole thing really is one giant misunderstanding. Despite the frog costumes and egg entrances, Lady Gaga doesn't always take too kindly to criticism: when asked about fans who called "Born This Way" a rip off of Madonna's "Express Yourself", she said "That's retarded... Just because I'm the first f**king artist in 25 years to think of putting it on Top 40 radio, it doesn't mean I'm a plagiarist, it means I'm f**king smart. Sorry."
Below, you can listen (and read) along to Weird Al's "Born This Way" parody, "Perform This Way."
UPDATE:according to a tweet from NY Times reporter Dave Itzkoff: "BREAKING! Weird @alyankovic's manager tells me @ladygaga has now given permission for "Perform This Way" to be included on his album."
