Comedians Create Immaculate Parody Of 'Rain On Me' And Lady Gaga Approves

Aug 21, 2020 by apost team

Naomi Watanabe is a popular Japanese comedian. She's also one of Lady Gaga's biggest fans. When she first saw Rain on Me she immediately knew that she wanted to recreate the music video. Once her satirical project was completed, it was met with international applause.

When asked about Lady Gaga, Naomi Watanabe says that she sees her as "a mother-like presence who envelops me in a cosmic way." Watanabe has always been a huge fan of the American pop icon and looks forward to every new release.

But although she loves all of Lady Gaga's music, Watanabe was particularly struck by the energy and visuals of Rain on Me. She really wanted to spread the song's message in her own culture and through her own lens. So like any great comedian, she immediately began working on a parody video.

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Watanabe prides herself on putting meticulous attention into every impersonation. If mimicry is meant to be flattery, then there could be no higher compliment than being featured in one of Watanabe's detailed skits.

This particular music video was directed by the famous Daisuke Ninomiya. According to Billboard, he's handled the visuals for artists like SMAP, Exile, and Daichi Mura, so he had exactly the kind of pop experience that Watanabe was looking for. His skill coupled with her passion, the project was sure to be a success.

Watanabe also asked fellow comedian Yuriyan Retriever to play the role of Ariana Grande. Rain on Me is a duet, and the video just wouldn't be the same without a second singer. Luckily, Watanabe and Retriever were able to recreate the intensity of Grande and Gaga's insanely popular performance. The effort put into Watanabe's version is obvious. Aside from a few joke gags, the music video is eerily identical. Somehow, Watanabe has managed to capture both satire and homage in a single artistic piece.

She's quoted as saying,

"I sensed that the way to make this as funny as possible would be to do it as precisely as I could. I love impersonating people, so I was meticulous about the details. As my personal project, this parody music video captures my effort to perfect the quality of a single impersonation."

Cultural context is important when understanding any piece of art. The video was recorded in 2020 during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Out of consideration for the health of her staff, Watanabe didn't even try to record the video until after Japan's coronavirus quarantine was lifted. She also complied with social distancing measures and worked to film the video as safely as possible. This is why the dancers are wearing masks, and it also explains the wall that separates the two comedians during their performance.

When two famous names are attached to a piece, it's almost impossible for it to not be a hit. The parody was released on July 25. It quickly jumped to YouTube Japan's No. 2 trending spot. Since its release, the video has been viewed more than 13 million times by viewers across the world.

Lady Gaga was also a big fan of the video when it was dropped. Her production team immediately complimented the work, which shares many of the same qualities as the original. Gaga herself applauded the video on Twitter, saying: "I CANT EVEN WITH THE SERVE."

Which version of Rain on Me do you like better? Discuss the differences in the comments, and post this video so that your friends can help you decide!