Except from Weird Al's Blog:

I had my manager contact Lady Gaga’s manager to see if she would okay the parody. Here was the exact pitch:

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.

I hadn’t written a single line of the song at this point, but that was the concept I had in my head. Because of my 30-year track record, most artists know that my songs are all in good fun and they’re more than happy to approve a parody just based on the concept alone.

We eventually got a response from the Gaga camp: she would need to “hear it” before she would approve it.

Okay, I thought, she wants to know exactly what the lyrics are going to be before she signs off on the parody. Some artists just are a bit more protective of their material and don’t want to take any chances. Fair enough.

I was right in the middle of my Australian tour and I didn’t have a whole lot of free time, but I cranked day and night until I had a set of finished lyrics.

We send the lyrics to Lady Gaga and wait on figurative pins and needles for her to give us the go-ahead. After a few days, we get our answer: “She actually needs to hear it. Otherwise the answer is no.”

Hmm. Well, this was mystifying to me. At this point she has the lyrics… and hopefully she is familiar with her own song… and the parody is basically her music… with my lyrics. It really shouldn’t be that hard to decide – based on having the lyrics right in front of you – whether or not you’d be “okay” with a parody. But, alas, we’d been given an ultimatum. If she didn’t hear it, she wouldn’t approve it.

Okay then. I decided – based on my belief that people are basically good – to go through the trouble and considerable expense of actually recording the song. Now, I never do that – never. But because I was really excited about this parody, I decided I would faithfully jump through as many hoops as Gaga deemed necessary.

After the Australian tour, I was supposed to go on a long-awaited family vacation over my daughter’s spring break – but because I now had to record what ostensibly was going to be my “hit single” as quickly as humanly possible, I cut our vacation short and came back to L.A. to spend long days and nights in the studio. The band and I worked around the clock. On April 11, I put the finishing touches on the mix and mastered the track. Done.

Or so I thought.

A couple days later we got the final word: Lady Gaga says “no.”

meh... it's a lame parody.

Unholyalliance said:

Except from Weird Al's Blog:

I had my manager contact Lady Gaga’s manager to see if she would okay the parody. Here was the exact pitch:

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.

I hadn’t written a single line of the song at this point, but that was the concept I had in my head. Because of my 30-year track record, most artists know that my songs are all in good fun and they’re more than happy to approve a parody just based on the concept alone.

We eventually got a response from the Gaga camp: she would need to “hear it” before she would approve it.

Okay, I thought, she wants to know exactly what the lyrics are going to be before she signs off on the parody. Some artists just are a bit more protective of their material and don’t want to take any chances. Fair enough.

I was right in the middle of my Australian tour and I didn’t have a whole lot of free time, but I cranked day and night until I had a set of finished lyrics.

We send the lyrics to Lady Gaga and wait on figurative pins and needles for her to give us the go-ahead. After a few days, we get our answer: “She actually needs to hear it. Otherwise the answer is no.”

Hmm. Well, this was mystifying to me. At this point she has the lyrics… and hopefully she is familiar with her own song… and the parody is basically her music… with my lyrics. It really shouldn’t be that hard to decide – based on having the lyrics right in front of you – whether or not you’d be “okay” with a parody. But, alas, we’d been given an ultimatum. If she didn’t hear it, she wouldn’t approve it.

Okay then. I decided – based on my belief that people are basically good – to go through the trouble and considerable expense of actually recording the song. Now, I never do that – never. But because I was really excited about this parody, I decided I would faithfully jump through as many hoops as Gaga deemed necessary.

After the Australian tour, I was supposed to go on a long-awaited family vacation over my daughter’s spring break – but because I now had to record what ostensibly was going to be my “hit single” as quickly as humanly possible, I cut our vacation short and came back to L.A. to spend long days and nights in the studio. The band and I worked around the clock. On April 11, I put the finishing touches on the mix and mastered the track. Done.

Or so I thought.

A couple days later we got the final word: Lady Gaga says “no.”

That's a bit of a dick move, i mean she could have just said yes or no right on point. I am sure people will still defend her doing this, but it really seems unnecessary for her people to have him make the song first0_0, i don't think even Prince was this difficult with Weird Al lol

Theres already a thread, but I will say the smart one is Al, hes already released it online and got the gaga wouldnt let me tag. Thus piquing the haters and the lil munsters attention. Its going viral already.

I wish he'd release his Prince parody this way!

Note: there's only been a FEW people who rejected Weird Al doing a parody of the song, Prince being the first to turn him down (if I recall right lol).

And he's still donating the proceeds to the Human Rights Campaign. Good for him.

Coolio let him release "Amish Paradise" but still dissed him lol funny ass shit.

Timmy84 said:

Note: there's only been a FEW people who rejected Weird Al doing a parody of the song, Prince being the first to turn him down (if I recall right lol).

lol That's true, but I don't think that Prince tries to hide the fact that he's a jackass. The thing is that Lady Gaga's people gave him the run around before declining instead of just saying a straight 'no' from the beginning. Michael Jackson also said no to one of Weird Al's parodies, but stated his reason why he said no. If I was Weird Al, I would also be annoyed and vent out as well.

Unholyalliance said:

Timmy84 said:

Note: there's only been a FEW people who rejected Weird Al doing a parody of the song, Prince being the first to turn him down (if I recall right lol).

lol That's true, but I don't think that Prince tries to hide the fact that he's a jackass. The thing is that Lady Gaga's people gave him the run around before declining instead of just saying a straight 'no' from the beginning. Michael Jackson also said no to one of Weird Al's parodies, but stated his reason why he said no. If I was Weird Al, I would also be annoyed and vent out as well.

Very true.

I think she should've let him do it. He parodies everybody - Michael Jackson, Madonna....and his parodies are never mean-spirited, so it's not like the laughs would be at her expense.

And really too the fact that he wanted to parody her is a big compliment and should've let her know she really made it, because he only parodies the ones who are REALLY big.

It came out that she didn’t hear it yet and likes him her manager lied and didn’t tell her.

I'm just anxious about the video. I bet he may make a cartoon video like he did with "Trapped in the Drive-Thru". I loved that one.

From Weird Al's Official Blog (Gaga Says Yes):

"Well, this was a strange day.

After putting my Lady Gaga parody on YouTube this morning – and announcing that it wouldn’t be on my next album because Gaga didn’t approve it – there was a huge outpouring of disappointment from the Internet.

Apparently the fact that she didn’t approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself!

Gaga’s manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga – she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that’s what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own.

He’s sorry.

And Gaga loves the song.

I’m thrilled on many levels to hear this, because 1) I truly respect and admire Gaga as an artist and it pained me to think of her as having less than a great sense of humor, and 2) it means I GET TO PUT OUT MY ALBUM!

As promised, all my proceeds from the song (and the MUSIC VIDEO… I can’t wait…) will go to the Human Rights Campaign.

Thank you, Gaga. And thanks to everybody who had my back.

Whew!

Your pal,
Al"

http://alyankovic.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/gaga-update/

I think any artist has the right to decline to have their song parodied. I agree she should have accepted or declined the offer right then and their, but Weird Al Yankovich came to Lady Gaga's managers for the parody. Weird Al take it on the chin and just move on. Stop bitching about being turned down, and do something else.

bashraka said:

I think any artist has the right to decline to have their song parodied. I agree she should have accepted or declined the offer right then and their, but Weird Al Yankovich came to Lady Gaga's managers for the parody. Weird Al take it on the chin and just move on. Stop bitching about being turned down, and do something else.

Well she didn't even hear it allegedly and now has accepted it lol so both of them have since moved on. Let's move on from this too.

wow. i love al yankovic. i still haven't heard the song (nor have i heard the song he's parodying). but i still love him. and i'm glad all was good in the end. maybe she will fire the manager.

[Edited 4/20/11 20:19pm]

MJJstudent said:

wow. i love al yankovic. i still haven't heard the song (nor have i heard the song he's parodying). but i still love him. and i'm glad all was good in the end. maybe she will fire the manager.

[Edited 4/20/11 20:19pm]

Her people haven't done a good job with the woman lately. And she may need to stop the interviews too.

Timmy84 said:

MJJstudent said:

wow. i love al yankovic. i still haven't heard the song (nor have i heard the song he's parodying). but i still love him. and i'm glad all was good in the end. maybe she will fire the manager.

[Edited 4/20/11 20:19pm]

Her people haven't done a good job with the woman lately. And she may need to stop the interviews too.

hee hee...

Never thought Weird Al was funny, it's all way to easy what he is doing.

NoVideo said:

meh... it's a lame parody.

My thoughts exactly. If I worked as hard as Lady Gaga does and somebody sent me a half-assed parody like that I'd have said no. Weird Al did was string a bunch of old gossip-page headlines together in first person; it sounded like a clip from the Howard Stern Show. He can do better.

Unholyalliance said:

Except from Weird Al's Blog:

Hmm. Well, this was mystifying to me. At this point she has the lyrics… and hopefully she is familiar with her own song… and the parody is basically her music… with my lyrics. It really shouldn’t be that hard to decide – based on having the lyrics right in front of you – whether or not you’d be “okay” with a parody.

that made me

sosgemini said:

Another tale of managers gone wild. Like Lindsey Lohan learned today, crazy staff is never a good career move.

I think more likely a case of "Managers taking the fall". Assistants, PR people and their ilk are there for purposes like this.

Timmy84 said:

MJJstudent said:

wow. i love al yankovic. i still haven't heard the song (nor have i heard the song he's parodying). but i still love him. and i'm glad all was good in the end. maybe she will fire the manager.

[Edited 4/20/11 20:19pm]

Her people haven't done a good job with the woman lately. And she may need to stop the interviews too.

Yup, gotta agree with you on that one. I think Weird Al doing a parody of her right now would be really damaging with all the negative feedback from her interviews. She needs to stop the "bleeding" at this point, pause, and take a moment to decide how she really wants to direct her career, since it has blown up to world-wide "monster" proportions at this moment in time...

Someone should do a parody of Weird Al.

novabrkr said:

Someone should do a parody of Weird Al.

Now, how in the hell would somebody do that! If someone did it, it would be funny as hell. Just waiting...

novabrkr said:

Someone should do a parody of Weird Al.

If they haven't done it in 30 years, the HELL makes you think they're gonna do it NOW!? Fuck outta here!

As if you can find any pop star with THAT type of sense of humor, even if it's humor the average listener doesn't GET.

Remember this place is MUSIC SNOB CENTRAL.

Timmy84 said:

Remember this place is MUSIC SNOB CENTRAL.

You know, this place still isn't even half as bad as the other music snobs I have come in contact in other places. Nowhere near as bad.

Unholyalliance said:

Timmy84 said:

Remember this place is MUSIC SNOB CENTRAL.

You know, this place still isn't even half as bad as the other music snobs I have come in contact in other places. Nowhere near as bad.

That's the SADDEST part. Least there's some tolerance here lol

PurpleMedley122 said:

From Weird Al's Official Blog (Gaga Says Yes):

"Well, this was a strange day.

After putting my Lady Gaga parody on YouTube this morning – and announcing that it wouldn’t be on my next album because Gaga didn’t approve it – there was a huge outpouring of disappointment from the Internet.

Apparently the fact that she didn’t approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself!

Gaga’s manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga – she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that’s what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own.

He’s sorry.

And Gaga loves the song.

I’m thrilled on many levels to hear this, because 1) I truly respect and admire Gaga as an artist and it pained me to think of her as having less than a great sense of humor, and 2) it means I GET TO PUT OUT MY ALBUM!

As promised, all my proceeds from the song (and the MUSIC VIDEO… I can’t wait…) will go to the Human Rights Campaign.

Thank you, Gaga. And thanks to everybody who had my back.

Whew!

Your pal,
Al"

http://alyankovic.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/gaga-update/

Interesting

NDRU said:

PurpleMedley122 said:

From Weird Al's Official Blog (Gaga Says Yes):

"Well, this was a strange day.

After putting my Lady Gaga parody on YouTube this morning – and announcing that it wouldn’t be on my next album because Gaga didn’t approve it – there was a huge outpouring of disappointment from the Internet.

Apparently the fact that she didn’t approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself!

Gaga’s manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga – she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that’s what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own.

He’s sorry.

And Gaga loves the song.

I’m thrilled on many levels to hear this, because 1) I truly respect and admire Gaga as an artist and it pained me to think of her as having less than a great sense of humor, and 2) it means I GET TO PUT OUT MY ALBUM!

As promised, all my proceeds from the song (and the MUSIC VIDEO… I can’t wait…) will go to the Human Rights Campaign.

Thank you, Gaga. And thanks to everybody who had my back.

Whew!

Your pal,
Al"

http://alyankovic.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/gaga-update/

Interesting

at the people who were ready to jump on the "Gaga is a toad for refusing to let Weird Al release his parody song of Born This Way" bandwagon.