On 18 March 2020, Israeli actress Gal Gadot posted a video on Instagram of herself and two dozen celebrity friends singing a rendition of the song "Imagine" by John Lennon, which intended to raise morale in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. [1]
On 18 March 2020, Israeli actress Gal Gadot posted a video on Instagram of herself and two dozen celebrity friends singing a rendition of the song "Imagine" by John Lennon, which intended to raise morale in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. [1]
Gadot organized the video with help from Kristen Wiig. [2] She told Instyle: "The pandemic was in Europe and Israel before it came here (to the United States) in the same way. I was seeing where everything was headed." So she told Wiig, "Listen, I want to do this thing." [3]
Gadot said she was inspired to make the video after seeing a man from Italy play "Imagine" on his trumpet from his balcony. [4]
(In order of appearance)
The video was nearly universally panned, with critics dismissing it as an ineffective, out-of-touch, "cringey" response to the pandemic; Jon Caramanica of the New York Times called it "an empty and profoundly awkward gesture". [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Gadot later acknowledged the video did not garner the positive reaction that had been intended but was unapologetic in explaining the thinking behind it. [2] Gadot acknowledged the video ended up being in "poor taste" but maintained that it was made with "pure intentions". [3]
The video was parodied by comedian Zack Fox, whose version was based on the song "Slob on My Nob" by Tear Da Club Up Thugs. Fox's version featured appearances from Eric André, Thundercat, 6lack, Quinta Brunson, Langston Kerman, and Chuck Inglish, among others. [10] [11]
British comedian Joe Lycett (then named Hugo Boss) parodied the video which also featured Greg James, Rob Beckett, Nish Kumar, Katherine Ryan, Noel Fielding, Suzi Ruffell, Alex Horne, Paul Chuckle, Rosie Jones, Josh Widdicombe, Harry Hill and Joel Dommett, in which a lyric in each cut was replaced with the word "bastard". [12] [13]
Experimental musician Lingua Ignota also remixed the audio of Gadot's version into a harsh noise wall song titled "Above Us Only Sky". [14]
American singer-songwriter John Mayer also parodied the video in an episode of Current Mood. Mayer inserted clips of himself singing "Imagine" by Ariana Grande into Gadot's original video. [15] [16]
American jazz musician and YouTuber Charles Cornell analyzed the video from a musical standpoint, critiquing the lack of coordination in maintaining a consistent musical key and rhythm. He then created and performed a new version with his own backing music; using the celebrities' vocals put to a consistent meter and with relevant key changes to transition between singers. [17] [18]
The video was also parodied on the series The Boys , in the opening scene of the episode "Herogasm", in which the character the Deep, himself a parody of Aquaman (rather than Queen Maeve, the show's parody of Wonder Woman, the character portrayed by Gadot) mirrors Gadot's comments about feeling philosophical before starting to sing "Imagine" followed by celebrities such as Patton Oswalt, Josh Gad, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Elizabeth Banks, Kumail Nanjiani, Aisha Tyler, and Rose Byrne, individually singing a line of the song each. [19]
The video was also parodied by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross during a virtual reunion of Mr. Show , where the participants sung "Eat It" by "Weird Al" Yankovic. [20] The cover featured an array of Mr. Show cast members, as well as actors and actresses from both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul , including Rhea Seehorn, Michael Mando, Michael McKean, and Bryan Cranston. Sarah Silverman, who appeared in the original, also joined, along with Rachel Bloom and Yankovic himself.
Mr. Show with Bob and David, also known as Mr. Show, is an American sketch comedy series starring and hosted by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. It aired on HBO from November 3, 1995, to December 28, 1998.
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"Imagine" is a song by the English rock musician John Lennon from his 1971 album of the same name. The best-selling single of his solo career, the lyrics encourage listeners to imagine a world of peace, without materialism, without borders separating nations and without religion. Shortly before his death, Lennon said that much of the song's lyrics and content came from his wife, Yoko Ono, and in 2017, she received a co-writing credit.
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