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Imagine (Gal Gadot video)

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Gal Gadot looking down at the camera and smiling.
A screenshot of the video uploaded to Instagram

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]

Origins

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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]

Participants

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(In order of appearance)

Reception and parodies

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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 his Instagram talk show 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 sang "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.

References

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  1. ^ Yang, Rachel (19 March 2020). "Watch Gal Gadot sing 'Imagine' with help from Sia, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, and more". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b Sales, Nancy Jo (13 October 2020). "Gal Gadot Is in a League of Her Own". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Laura (4 January 2022). "Going There With Gal Gadot". InStyle. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. ^ Weisholtz, Drew (19 March 2020). "Gal Gadot, Will Ferrell and Jimmy Fallon lead star-studded 'Imagine' singalong". Today (American TV program). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  5. ^ Caramanica, Jon (20 March 2020). "This 'Imagine' Cover Is No Heaven". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Gal Gadot and celebrity friends mocked over cringey 'Imagine' cover". Esquire Middle East. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  7. ^ Isador, Taylor Rivers, Graham (19 March 2020). "Gal Gadot's Celebrity 'Imagine' Video Is Just Too Cringe". Vice. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Barbour, Shannon (19 March 2020). "Gal Gadot Recruited Her Celebrity Friends to Sing John Lennon's "Imagine" and Twitter Definitely Hates It". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  9. ^ El-Mahmoud, Sarah (20 March 2020). "Gal Gadot Tried to Do Something Nice with 'Imagine.' It Didn't Go Over So Hot". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Zack Fox Made a Much Better Version of the Gal Gadot Celebrity Singalong". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  11. ^ Breihan, Tom (20 March 2020). "Zack Fox, Thundercat, 6lack, Eric Andre Make Us Feel Less Alone With "Slob On My Knob"". Stereogum. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  12. ^ Joe Lycett (25 March 2020). Bastards | Joe Lycett. Retrieved 1 August 2024 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ Wiegand, Chris (20 March 2020). "Imagine all the standups: Gal Gadot video mocked by comics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  14. ^ Helman, Peter (19 March 2020). "Check Out Lingua Ignota's Sick Remix Of Gal Gadot & Friends' "Imagine" Cover". Stereogum. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  15. ^ Current Mood Mini by John Mayer - Singing 'Imagine', retrieved 16 April 2023
  16. ^ Haring, Bruce (26 March 2020). "John Mayer Has Fun With The Ariana Grande Version Of Gal Gadot's 'Imagine' Singalong". Deadline. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  17. ^ Celebrities singing Imagine to save us all | Musical Analysis, retrieved 2 September 2023
  18. ^ Pentreath, Rosie (27 March 2020). "This guy took that viral celebrity 'Imagine' video – and made it a work of absolute art". Classic FM. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  19. ^ Outlaw, Kofi (24 June 2022). "The Boys Parodies Gal Gadot's 'Imagne' Sing-A-Along With Surprising Cameos". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  20. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (14 May 2020). "Bob Odenkirk, David Cross Ape 'Imagine' Sing-Along With Cover of 'Eat It'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
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