If karaoke has taught us anything, most people from Asia are not shy about singing their hearts out to any kind of song at any age in front of any audience. As part of the mid-autumn festival celebrations, China's Hunan TV has aired one of the more bizarre Lady Gaga covers to date: A choir performance by Lao Lai Qiao GAGA, translated as "Old Folks Going GAGA."
Opening with tutu-ed girls playing traditional Chinese instruments made of glass, they make way for the plain-clothes gang of old folks singing jovially to the tune of Gaga's "Bad Romance." Providing their own lyrics in Mandarin Chinese, the old folks have moving sets and gently choreographed dance moves to make for an odd, but adorable performance.
Despite the smiling seniors, their translated lyrics suggest a life of loneliness as opposed to Gaga's obsessive romance gone wrong. The choir sings about trying to stay amused in old age and failing to get the attention of their hard-working grown children:
Your working days are too many, you hardly ever come home
At the other end of the phone, you're always busy with no end in sight
Busy with no end
Busy, busy, busy without end.
Your old folks pass their days learning and finding ways to amuse themselves
Cut back on the little details, but HOLD on to those grand occasions
Have to HOLD on,
Hold, hold, hold, have to HOLD on.
Beloved son, watch the singing on TV
Your father and mother didn't make any mistakes, did they?
Tonight, HOLD on as you see Mum & Dad within a second GO GAGA!
If you're satisfied, please stand up and applaud
Don't make us too nervous
If you're happy, sing along with us
Give us our moment on stage (?)
But why Lady Gaga of all choices? Turns out they used "gaga" as a play on words for "grandma" in their native dialect. So while they're not encouraging people to look or act like Lady Gaga, just the fact they used the music of an edgy superstar shows that these senior citizens are more tuned to pop culture that you'd think. With Hunan TV being China's most popular satellite channel, the performance was seen by millions of Chinese people worldwide. After a rousing performance and a huge international audience, these old folks' kids better pick up the phone next time!
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