The video: Next year, the Chinese government will crack down on television that qualifies as "excessive entertainment." In the meantime, China can enjoy this "brilliant" and distinctly over-the-top rendition of Lady Gaga's 2009 hit "Bad Romance," as performed by an oddly euphoric crowd of Chinese citizens, some of whom are pushing 70. (See the video below). The show, held at Hunan Television's Mid-Autumn Festival Gala and televised to "hundreds of millions," opened with a troop of mini-skirted coquettes "playing" glass instruments. Next, a "bizarre," giant two-story dollhouse slides into place, populated by a dumpy choir dressed haphazardly in leisure clothing. As the co-ed chorus belts out a family-friendly version of the popular tune, everyone seems blissfully unaware of the badness of the titular romance.
The reaction: Lady Gaga has to see this, says HyperVocal. This group pulled off a cover "so unique and special" that even Gaga would be impressed. Absolutely, says Fan Huang at Shanghaiist. But how can Hunan TV top it? Maybe "some China-specific meat dresses" will show up next year. Now, now, let's not get too excited, says Mark MacKinnon at Canada's Globe and Mail. This camp fiesta hovers on that "fine line between the appalling and the brilliant" and just barely avoids sheer awfulness. See for yourself:
