Naomi Watanabe reproduces music video of Lady Gaga’s Rain On Me shot by shot

Over the weekend, Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe released her very own parody music video of Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s Rain On Me on her YouTube channel.

Despite it being a not-for-profit production, the parody imitates the full four-minute music video of Lady Gaga’s latest single with Ariana Grande. Taking the role of Lady Gaga is none other than Naomi Watanabe. As for the role of Ariana Grande, Watanabe invited a special guest: Yuriyan Retriever, a fellow comedian and also her junior from the same agency.

According to Watanabe’s Instagram post, the parody was shot “almost in the exact frame” and “rhythm”. Not only were there actual dancers, even the costume and hairdo were made as close as possible to the original.

If we were to spot any differences, the only one that stood out hilariously would have been the “dango rain” instead of a rain of knives. And of course, that one stick of dango (Japanese rice dumpling) jutting out from Watanabe’s thigh, which she later ferociously pulled out to take a bite of.

The highly entertaining video has garnered almost 4 million views. Apparently, even Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande have given their approval for the more-than-legit parody music video.

Watanabe said when she first saw the original Rain On Me at the end of May, she found it “so powerful and amazing”. After the coronavirus quarantine, the determined Watanabe went ahead to shoot the parody music video which has “no financial benefit and was super costly”.

In her recent Instagram post which showed some photos behind the scene, the comedian joked, "I let the power as an entertainer that I'd stored during quarantine explode! There's no revenue from this music video so I owe my company a big production fee. Hoping that also explodes and disappears. I’ll think of a part two ten years from now when I hopefully have paid them back.”

Regardless, this expensive but interesting parody music video sure made our day! You should totally check out the original version by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande too.

Naomi Watanabe first shot to fame in 2008 after imitating Beyonce’s Crazy In Love, and was given the title of “Japanese Beyonce”. Last year, she endorsed Japanese cosmetic brand SK-II and tickled the funny bone of many with her queer antics. Being one of the most influential people on the internet, Watanabe also became the global ambassador of American luxury fashion brand Kate Spade New York earlier this year.