Another Top 10 Music Video Parodies of All Time

Taking dance music to task, the SNL crew gets very surreal to poke fun at Avicii. Hyping up the crowd, Davvincii hovers his hand over the bass button while playing on his computer. Cooking and even playing with toy skateboards, he’s clearly not taking his job seriously. But hey, he’s got all the power, and he milks it for all it’s worth. With some help from Lil Jon, he finally drops the bass, causing the crowd to literally lose their minds. With heads exploding across the dance floor, the music causes some fans to commit Seppuku. Thanks to the crazy visuals and supporting cast, this video is way weirder than expected. 

Though it’s set in space and starts with a riff clearly inspired by the song “Space Oddity,” this music video manages to pay homage to a wide range of David Bowie material and characters. Not only do Bret and Jemaine give nods to Bowie’s filmography with shots reminiscent of “The Man Who Fell to Earth;” they also pay lip service to memorable tracks like “John, I’m Only Dancing” and “Sound and Vision” with their cheeky lyrics. But things really take off when their version of Halloween Jack appears. Of course, the ending, which pairs outfits and moves from “Modern Love” with music inspired by “Let’s Dance,” cements this video as a truly inspired parody. 

D12 takes all the misconceptions about them and goes to town – mocking bad fans in the process. They make Eminem the star of the show, and he gets special treatment like massages – when he’s not being mobbed by groupies who also happen to be played by Eminem. After getting riled up, Bizarre decides to get in shape by working out on the set of 50 Cent’s “In da Club.” Claiming his importance to Eminem’s career, Bizarre then goes on to claim he was in “Lose Yourself” and “Superman.” Next up, they try to start a boy band and turn into a vulgar version of the Backstreet Boys. With plenty of parody and self-deprecation, D12 closes on Eminem’s Latin take on “Milkshake” by Kelis. 

Bo Burnham is clearly not aiming for subtly with this shot at commercialized music. Setting the stage for his critique, he dresses up as Justin Bieber and pulls a variety of visuals from pop videos, then proceeds to rip into vapid listeners who relate to cliché lyrics and overused chords. While the extras act increasingly brain dead, satanic visuals slowly come into focus. Then there’s the subliminal messaging flashing onscreen: for example, instructions like “consume” and “accept convenience fees” are littered throughout the video. In the finale, Burnham takes things up a notch when he kills a girl and eats her heart while audio of Hitler plays underneath. 

Here’s an example of how a parody can simultaneously be both funny and a heartfelt homage to the original. For their free love anthem “Girls / Girls / Boys,” Panic! at the Disco remade D’Angelo’s iconic “Untitled” music video. Directed by DJay Brawner, the video is one long shot, just like the original, and, with the camera zooming in and out, it revisits that classic navel shot more than once. Brendon Urie’s physique is significantly less muscular than D’angelo’s, but by bringing his unique energy and distinct dance moves to the party, the frontman gives a captivating performance in his own way. The clever concept earned the group more than 50 million views. 

Set up to be The Love Below’s British performance, this video is a clear play on the Beatles’ historic Ed Sullivan appearance. Putting in overtime to bring the concept to life, Andre 3000 reportedly performed the song 23 times to get all the shots, but the end result is certainly worth it - he’s a one-man band in a group made up of eight members. Just like its inspiration, cheering can be heard throughout most of the video, while Ryan Phillippe delivers a spot-on imitation of the deadpan announcer. Credit where credit is due: Nirvana spoofed Ed Sullivan first, but hey, this concept is clearly good enough to support multiple parodies. 

This pop punk group has a real penchant for parodies, but they’re at their best in this video, which sees them taking their overly serious alt-rock and nu-metal contemporaries to task. Starting by taking on Staind, they replace the lover photos with dog photos, and hand-written lyrics with tic-tac-toe. The funniest lampooning comes from the wide shots of the pained singer, revealing he’s actually on the toilet. Switching to Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff,” the video then sees guitarist Chris Burney dressing in Wes Borland’s kooky make-up and robes. With fake Slipknot members attacking Jaret’s Fred Durst, Bowling for Soup even tackles the feuds between bands, proving that when this group does parody, they don’t hold back. 

If you can’t pick a subject to parody in your video, why not just do them all? Dueling through a Western and driving the deserts of Mad Max, Collins feels out of place. When the black and white close-ups of “Every Breath You Take” don’t work out, he attempts to emulate David Lee Roth instead. Clearly reaching for ideas, he even tries his hand a samurai film. After giving the fly from “You Might Think” a good swat, he finally decides to work on an ending instead. Funnily enough, this clever meta concept actually came from Collins’ inability to decide on a video idea, so they shot a mock version of the process behind it instead. 

It takes real character to parody yourself. The boys of Mumford and Sons were so committed to this joke, they didn’t even appear in the video, letting comedians Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, Ed Helms and Will Forte play them instead. Rocking out in fields and barns, the comedians play up the band’s rustic aesthetic. Of course, things get uncomfortably intimate fast when the boys start wiping and tasting each others’ tears. Shredding their hearts out in the finale, they destroy all their instruments in the excitement. Surprising and delighting fans with the hilarious casting switch, this video garnered millions view within a matter of days. 

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: 
- “I Feel Like Dancin’” (2011)
All Time Low 

- “Just a Gigolo / I Ain’t Got Nobody” (1985)
David Lee Roth 

Weird Al’s geek culture power anthem is filled with nerdy Easter eggs. Spoofing Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’”, Yankovic raps in front of everything from a flare Pac-Man to the Schrödinger equation. Replacing his grills with braces, and a gat with a soldering gun, he’s not exactly thug, but he sure is funny. Adding to the humor is Key and Peele’s comedic acting, as well as Seth Green’s love of toys. AL even sneaks in a dig at Atlantic Records, by editing their Wikipedia page to feature the words “You Suck.” Funny to nerds and non-nerds alike, “White & Nerdy” earned the love of Chamillionaire himself and became Weird Al’s first Platinum hit.