tv
08/10/2007
John Mayer Takes a Shot at Tay Zonday
As we've previously covered here, John Mayer is a funny guy. He likes to goof around, be silly, etc. But in this clip from Best Week Ever, Mayer takes it one step further and has his fun at the expense of one of the "little people" -- YouTube semicelebrity song stylist Tay Zonday.
One of the best and worst things about YouTube is that it gives anyone with a vision the opportunity to let their freak flag fly, and Zonday is no exception. His vocal gymnastics have earned him many fans and many slams, but it's "Chocolate Rain" that won him the Mayer treatment.
Mayer, accompanied by BWE's Sherrod Small, does not so much cover "Chocolate Rain," Zonday's earnest commentary on racism and poverty, as he does take the title, set it to Nelly Furtado's "Say it Right," and improvise new lyrics about poop.
Granted, putting oneself on YouTube is an invitation to mockery. And Zonday's an odd duck; he's easy to make fun of. But he's also a kid with a passion for music who's working his ass off to make a name for himself and make his dream happen. So it doesn't seem all that clever and funny when a rich and famous musican takes cheap potshots at him. It seems, to be honest, kind of poopy.