This Bizarre Chinese Music Video May Be the New 'Gangnam Style'
The video features a songstress in a chicken corset and male dancers in masks.
— -- A bizarre music video by Chinese singer Rong "Rollin" Wang for a song called “Chick Chick” seems to be aiming for viral status around the world. It features the Chinese songstress dressed up in a white, deep-cleavaged chicken corset and shirtless male dancers in animal masks making barnyard noises.
Describing the video does not do it full justice; it’s something you need to watch to fully appreciate.
In the three weeks since it was posted, the music video has garnered over 4 million hits on YouTube.
It’s as though Wang and her producers were deliberately setting out to make a viral hit and tried hard to splice together the lowest common denominators from Norwegian comedic duo Ylvis’ 2013 viral hit, “What Does the Fox Say,” and Korean pop sensation Psy’s “Gangnam Style.”
“Chick Chick” combines the animal sounds of “What Does the Fox Say” and a couple of dance moves clearly inspired by Psy’s lesser hit “Gentlemen,” while forgetting about any musicality. The lyrics are clearly an afterthought.
They basically consist of Wang’s singing in Mandarin: ”Mother Hen, Mother Hen,” “Little Chick, Little Chick,” “Rooster, Rooster” and “Who stole my chicken feed?” The hook of the song is a series of clucking and squawking noises.
Rollin Wang has been on the pop scene in China since 2003, initially as an R&B singer. This is apparently not the first time she has been inspired by pop music outside of China. The video of her 2004 song “I am not Rollin Huang” features a dancing bumblebee girl straight out of early ‘90s alt-rock band Blind Melon’s “No Rain” video.
If you think “Chick, Chick” is also a viral hit in China, it barely is. The official version posted on Youku.com, China’s equivalent of YouTube and Netflix, has garnered only 2.5 million views. Considering YouTube remains blocked inside the Middle Kingdom, “Chick, Chick” has had more views outside of China.
“Chick, Chick” may be the most cynical experiment of virality ever. Maybe it’s Wang’s clucking away in her chicken corset or the dude in just a horse mask and tight white bicycle shorts, but the creators of the video doubled down on you clicking.