
It’s hard to tell how much credit the beach bummin’ Fire Island Pines Guys deserve for sweeping the nation with pop star video remakes after “Party in the F.I.P” racked up more than 1.2 million views (in four weeks) in an homage to Miley Cyrus. But they certainly helped inspire at least a few like-minded flamboyantly fabulous followers to follow in their wake — and reminded us YouTube was built for our obsession in singing along to pop hits while recording ourselves.
Herewith, seven of our favorites from recent memory.
TRACK: Beyonce – “Video Phone”
RECREATED BY: Choreographers J.R. Taylor and Mike Franklin
THE HOOK: These cats just might be our favorite, and not just because B has blown up bigger than Britney, y’all. They scrounged together about 10 dancers to make this one, and made creative use of parking garage fixtures.
TRACK: Shakira – “She Wolf”
RECREATED BY: Andrew Foster
THE HOOK: When this video hit last month, we knew a skilled body contortionist would be uploading a remake ASAP. Andrew Foster delivered a scene-by-scene replica that, we’re guessing, he rehearsed and filmed in his parents’ basement. It is excellent.
TRACK: Whitney Houston – “Million Dollar Bill”
RECREATED BY: Adam MacLean, John Barbato, Chris Bush, Jeffrey Kummer, Chris Lucia,
Brian Matthew Maloney
THE HOOK: It’s not an exact imitation of the real video, but we instantly fell in love with MacLean & Co.’s attempt at honoring the diva. These fellas directly credit the FIP guys for their effort, and show a knack for desktop editing.
TRACK: Spice Girls – “Stop”
RECREATED BY: Spice Boys 5: Dylan, Geo!, Frank-Joseph, Devit, and Daniel
THE HOOK: A throwback to the five-member diva group, this remake is what most cover bands could only hope to create.
TRACK: Beyonce – “Single Ladies”
RECREATED BY: Darius Crenshaw, Grasan Kingsberry, and Brian Brooks
THE HOOK: Most of the 45,000 “Single Ladies” remakes feature replica black unitards like Beyonce’s original. And while we love the punk rock rendition, it’s this 1950s send-up, complete with pageboy caps, that we’re loving the most.
TRACK: Britney Spears – “Womanizer”
RECREATED BY: Elgin, and friends
THE HOOK: Described as a story “about a guy named Josh who is at a business meeting when he then starts daydreaming about his boss doing a dance to Womanizer,” it’s a decent reinterpretation of Britney’s original message. Production quality isn’t great, and there’s no nude scene from the steam room.
TRACK: Miley Cyrus – “Party in the USA”
RECREATED BY: The Fire Island Pines Guys
THE HOOK: The one that started it all (or at least this season’s craze) has now been seen more than 1.2 million times. Even Miley and her record label loved it so much, they didn’t force YouTube to take it down.
myrios123
very entertaining, thanks.
Corey
Aww Queerty, you mised the best one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BimXI-w-uc
I Believe In You – Kylie Minogue.
dlpca
What great enjoyment and release in viewing these, better than sex…OK, maybe not but a close second. I loved the videos Queerty, thank you!
gay
with all due respect to the fire island pines video makers, most of the videos you posted were made prior to their video! might i add, that gayz and drag queens have been doing remakes to pop songs for ages!
Michael vdB
I enjoyed all of them because each had really great qualities. Really great job for everyone!
David
Thanks! What a great video and a great song.
baka
#6, single ladies, are members of the national tour of The Color Purple. So it’s more of a 30’s southern suit thing then 50’s page boy. And it’s done on the set for the show… so random!
Jason
They were all pretty good but the last one to Miley Cyrus was my favorite. Shows how out of the loop I am; I thought Miley was country music. First time hearing anything from her; a lot better than her Dad. He was an embarrassment to country music.
David
I really like Spice Boys 5 doing SAY YOU’LL BE THERE! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuYq-SOh5JU
KyleR
My fav was the Single Ladies one. And I hate that song. LOL.
scott ny'er
@KyleR: Agreed. Those dudes were good. I like the styling. And man those pants are tight. They’ve got some bootie along with nice dance moves.
BMax
There is a latino version of this filmed in vieques. Much hotter!
craig
Okay, have to jump into this stream…had forgotten about the “spiceboys”…they were one of the first youtube lip-synching phenomena, weren’t they? I agree with Corey, the production values of the Kylie song were fantastic and it deserves to be one of the top choices. However, you are all forgetting Lilly Allen’s “Fuck You”! Perhaps one of the best. The link is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03PnU27cWDs
or if you would prefer the French rendition with the cute French boys, it can be found at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqcGAcLSOQA
There are a couple of honourable mentions that should be included on this list and they both derive from Glee’s, “Say A Little Prayer For Me”. The first is a group of Otters performing the song – not the best choreographically, but the lead is priceless. It can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lp3s4ygDw0.
Another version of the song with the best male lead (I believe) and future Queerty subscriber (if he is not already) is found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vuaZILPqA
If you want to see a kick ass live version of Miley Cyrus’ “Party In the USA”, you can always search on Youtube for Nick Pitera – he really is a good singer (and cute too!).
craig
Oops, that last link is a 1 and not an I and can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4vuaZlLPqA