| "Fat" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by"Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
| from the albumEven Worse | ||||
| B-side | "You Make Me" | |||
| Released | April 12, 1988 (1988-04-12) | |||
| Recorded | February 18, 1988 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:36 | |||
| Label | Scotti Brothers | |||
| Composer(s) | Michael Jackson | |||
| Lyricist(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||
| Producer(s) | Rick Derringer | |||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Fat" onYouTube | ||||
"Fat" is a song by"Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "Bad" byMichael Jackson and is Yankovic's second parody of a Jackson song, the first being "Eat It", a parody of Jackson's "Beat It". "Fat" is the first song on Yankovic'sEven Worse album.
The video won aGrammy Award for Best Concept Music Video in 1988.[1]
Yankovic was inspired to create "Fat" while watching the "Bad" music video, when he had an epiphany that a parody of that song titled "Fat" would be a good sequel to "Eat It" (a previous Weird Al Michael Jackson parody). While watching the "Bad" video, he imagined an obese version of himself trying to get through the turnstiles on a subway, and resolved that he would do it.[2]
When performing inconcert, Yankovic wears a costume that makes his body appear pudgy, along with a mask that makes his face look fat. Due to undergoinglaser vision correction surgery, he no longer needs to wear glasses, though he wears glasses with non-prescription plastic lenses in order to help hold on the mask.[3]
Yankovic elected not to perform the song or his other Jackson parody, "Eat It", during theStrings Attached Tour in the wake of theHBO documentaryLeaving Neverland, in which two men claimed Jackson had sexually abused them when they were children. "I don't know if that's going to be permanent or not," Yankovic said of the decision. "But we just felt that with what's happened recently with the HBO documentaries, we didn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable."[4]
Directed by Jay Levey,[5] the video for "Fat" parodies various elements of the "Bad" video by Jackson; Yankovic was able to get permission from Michael Jackson to use the same subway set from "Bad" for the video, which had yet to be struck inCulver City.[6] Jackson had built an exact replica of the original set for the movieMoonwalker to be used in the segment called "Badder", and before striking it, he offered to allow Yankovic to use it.[7]
The fat suit was created by Camilla Henneman. The circumference of the suit was 111 inches (2,800 mm). The makeup was created byKevin Yagher, who later worked with Yankovic on the filmUHF. Latex bladders were glued to Yankovic's face, along with similar air pockets through his clothes.[6]
According to the liner notes ofThe Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic:[8]
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