(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar
Encyclopedia
" Avatar" is a 2009 song created and performed by the cast of the web series
The Guild
, with lead vocals by singer
-actress Felicia Day
. The lyrics were written by Day and the music was written by musical composer Jed Whedon
, who also directed the music video.
. She conveyed an obsession with Stacey Q
's "Two of Hearts" in particular, which is apparent with Day including a familiar "come on, come on" in the lyrics. The song includes a rap
portion performed by Guild co-stars Jeff Lewis
and Sandeep Parikh
.
While Day composed the lyrics herself, whilst listening to "really bad 1990s dance songs", she turned to screenwriter Jed Whedon
(with whom she had worked on internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and TV series Dollhouse
) to compose the music. Whedon and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen
are credited as backup singers on the video, and Tancharoen also contributes her talent as a back-up dancer; this was the first time Whedon (who also directed the video) had seen her dance.
" characters from the web series.
Day comments that "In a regular Hollywood situation it would have cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars", but the video was recorded in Whedon's closet three weeks prior to its general release. Whedon stated that in directing the video (his first time "directing anything" according to his wife) he "basically wanted to do a relatively cliché dance video as if it were about medieval fantasy warriors who took themselves really seriously," in which respect he felt the cast delivered "perfectly and hilariously". He used stop motion
techniques to compensate for those members of The Guild cast who do not have dancing skills. Then, to make it "legit" as a video, Whedon made sure to include "actual sexy footage of Felicia, stellar dancing with Amy [Okuda
] showing off her chops, and of course, raining money."
Jeff Lewis describes himself as "not good at anything at all - dancing or rap" and comments, "they were able to make what I did [the rap sequence] fairly entertaining". Lewis recorded four lines of rap at Jed's house which were later synced up to the video. He was told to dance or "do anything" for three minutes, which "felt really bad and embarrassing... awful" but was impressed when the footage was slowed down, and became "more than I anticipated or imagined in a music video."
hits in less than 2 days.
As of July 12, 2011 – 23 months after release - the Youtube video has 17,321,694 hits, averaging around 750,000 hits a month.
On August 6, 2010 the song became a playable track on Rock Band 2
via the Rock Band Network
.
BBC
entertainment reporter Mark Savage describes the song as "[r]eminiscent of Ace of Base
's 'All That She Wants
'" and describes the rap by Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh as "intricate and clearly masterful".
TV writer, director and producer Joss Whedon
(brother of composer Jed Whedon), who has worked with Day on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Horrible
and Dollhouse
, gave his support for the song. On weblog Whedonesque.com
, Whedon implored his fanbase to support the video, saying "I really want this to be big. It's indie (which is the most important part), it's awesome... So help me out. Let's go the extra mile here and DESTROY THE SWIFTBOT
!"
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
The Guild
The Guild
The Guild is an American comedy web series created and written by Felicia Day, who also stars as Cyd Sherman . It premiered on YouTube on July 27, 2007. Subsequent webisodes premiered on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace, Zune Marketplace, and MSN Video. The webisodes were later made available on...
, with lead vocals by singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
-actress Felicia Day
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day is an American actress, known for her work as "Vi" on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for parts in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog...
. The lyrics were written by Day and the music was written by musical composer Jed Whedon
Jed Whedon
Jed Tucker Whedon is a screenwriter and musician. Jed is from a family of writers: he is the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and the brother of screenwriter Zack Whedon and producer/director/writer Joss Whedon...
, who also directed the music video.
Background
When interviewed at San Diego Comic-Con, Day attributed her inspiration for the song to 1980s and 1990s-style dance musicDance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
. She conveyed an obsession with Stacey Q
Stacey Q
Stacey Q is a pop singer, dancer and actress. She is best known for her 1985 hit single "Two of Hearts".-Early life:Stacey Swain was born on November 30, 1958 in Fullerton, California. She is the youngest of three children...
's "Two of Hearts" in particular, which is apparent with Day including a familiar "come on, come on" in the lyrics. The song includes a rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
portion performed by Guild co-stars Jeff Lewis
Jeff Lewis (actor)
Jeff Lewis is an American actor and screenwriter, best known as Herman "Vork" Holden on the webseries The Guild. He is an alumnus of ACME Comedy Theatre and a graduate of The Groundlings and The Second City He also portrays "Handsome Man" on the comedy web series "" starring William Russ.Jeff Lewis...
and Sandeep Parikh
Sandeep Parikh
Sandeep Parikh is an American writer, director, actor and producer of comedy currently residing in Silver Lake in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his co-starring role as Zaboo on the award-winning web series The Guild...
.
While Day composed the lyrics herself, whilst listening to "really bad 1990s dance songs", she turned to screenwriter Jed Whedon
Jed Whedon
Jed Tucker Whedon is a screenwriter and musician. Jed is from a family of writers: he is the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and the brother of screenwriter Zack Whedon and producer/director/writer Joss Whedon...
(with whom she had worked on internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and TV series Dollhouse
Dollhouse (TV series)
Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...
) to compose the music. Whedon and his wife Maurissa Tancharoen
Maurissa Tancharoen
Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon is an American actress, singer, dancer, television writer and lyricist.She co-wrote Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and appeared onscreen as Groupie #1, as well as on the DVD audio track "Commentary! The Musical," in which she sings about the scarcity of non-stereotyped...
are credited as backup singers on the video, and Tancharoen also contributes her talent as a back-up dancer; this was the first time Whedon (who also directed the video) had seen her dance.
Music video
The music video features the entire cast of The Guild dressed up as their own online "avatarAvatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
" characters from the web series.
Day comments that "In a regular Hollywood situation it would have cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars", but the video was recorded in Whedon's closet three weeks prior to its general release. Whedon stated that in directing the video (his first time "directing anything" according to his wife) he "basically wanted to do a relatively cliché dance video as if it were about medieval fantasy warriors who took themselves really seriously," in which respect he felt the cast delivered "perfectly and hilariously". He used stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
techniques to compensate for those members of The Guild cast who do not have dancing skills. Then, to make it "legit" as a video, Whedon made sure to include "actual sexy footage of Felicia, stellar dancing with Amy [Okuda
Amy Okuda
Amy Okuda is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Tinkerballa in the web series The Guild.- Career :Okuda in her early years, focused on basketball, which she played from the age of five. She began dancing in the seventh grade and took up acting a few years later.She has appeared in...
] showing off her chops, and of course, raining money."
Jeff Lewis describes himself as "not good at anything at all - dancing or rap" and comments, "they were able to make what I did [the rap sequence] fairly entertaining". Lewis recorded four lines of rap at Jed's house which were later synced up to the video. He was told to dance or "do anything" for three minutes, which "felt really bad and embarrassing... awful" but was impressed when the footage was slowed down, and became "more than I anticipated or imagined in a music video."
Reception
The video reached 1 million YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
hits in less than 2 days.
As of July 12, 2011 – 23 months after release - the Youtube video has 17,321,694 hits, averaging around 750,000 hits a month.
On August 6, 2010 the song became a playable track on Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
via the Rock Band Network
Rock Band Network
The Rock Band Network is a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix Music Systems with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the Rock Band series of rhythm video games, starting with Rock Band 2...
.
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
entertainment reporter Mark Savage describes the song as "[r]eminiscent of Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
's 'All That She Wants
All That She Wants
"All That She Wants" is a hit single of Swedish pop group Ace of Base. The song was produced by Denniz Pop. In early 1993, the song reached the top of the charts in many countries, including Denmark, the United Kingdom and Australia. The single was certified Platinum in the United States, where it...
'" and describes the rap by Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh as "intricate and clearly masterful".
TV writer, director and producer Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
(brother of composer Jed Whedon), who has worked with Day on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Horrible
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 2008 musical tragicomedy miniseries in three acts, produced exclusively for Internet distribution. Filmed and set in Los Angeles, the show tells the story of Dr...
and Dollhouse
Dollhouse (TV series)
Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...
, gave his support for the song. On weblog Whedonesque.com
Whedonesque.com
Whedonesque.com is a collaborative weblog devoted to the works of Joss Whedon...
, Whedon implored his fanbase to support the video, saying "I really want this to be big. It's indie (which is the most important part), it's awesome... So help me out. Let's go the extra mile here and DESTROY THE SWIFTBOT
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
!"