You're invited to a "House Party" by NKOTB, Naughty By Nature, Boyz II Men, and Big Freedia
It’s already become cliché—just a scant million years into our collective quarantine ordeal—to note the general 30 Rock-ification of reality of late. Given the NBC sitcom classic’s delight in poking fun at the attention-seeking excesses of famous-people culture (and an increase in same, as the idleness has steadily set in), it was only natural for more things that feel like a Jack Donaghy pitch video for a new and revolutionary microwave oven to sneak their ways into our lives. And yet here we are, watching the music video for New Kids On The Block, Boyz II Men, Naughty By Nature, Big Freedia, and Jordin Sparks’ new quarantine song, “House Party,” and we can’t help but expect to see Jenna Maroney suddenly dancing along awkwardly with the rest of the video’s mid-tier celebrity cast.
Musically, “House Party” is completely inoffensive—a cheerful little dance track with some silly lyrics about quarantine, and an unexpectedly heavy rap break two-thirds of the way in. There’s just something about watching all these famouses—Mark Wahlberg, Kid ‘N Play, Ken Jeong, and more—all bopping along, typically accompanied by their cheerfully dancing kids. It’s nice, sure (and the non-self-seriousness of the song stops it from feeling too much like the Gal Gadot “Imagine” video), but the end result nevertheless feels like a bizarre window into a world of people in nice houses and apartments slowly going happily insane.
At least it’s for a good cause: All proceeds from the song (and its accompanying T-shirt) will go toward No Kid Hungry, an organization devoted to helping kids stay fed at a time when the programs meant to help them (including free school lunches, obviously) are under such obvious hardships and strains.