The legendary disco band Village People made a surprise appearance on Sunday during an event in New Delhi, India, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, taking the stage to sing “Happy Birthday” to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio is in the country for meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his counterpart External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and other high-level officials. Given the milestone birthday celebration expected in July for the United States, American Ambassador Sergio Gor and his team organized a gala event on Sunday to kick off festivities marking the occasion. The American diplomats also organized a surprise for their country’s top diplomat whose birthday is on May 28.
According to New Delhi Television (NDTV), Gor invited Rubio on stage towards the end of the event and surprised him with a large cake and the disco band. The version of the Village People attending is the updated lineup led by founding member Victor Willis, the police officer, who has embraced President Donald Trump’s use of and appreciation for the iconic song “Y.M.C.A.” The band performed the song after singing “Happy Birthday” to Rubio.
The 250th America celebration also featured a variety of performances by both American and Indian entertainers, as well as remarks from Rubio and Jaishankar, among others.
President Donald Trump also called in to address the audience.
“I just want to say hello to everybody,” he said via telephone. “We have never been closer to India, and India can count on me and our country 100 per cent. If they need any help, they know where to call. They call right here. We are doing well. We are setting records.”
The celebrations were part of a larger event at the Bharat Mandapam, where the 250th year of U.S. independence was being observed in presence of Gor, Rubio, and Jaishankar, among other dignitaries.
“Everything that you do as a country needs to be in your national interest, and that includes your immigration policy,” Rubio said during a press conference in New Delhi, India, on Sunday.
“The changes that are happening now, the modernization of our migration system into the United States… is not India-specific. It is global, it’s being applied across the world. We are in a period of modernization, and I’ll be frank and honest with you, because it’s important to talk about this,” Rubio explained.
On Monday, CBS News spotted the Village People at the Taj Mahal alongside the secretary of state and Ambassador Gor:
Victor Willis’s Village People are currently on tour in Europe. The singer addressed their appearance in India on his social media page, describing it as an historic occasion for the band as well as for the United States.
“This marks the first time Village People has ever performed in India. And it just happened to be the birthday of Secretary Marco Rubio for whom we sang happy birthday before singing of course, YMCA!” Willis wrote on Facebook.
The Village People were founded in the New York area in 1977 and rose to become one of the most successful bands in American history. Willis, who wrote dozens of the band’s songs alongside cofounder Jacques Morali, was with the band during its booming years and reportedly departed the band in 1980. The band never dissolved however, continuing to perform for decades led by New Jersey music legend Felipe Rose, known as the Native American member of the band, and singer David Hodo, the construction worker personality, and a rotating cast of performers. Willis returned to the band in 2017 after a successful, decade-long legal battle, first to reclaim copyright control of his songs and then to take the “Village People” name back from the longtime band performers.
Willis has embraced President Trump’s use of “Y.M.C.A.,” which had long been associated with the gay community, after Trump began using it to dance on the campaign trail while running for president. Willis’s support of its use stands in significant contrast to the previous members of the band, most prominently Felipe Rose, who has publicly opposed President Trump and distanced himself from any political association with the administration. Rose — who remains a prominent musical icon in the Asbury Park, New Jersey, music scene — has had to clarify that he does not support President Trump, nor has he performed with the president, after left-wing Trump opponents began harassing him and calling him a “traitor” because they incorrectly believed him to still be part of the Victor Willis Village People lineup.
Willis himself opposed the use of “Y.M.C.A.” by the Trump campaign, he explained in 2024, because it had become a “nuisance,” but changed his mind as he saw new generations embrace the song.
“The financial benefits have been great as well as Y.M.C.A is estimated to gross several million dollars since the President Elect’s continued use of the song,” Willis said.
Willis has also repeatedly challenged the notion that “Y.M.C.A.” is a gay song, emphasizing that he is not gay and not all Village People members were gay. The performer has called the idea that the song is gay a “false assumption” that comes from the gay nature of the rest of the Village People discography.
“There’s been a lot of talk, especially of late, that Y.M.C.A. is somehow a gay anthem,” Willis explained in 2024. “That is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of Village People were gay, and that the first Village People album was totally about gay life.”
David Hodo, the original construction worker, openly described “Y.M.C.A.” as a gay song in 2008: “Y.M.C.A. certainly has a gay origin… our first album [1977′s Village People] was possibly the gayest album ever. I mean, look at us.”
Any controversies surrounding band ownership and the band’s relationship with gay life in the 1970s has done nothing to prevent President Trump and his base from embracing the Village People. The revamped lineup notably performed with Trump on the eve of Inauguration Day 2025, where the then-president-elect joined in doing his now-famous “Trump dance.”
“Y.M.C.A.” also became, as a result of its association with Trump, a surprise Iranian freedom anthem in March, as young Iranians began sharing videos of themselves performing the “Trump dance” to support American operations against the repressive Islamist terror regime they live under.
“I think it’s really cool that Iranians would use my song to celebrate a possible change in their country,” Willis wrote in a statement in March, referring to Iran. “When Jacques and I wrote Y.M.C.A. back in 1978, neither of us had any idea of the significance the song would hold for the world over 48 years later. Jacques [Morali] and [producer] Henri [Belolo] would be very proud. As am I. Hopefully peace will come soon to the people of Iran.”
Rubio is in India to both promote American interests and have exchanges with top Indian leaders on improving the bilateral relationship. With Prime Minister Modi, Rubio explained in a message on Saturday that the two discussed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as well as supply chains and other economic issues, posting a photo of the two smiling together.
Rubio has also made time for several cultural exchanges, including the celebration this weekend, the Taj Mahal visit, and an encounter with elephants.
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