‘Weird Al’ Crams 10 Years of Pop Hits into a New Polka
In decades past, “Weird Al” Yankovic (can we finally lose the quotation marks, Al?) would release new albums parodying the most ubiquitous pop hits released since, well, his last album. But as our collective attention span becomes increasingly frenzied, who’s got the time for a dozen song send-ups?
Fear not, song parody fans — ”Weird Al” has a solution. Rather than a new collection of goofs, the polka parodist is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his #1 album Mandatory Fun with a single song that combines takeoffs on a dozen hits from the past decade.
“Polkamania!” gives the “Weird Al” treatment to recent hits by Billie Eilish, Adele, Miley Cyrus, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion, Ariana Grande and, of course, Taylor Swift.
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The joke is straightforward — it’s pretty fun to hear “Shape of You” as if an oompah cover band was getting down in a German beer haus, but the animation steals the show, with inventive cartoons goosing the spoof with extra life.
Who needs an album anyway? “I know it feels ironic to decide to stop making albums after having had a number one album,” Yankovic told The Associated Press. “But I just like the freedom of being able to really use whatever I want, whenever I want, and not have to be beholden to a label.”
It’s not Yankovic’s first polka medley. Why another one? Why now? Actually, he explained, there are a lot of reasons: “I wanted to do it because I hadn’t released anything in a while and at some point, I want to be back on the road and touring, and it would be nice to have some new material to play live.”
Plus, there are plenty of targets — er, musical artists — that Yankovic had never covered before. “Over the last 10 years, there are a lot of songs that have been on the charts that, for whatever reason, I didn’t take a shot at. And I just thought that those were missed opportunities,” he said. “I wanted to circle back and pay tribute to a lot of those big hits over the last 10 years.”
“Weird Al” reached out to several artists for their blessing, getting a yes from nearly everyone on his list. “We heard back from Taylor Swift people right away, which was amazing,” he said. “Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish, both, apparently were delighted that they could be in a polka medley.”
The one party-pooper? That’s SZA. “I wanted to use ‘Kill Bill,’” said Yankovic of his dashed dream. “She didn’t say yes or no. She just never returned our phone calls.”
Your loss, SZA. Just don’t expect a return call the next time you need accordion advice.
