Photo Credit: Sam Jones
10 years ago this week, “Weird Al” Yankovic released Mandatory Fun,the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard albums chart. Today, in celebration of that unprecedented feat, Yankovic released his new single and video “Polkamania!,” a medley of some of the biggest and most memorable songs of the last decade.
In keeping with Yankovic’s long-standing tradition of creating mind-bending polka medleys, “Polkamania!” lampoons the biggest hits by today’s most iconic artists. Reimagined polka-style, the medley includes Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Adele’s “Hello,” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” all proudly approved by each artist.
“So many big hits in the last decade have been desperately crying out for the polka treatment,” declared Yankovic, “so I figured the 10-year anniversary of ‘Mandatory Fun’ was the perfect excuse to do just that!”
For “Polkamania!,” Yankovic also enlisted a dozen of his favorite animators and filmmakers to create an “anijam,” a collaborative video that weaves a number of short, animated pieces together into one vibrant film. Featured creators include Yankovic’s past collaborators such as Bill Plympton (“Don’t Download This Song,” “TMZ”), Liam Lynch (“Craigslist,” “First World Problems”), Ghostbot (“Party in the CIA”), Jarrett Heather (“Word Crimes”), and Augenblick Studios (“Another Tattoo,” “Your Horoscope for Today,” and the Amish sequence in WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story). Notable new collaborators include British animator Cyriak and A24’s Hazbin Hotel creator Vivienne Medrano.
“Weird Al” Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist in history. A beloved American treasure and pop culture icon, he is known around the world for his artist-approved parodies of huge hits by artists of the last four decades including Madonna, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Usher, Nirvana, Eminem, Queen, Lady Gaga, and many more. He has received 5 Grammy awards and 17 career nominations, and is one of only three artists to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the previous four consecutive decades (the others being Madonna and Michael Jackson). Also an actor, writer and producer, Yankovic was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018, and an Emmy Award for the 2022 release WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story (starring Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic).
Full list of artists and songs included in “Polkamania!”:
Adele – “Hello”
Ariana Grande – “Thank U, Next”
Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP”
Cast of Encanto /Lin-Manuel Miranda – “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You”
Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road”
Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee – “Despacito”
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Full list of animators for the “Polkamania!” music video:
Augenblick Studios
Bill Plympton
Cyriak
David Wachtenheim & W/M Animation
Ghostbot / Alan Lau, Roque Ballestros and Roman Laney
Jack Evans
Jarrett Heather
KukoMitzu
Liam Lynch
Ryan Krzak
Victor Yerrid & Melanie Mandl
Vivienne Medrano
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