"Weird Al" Yankovic makes it to No.1 after 31 years

23 July 2014 - 16:43 By Times LIVE
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic’s new album Mandatory Fun has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200.

The comedian musician's 14th album sold 104700 copies in a single week. In his 31 year in the industry it is Yankovic's first No.1 album. It also appears to be the first No. 1 comedy album in 54 years, according to a report by Buzzfeed.

Mandatory Fun features parodies of songs by Iggy Azalea, Pharrel and Robin thick. Yankovicl used the internet to punt his new tracks, releasing eight videos is eight days.

“This has been an amazing week. I have been doing roughly the same thing for many, many years, and this is the best week of my life in terms of like the response from people. It's just insane and it's extremely gratifying. It's hard for me to wrap my head around [it],” he told the Associated Press.

Weird Al has parodied famous songs since the early 80’s. Some include Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, Bob Marley’s Buffalo Soldier, Beat It by Michael Jackson and Complicated by Avril Lavigne. He has also recorded polka-style medleys of tracks from bands such as System of a Down, The White Stripes and Rage against the Machine.

Watch Now That's What I Call Polka from Mandatory Fun below:

 

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now