“Weird Al” Yankovic is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Mandatory Fun with an All-New Polka Medley, “Polkamania!” The medley features major hits by Taylor Swift, Luis Fonsi, Miley Cyrus, Lil NAs X, Billie Eilish, Adele, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
Stream “Polkamania!” here.
Mandatory Fun, is the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard Albums chart. In celebration of this feat, Weird Al has released a new single, “Polkamania!” and music video to accompany.
Keeping with the long-standing tradition of creating mind-bending polka medleys, “Polkamania!” lampoons the biggest hit by today’s most iconic artists. The re-imagined polka-style medley includes parts from “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish, “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift and many more are featured on the record. Each of these tracks have been approved by the according artist.
“Weird Al” Yankovic on “Polkamania!”:
“So many big hits in the last decade have been desperately crying out for the polka treatment, so I figured the 10-year anniversary of Mandatory Fun was the perfect excuse to just that!”
In addition to the release of “Polkamania!,” a music video was also put out. Weird Al had enlisted a dozen of his favorite animators and filmmakers to create an “anijam.” An anijam is a collaborative video that weaves a number of short, animated pieces together into one vibrant film. Featured creators include past collaborators such as Bill Plympton, Liam Lynch, Ghostbot, Jarret Heather, and Augenblick Studios. New collaborators include the British animator Cyriac and A24’s Hazbin Hotel creator Vivienne Medrano/VivziePop.
“Weird Al” Yankovic is the highest grossing comedy recording artist in history. He’s a beloved American treasure and pop culture icon known on a global scale for his (artist-approved) parodies of huge hits from the past four decades including Madonna, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Usher, Nirvana, Eminem, Queen, Lady Gaga, and many more.
Thus far in his career, he has received five Grammy awards and 17 career nominations. He’s also one of the only three artists to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the previous four consecutive decades. Besides being a musician, Weird Al is also an actor, writer, and producer. As such, he 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.
Artists and Songs Featured on “Polkamania!”:
- “Hello” by Adele
- “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande
- “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish
- “WAP” by Cardi B. ft. Megan Thee Stallion
- “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” by Cast of Encanto/Lin-Manuel Miranda
- “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
- “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X
- “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee
- “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
- “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
- “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo
- “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
Animators on 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/VivziePop
Photo courtesy of Weird Al
