"Weird Al" Yankovic

"Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer, accordionist and songwriter, the best-known musical parodist in the world. He was born Alfred Matthew Yankovic on 23 October 1959 in Downey, California, and grew up in nearby Lynwood. He is on Muzika-Balkan under Slovenia because of his roots: his father Nick was of Slovene and Croatian descent, and his grandfather Matthew Yankovich was born in Weidendorf, today Bedenj in Slovenia. He sings in English and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Suzanne and their daughter Nina.

He started accordion lessons just before his seventh birthday; his parents thought there should be at least one more accordion-playing Yankovic in the world, although he is not related to the polka king Frankie Yankovic. In 1976, at 16, his song "Belvedere Cruisin'" was played on The Dr. Demento Radio Show, and that was the start of his career.

His first albums, "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983) and In 3-D (1984), brought "Eat It", his take on Michael Jackson's "Beat It", which reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1989 he starred in his own film, UHF. "Smells Like Nirvana" from Off the Deep End (1992) reached number 35, "Amish Paradise" from Bad Hair Day (1996) number 53, and "White & Nerdy" from Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) became his first top-ten single, peaking at number 9. Mandatory Fun (2014) was his first album to debut at number one, with "Word Crimes" at number 39 the same week.

Almost every one of his studio albums carries a polka medley of a dozen current hits played on the accordion; the latest, "Polkamania!", came out in July 2024. He has won five Grammy Awards, sold more than 12 million albums and played more than 2,000 concerts, from opening for the Monkees in 1987 to his Bigger & Weirder Tour and Riot Fest in Chicago in 2025. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018, and his life was spoofed in the film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022).

The playlist gathers his official music videos, from "Eat It" and "Fat" to "White & Nerdy".