"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American musician, comedian, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing comedy songs that often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.Since having one of his comedy songs aired on ''The Dr. Demento Radio Show'' in 1976 at age 16, Yankovic has sold more than 12 million albums (), recorded more than 150 parodies and original songs, and performed more than 1,000 live shows. His work has earned him five Grammy Awards and a further 11 nominations, four gold records and six platinum records in the U.S. His first top ten ''Billboard'' album (''Straight Outta Lynwood'') and single ("White & Nerdy") were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career. His latest album, ''Mandatory Fun'' (2014), became his first number-one album during its debut week.
Yankovic's success has been attributed to his effective use of music videos to further parody pop culture, the song's original artist and the original music videos themselves. He has directed some of his own music videos and has also directed music videos for other artists including Ben Folds, Hanson, the Black Crowes, and the Presidents of the United States of America. With the decline of music television and the onset of social media, he used YouTube and other video sites to publish his videos; this strategy helped boost sales of his later albums. Yankovic has stated that he may forgo traditional albums in favor of timely releases of singles from the 2010s onward.
In addition to his music career, Yankovic wrote and starred in the film ''UHF'' (1989) and the television series ''The Weird Al Show'' (1997). He has produced two satirical films about his own life, ''The Compleat Al'' (1985) and ''Weird: The Al Yankovic Story'' (2022). He has acted in several television shows and web series, in addition to starring in ''Al TV'' specials on MTV. He has also written two children's books, ''When I Grow Up'' (2011) and ''My New Teacher and Me!'' (2013). Provided by Wikipedia
