Fresh off the biggest year of his storied career, “Weird Al” Yankovic, the undisputed king of pop culture parody will kick off 2016 with two New Zealand shows. Having just conquered over 100 cities in North America and Europe, the reigning monarch of musical merriment now officially expands his Mandatory World Tour to the New Zealand public.
“Weird Al”” Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy-recording artist in history. In a career spanning nearly four decades, he has won four Grammy Awards (with 15 nominations) and countless accolades for his parodies of many of the biggest songs and most important artists of the last four decades with classic hits including “Eat It” and “Fat” (Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and “Bad”), “Like A Surgeon” (Madonna’s “Like A Virgin), “Smells Like Nirvana (Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), “Amish Paradise” (Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”), “White & Nerdy” (Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’”) and many others - all with full approval by the artists themselves.
The Mandatory World Tour follows in the wake of the massive success of his 14th studio album, Mandatory Fun. Released on July 15, 2014, the album features parodies of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” (“Tacky”), Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” (“Word Crimes”), Lorde’s “Royals” (“Foil”), Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” (“Handy”) and Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” (“Inactive”). The album also features several inspired originals and pastiches (“Lame Claim to Fame,” “Sports Song,” “My Own Eyes,” “Mission Statement,” “First World Problems” and “Jackson Park Express”) along with Al’s latest accordion-fueled medley, “NOW That’s What I Call Polka!". For the release of the album, Al world-premiered eight videos in eight days on the Internet, cumulatively amassing over 46 million views in the first week. Mandatory Fun was the first comedy album to top the U.S. Billboard charts in over 50 years (Alan Sherman’s My Son The Nut held the distinction until then), and the first comedy album ever in history to debut at #1. In addition, “Word Crimes” debuted in the Billboard Top 40, making Al one of only three artists to have had Top 40 singles in each of the last four decades (the other two are Michael Jackson and Madonna). The album debuted at #9 in Australia, and earned Al his fourth career Grammy Award, for Best Comedy Album.
In addition to his recordings and world-famous music videos, Yankovic is an accomplished director, having helmed most of his own videos as well as clips for Ben Folds, Jeff Foxworthy, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Hanson and The Black Crowes. His video for “Smells Like Nirvana,” was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1992, and was chosen by Rolling Stone as one of the “Top 100 Music Videos Of All Time.”
Yankovic is also well-known for his cult-hit feature film UHF, his late ‘90s CBS Saturday morning TV series The Weird Al Show, and the numerous AL-TV specials that he’s made for MTV and VH1 over the years.
He has also released a recent greatest hits album The Essential “Weird Al” Yankovic (Legacy), wrote, starred in and directed the themed attraction Al’s Brain: A 3-D Journey through the Human Brain (featuring cameos by everybody from Fabio to Paul McCartney) and has attracted several million followers on social media. With the release of his children’s book When I Grow Up (2011), Al added “New York Times Bestselling Author” to his resume. In 2012, The Nerdist Channel debuted Face 2 Face with “Weird Al” Yankovic, a web series where Al “interviewed” some of his “close, personal friends” in the entertainment biz.
Al makes his home in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife Suzanne and daughter Nina.
The American musician, satirist, parodist, accordionist, and television producer Weird Al Yankovic last performed in New Zealand in 2007 with his Straight Outta Lynwood Tour.
Auckland – Powerstation – Tuesday January 5
Christchurch - Isaac Theatre Royal - Wednesday January 6
Ticketing Information:
Tickets are available through www.aaaticketing.co.nz for the Auckland show and Ticketek for Christchurch.
