It’s his first new single in two years, but Weird Al Yankovic’s Polkamania! isn’t exactly new music. It’s a new parody, sure, but it’s a polka medley of stuff he’s done before, a genre Weird Al Yankovic frequently included in his albums. In this music video, each section is done in a different style, and caricatures of the artists he’s spoofing make appearances throughout.

The song comes with a vibrant music video featuring animation from Yankovic’s favorite filmmakers. Over the past decade, Yankovic has stayed busy with tours, remixes, scattered tracks, and co-creating the 2022 biopic “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” He hopes “Polkamania!” satisfies longtime fans who have awaited new material. “For some, it will be nostalgic, sounding like my previous polka medleys,” Yankovic tells Billboard. “For others, it’s a quick refresher on pop music from the last ten years.”

The idea for “Polkamania!” had been percolating for about a year. Yankovic wanted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Mandatory Fun” with new material for his next tour. He felt it was time to comment on the last decade in music. “Mandatory Fun” is likely his last traditional album. He finds the album format restrictive and prefers the freedom of not having to release 12 songs at once.

Assembling “Polkamania!” was like riding a bike. Yankovic limited his selections to Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits and created a chart to track their significance. Some artists responded quickly, like Lin-Manuel Miranda for “Bruno,” while others required more persistence. Securing “WAP” was particularly satisfying for Yankovic.

The music video features contributions from animators Yankovic has worked with before and new talents like Cyriak and Vivienne Medrano. Yankovic finds the process of releasing a new song and video exciting despite the anxiety. He hopes this project leads to more releases. Yankovic has several projects in development but remains tight-lipped about them, hoping a few will come to fruition.

Can you hear this song on SCIFI.radio? How many other radio stations would say “yes”? We couldn’t resist.

Gene Turnbow

President of Krypton Media Group, Inc., radio personality and station manager of SCIFI.radio. Part writer, part animator, part musician, part illustrator, part programmer, part entrepreneur – all geek.