"Weird Al" Yankovic's nomination for Best Comedy Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards marks the 12th time the veteran pop parodist has earned a Grammy nod. Already a three-time winner, does Yankovic have a chance to take home a fourth award?
Yankovic is nominated for Best Comedy Album for Internet Leaks, a collection of five songs released online last year. Only one of the tracks is a parody. That's "Whatever You Like," a sendup of the song of the same name by rapper T.I.
The other four songs are originals done in the style of other artists. The best is "CNR," a raging rock song meant to sound like the White Stripes. The track is an homage to the late Charles Nelson Reilly. Another standout is "Craigslist," a nod to the all-encompassing classifieds website, done in the style of the Doors. "Craigslist" even features a guest appearance from Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek.
As we noted in our earlier prediction article, Yankovic is probably an underdog this time around in the Best Comedy Album category - Stephen Colbert and Kathy Griffin are taking no prisoners!
The fact that Internet Leaks is just a five-song EP means it will have a more difficult time winning, but Yankovic can never be counted out. His Grammy victories include two wins for Best Comedy - for "Eat It" in 1984 and Poodle Hat in 2003. He also won the music video award for "Fat" in 1988.
Weird Al's Grammy tally would likely be larger if the Grammys hadn't changed the comedy category in the late '90s to honor spoken-word albums only. That exclusion kept Yankovic ineligible for the award for about a decade.
If nothing else, Yankovic's nomination is nice because it keeps his name in the spotlight. And that's a good thing, given that Yankovic is one of pop music's more underrated artists of the past 30 years. Now entering his fifth decade of recording (yes, he started in the late '70s), Weird Al is currently working on a new record expected later this year.
The 2010 Grammy Awards air on CBS on January 31.
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Comments
I stumbled some of your articles and they really took off!! Congrats!
Yes, congrats.
Third culture kids examiner
Seattle stay-at-home moms examiner
Hi Scott,
Great article. I am an Hollywood Events Examiner too. Can you help me cover the Grammy Awards. Whom I need to contact? Please email me to: diversitynews@hotmail.com Thank you and great job.
~Esteban Escobar, Hollywood Events Examiner
Gotta love Weird Al.
Go Al Go!
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