Top 10 Parody Songs by Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al's biggest hit to date is White and Nerdy, a parody of Chamillionaire's Ridin'. The song is a bull's eye because it appeals exactly to the target group that Al himself belongs to: the proud nerds. In the text he lists all his nerd achievements, from his membership of the AV club to his obsession with Star Trek and the Renaissance Fair. The clip, including a young Donny Osmond in the background, went viral and resulted in Weird Al's first top 10 ranking in the American Billboard charts.

With Amish Paradise, Weird Al took a closer look at Coolio's serious hit Gangsta's Paradise. He transferred the 'thug life' to the austere world of the Amish. The lyrics about milking cows and building barns without electricity are hilarious combined with the heavy hip-hop beat. Although Coolio was initially unhappy with the parody, the two later made up and it became one of Al's most acclaimed classics.

For his second Michael Jackson parody, Weird Al chose the song Bad. In his version it became Fat, and the transformation was complete with a huge 'fat suit' in the music video. The text is full of jokes about obesity and the physical discomforts that come with it. The clip even won a Grammy for best music video and remains one of the most requested songs during his live shows to this day.

After a few quiet years in the late eighties, Weird Al made a huge comeback in 1992 with Smells Like Nirvana. It is a spoof on the then mega popular single Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. He perfectly expresses what many people thought at the time: what is this song actually about? The lyrics revolve entirely around the fact that Kurt Cobain's lyrics were completely unintelligible. Kurt Cobain thought the parody was brilliant and saw it as a sign that his band had really made it.

Making fun of Lady Gaga is of course a no-brainer for someone like Weird Al. In Perform This Way he tackles Gaga's Born This Way, mainly making fun of Gaga's bizarre outfits. From meat dresses to arriving in a giant egg; Al shows that he dares to go just as far in dressing up for his own clips as the pop star himself. The song is about the urge to be more and more extravagant to keep the audience's attention.

Weird Al knew very well in 1999 that everyone would be talking about the new Star Wars movie. He took the melody of Don McLean's classic American Pie and wrote a full account of The Phantom Menace on it. Don McLean indicated that he liked the parody so much that he sometimes accidentally started singing the lyrics of Weird Al during his own concerts. The song is a masterpiece in storytelling and shows how cleverly Al can weave an entire movie plot into an existing song.

One of the most appreciated songs from his later career is Word Crimes, a parody of Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines. Instead of the controversial lyrics of the original, Weird Al uses this song to teach the listener a lesson in grammar. He lashes out at people who confuse their 'it is' and 'its' or use 'literally' incorrectly. The clever lyrics and the graphically strong video made the song a huge hit on the internet with everyone who is sometimes annoyed by language errors.

In 1996, Weird Al combined the alternative rock hit Lump by The Presidents of the United States of America with the story of the Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump. The result is an energetic track in which Forrest's entire life is summarized in a few minutes. The clip, which features the band members sitting on benches and eating chocolate, is a beautiful tribute to both the film and the Presidents' original music video.

Weird Al's big international breakthrough came in 1984 with Eat It, a parody of Michael Jackson's world hit Beat It. The song replaced Jackson's tough slang with a comedic plea from a parent who wants his child to just finish his plate. The music video was an almost shot-for-shot copy of the original clip, including the famous dance scene, but with a good dose of humor. Michael Jackson himself really appreciated the parody and personally gave Al permission for the song.

Weird Al often makes his best songs when it's about a nerdy topic. This includes this hit from 1999, a parody of the rock version of It is All About The Benjamins by Puff Daddy. Instead of boasting about money and expensive cars, Al raps about the speed of his processor and his superior computer skills. Lyrics about downloading photos of Sarah Michelle Gellar and living in your parents' basement make this a timeless anthem for early computer nerds.