EPISODE 3 - Unknown stars outside their country: Weird Al Yankovic, the king of parody

Aviva Fried, editing by Loane Nader / Photo credit: Theo Wargo / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP 11:02 a.m., August 23, 2023

In this third episode of the series of artists known only in their country, Europe 1 takes you to the United States to meet Weird Al Yankovic, the king of parody. A Queen song Polka style on an accordion tune, this is the kind of crazy covers that the singer and especially humorist offers to the American public, who asks for more over the years. In the country of Uncle Sam, no one escapes his wacky parodies of "Al le bizarre" in French.

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A star on Hollywood Boulevard

Michael Jackson is no longer "Bad", but "Fat" and with "Like a Surgeon", Weird Al swings in an operating room braying like a surgeon cutting for the very first time to the tune of Madonna's "Like a Virgin". Translated like that, it's a bit like Carambar jokes in the United States. But yet, for 40 years, millions of Americans of all ages have laughed at the antics of the artist, like this mother. "We all got together, mom, dad, kids, and that was the funniest part. And as you become an adult, you understand that he's a genius."

It's obviously still a very local humor, according to Michael Schneider, entertainment specialist for Variety magazine. "Weird Al Yankovic has always parodied American culture and American music. It's a very specific zany humor. Satire doesn't translate well." The latter, with his very particular humor, will surely remain confined for a long time to the United States, where he is such an institution that he even has his star on Hollywood Boulevard.

>> Find the other episodes:

EPISODE 1 - Unknown stars outside their country: Italian comedians Christian De Sica and Massimo Boldi

EPISODE 2 - Unknown stars outside their country: Zaki Miboubi, young popular musician from Algeria