New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ COMEDY CENTRAL Corporate Communications) COMEDY CENTRAL has partnered with "Weird Al" Yankovic for the World Premiere of "'Weird Al' Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour," the Grammy Award-winning artist's first special since 1999, as well as the release of an extended, feature-length cut of the concert film on DVD and Blu-Ray via Paramount Home Entertainment and across DTO platforms, it was announced today by
David Bernath, executive vice president, program strategy and multiplatform programming, COMEDY CENTRAL. "'Weird Al' Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour" will have its World Premiere on Saturday, October 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will be released on DVD, Blu-Ray and DTO on Tuesday, October 4.
"Weird Al is an American icon who is at the top of his game," said Bernath. "He's as relevant and connected to his fans as he's ever been and we're thrilled to give our audience the first opportunity to watch this fantastic special."
"I totally agree with David Bernath," declared Yankovic. "I'm awesome."
"'Weird Al' Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour" was shot this summer at the venerable Massey Hall in Toronto during Weird Al's tour to support the release of Alpocalypse. His first full-length studio album in nearly five years, Alpocalypse (released by Jive/Sony in June) debuted at No 9 on Billboard's Top 200 chart, Yankovic's highest-charting album ever. "'Weird Al' Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour" features hits off of Alpocalypse like "Perform This Way," Weird Al's parody of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which garnered over 6 million video views in its first week of release, as well as many of the legendary artist's greatest hits, including "White & Nerdy," "Amish Paradise" and "Fat."
In another element of the multiplatform deal, COMEDY CENTRAL will be home to the World Premiere of "Polka Face," Yankovic's next video from Alpocalypse, which will be initially offered online-only at a date to be announced. The song and video features accordion-driven versions of songs by Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Britney Spears, P!nk, Lady Antebellum, Katy Perry and of course, Lady Gaga.
"Weird Al" Yankovic has enjoyed a varied and successful career that is now entering its fourth decade, performing concerts throughout North America, Australia and Europe. Yankovic has received twelve Grammy Award nominations, winning three times, and has racked up 31 Gold and Platinum albums, making him the biggest selling comedy recording artist in history. His previous album Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) featured the single and video for "White & Nerdy" which spent two months at No 1 on iTunes and was viewed online over 100 million times.
In addition to his accomplishments as a musician, Yankovic has also authored a children's book, When I Grow Up (HarperCollins), which was released earlier this year and landed on The New York Times Best Seller list. He is also well-known for his cult-hit feature film UHF, his CBS Saturday morning series The Weird Al Show and the numerous AL-TV specials he has made for MTV and VH1 over the years. Fans can "like" Al on Facebook, join his 2.1 million followers on Twitter @alyankovic and check out his videos on YouTube. They can also see him live in concert across North America this fall.
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