"White & Nerdy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
from the album Straight Outta Lynwood | ||||
B-side | "Don't Download This Song" | |||
Released | September 12, 2006 | |||
Recorded | July 22, 2006 | |||
Studio | Westlake Recording [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:50 | |||
Label | Volcano | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | "Weird Al" Yankovic | |||
"Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Straight Outta Lynwood track listing | ||||
12 tracks
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"White &Nerdy" on YouTube |
"White &Nerdy" is the second single from "Weird Al" Yankovic's album Straight Outta Lynwood ,which was released on September 26,2006. It parodies the song "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone. The song both satirizes and celebrates nerd culture,as recited by the subject,who cannot "roll with the gangstas" because he is "just too white and nerdy". It includes many references to activities stereotypically associated with nerds and/or white people,such as collecting comic books and action figures,being fluent in JavaScript and Klingon,editing Wikipedia,and playing Dungeons &Dragons .
The song was Yankovic's only US Billboard Hot 100 top 10 song,peaking at No. 9,and his second to reach the top 20 in America after "Eat It" peaked at No. 12 in 1984. "White &Nerdy" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),becoming Yankovic's first single to achieve this feat.
Although Yankovic usually records his songs with his band,the backing tracks for "White and Nerdy" were recorded by guitarist Jim West—who handled the synthesizer production—and Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz—who recorded the drums. The backing musicians recorded their respective tracks at their home studios. Yankovic added his rap vocals later at Westlake Studio in Los Angeles,California. [1]
The single has an accompanying music video,which was recorded in high definition. The video,loosely parodying the video for Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" and following the song's lyrics,shows Yankovic,dressed as a stereotypical nerd with a buttoned-up polo shirt,dress slacks,and horn-rimmed glasses attempting to fit in with the "gangsters" (the first ones being Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele), [2] in a blue 1967 Chevy Impala convertible but instead either scaring them away,causing them to flip him the bird,or to direct him away from their group and instead towards a herd of other "nerds". These scenes include shots that directly parody the "Ridin'" video,including similar outfits by both artists. Yankovic is seen at night dancing in front of a set of road flares arranged in the form of Pac-Man,similar to the shot of Chamillionaire in front of the figure of a lizard,his personal logo. Another repeated scene shows Yankovic along with Donny Osmond—the "whitest guy I could think of",according to Yankovic [3] —dancing in front of the Schrödinger equation,mimicking shots of Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone from the "Ridin'" video. Yankovic had found Osmond to be eager to be in the video,having memorized the song before recording as well as having his various moves already figured out before filming. [2]
Further interspersed among these shots are additional shots of Yankovic demonstrating his "white and nerdy" life. One scene shows Yankovic vandalizing the Wikipedia page for Atlantic Records,replacing it with the words (in a large font size) "YOU SUCK!",referencing his then-recent trouble with the company in getting permission to release "You're Pitiful",a parody of James Blunt's song "You're Beautiful". [4] Fans of the video have replicated the action depicted in the video several times. The video shows a fictional Trivial Pursuit card,with questions that include the location of the largest ball of twine (a reference to his song "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota)",on what page Harry Potter would die in the next book,and the number of Wicket men there are on a 43-Man Squamish team (there are five). [5]
The video includes other cameos. The Impala's "OG4LIFE" license plate refers to Ice-T's 1991 album Original Gangster . Seth Green,whom Yankovic had known for some time,appears in front of a wall display of action figures. Green also provided a number of the props for the video. [2] Judy Tenuta,a regular on The Weird Al Show who also previously appeared in "Headline News",plays the woman who receives a surge protector as a present. Other actors were recruited by Yankovic through his MySpace page,from which he received extras who said they would appear for free. The video's comic book store is Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles,California. [6]
The video was leaked onto YouTube on September 17,2006,one day before the planned official release date on AOL. Due to the leak,the premiere was canceled,and AOL silently slipped the video onto their website. [7] [ citation needed ] VH1 started airing the video in "large rotation" on September 20,2006;the video debuted at #5 on their Top 20 countdown. [8]
Yahoo! Music solicited online members to make a fans-only video for "White &Nerdy". The video was released in late 2006. [9]
On November 2,2006,Yankovic performed "White &Nerdy" live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . (He rode a Segway as he came on stage.) It was his first public live performance of the song;various background vocals from the original recording are played to allow him time to breathe during the fast-paced lyrics. Since then,however,his band has provided live background vocals. On December 3,he performed the song live at the VH1 "Big In '06" Awards. Since 2007,Yankovic has performed the song on each one of his tours, [10] entering the stage on a Segway and wearing his hoodie and bandana from the video rather than using his "nerd" look. His band members maintain the "nerdy" outfits. [11]
The song became Yankovic's first career Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100,a record 23 years after his first appearance on the Hot 100 chart with "Ricky" in 1983. It debuted at #28 on the Hot 100 (that week's "Hot Shot Debut"),and peaked at #9 the following week,beating his previous #12 peak for 1984's "Eat It". It spent a total of 20 weeks on the Hot 100,including 5 weeks in the Top 20 and 10 weeks in the Top 40. [12] This was also his first Top 40 single since 1992's "Smells Like Nirvana". [13] It peaked on the Hot Digital Songs chart at #5. Both the song and the music video reached #1 at the U.S. and Australian iTunes Store,and peaked at #1 on VH1's top 20 video countdown. Both "White &Nerdy" and Straight Outta Lynwood were certified gold,and later platinum,by the RIAA. [8] This marks the first time any one of Yankovic's singles has been certified platinum. [14]
Chamillionaire placed "White &Nerdy" on his MySpace page,commenting that he enjoyed the parody. [15] In an interview,Chamillionaire complimented Yankovic's rapping ability,saying,"He's actually rapping pretty good on it,it's crazy ... I didn't know he could rap like that." [15] Yankovic stated that Chamillionaire approached and thanked him on the red carpet after "Ridin'" won the Grammy award for Best Rap Song at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and said that the parody "made it undeniable that ["Ridin'"] was the rap song of the year". [16]
Weekly
| Year-end
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [24] Digital | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
United States (RIAA) [25] Mastertone | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Poodle Hat is the eleventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on May 20, 2003. It was the fifth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop of the early-2000s. The album's lead single, "Couch Potato", is a parody of "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. The single failed to chart, although the album's song "eBay" eventually peaked at 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles in 2007.
Bad Hair Day is the ninth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on March 12, 1996. It was Yankovic's last studio album for the Scotti Brothers label before it was purchased by Volcano Entertainment in 1999. The album produced an array of hit comedy singles; lead single "Amish Paradise", which lampoons both Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and the Amish lifestyle, charted at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Gump", which parodies "Lump" by the Presidents of the United States of America and the movie Forrest Gump, reached at No. 102.
Running with Scissors is the tenth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 29, 1999. It was the fourth studio album self-produced by Yankovic, and his first album for Volcano Records after its acquisition of Scotti Brothers. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 1990s, largely targeting alternative rock and hip-hop. The album's lead single, "The Saga Begins", however, was a parody of the 1971 single "American Pie" by Don McLean, and it recounts the plot of the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which was released around the same time. None of the album's singles charted domestically, although "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", a parody of "Pretty Fly " by the Offspring, charted at number 67 in Australia.
Off the Deep End is the seventh studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This album was the first album self-produced by Yankovic, after six albums with Rick Derringer. Recorded between June 1990 and January 1992, the album was a follow-up to the unsuccessful soundtrack to Yankovic's 1989 film UHF. Off the Deep End and its lead single "Smells Like Nirvana" helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after a lull following his last hit single, "Fat", in 1988.
Even Worse is the fifth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on April 12, 1988. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between November 1987 and February 1988, this album helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after the critical and commercial failure of his previous album Polka Party! (1986).
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D is the second studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his modestly successful debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic.
"Eat It" is a 1984 song by American comedy music artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of Michael Jackson's 1983 single "Beat It", with the contents changed to be about an exasperated parent attempting to get their picky child to eat anything at all, much less to eat properly. The track was both a commercial and critical success, earning Yankovic a Grammy Award. It peaked at number twelve in the United States, making it his first top 40 hit in that country, and reached number one in Australia.
"Smells Like Nirvana" is a song parody written and performed by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. A parody of Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", it was released as the lead single from Yankovic's Off the Deep End album in April 1992. "Smells Like Nirvana" was written during a three-year career low for Yankovic after the financial failure of his film UHF, but captured the quickly-rising popularity of grunge and Nirvana's success. The song was written to ridicule the fact that many people could hardly understand Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain's lyrics in the original song. After being unable to contact Nirvana conventionally, Yankovic called Cobain while the band was on the set of Saturday Night Live, where Cobain quickly gave permission to record the parody.
"Ridin" is a song by American rapper Chamillionaire featuring fellow American rapper Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, released on November 12, 2005, as the second single from his debut studio album The Sound of Revenge (2005). Produced by hip hop producers Play-N-Skillz, the song's lyrics discuss racial profiling and police brutality, in addition to the stereotyping of African Americans driving a vehicle with drugs and other contraband on the inside.
"I'm 'n Luv (wit a Stripper)" (censored as "I'm 'n Luv (wit a Dancer)") is a single written and performed by American singer T-Pain featuring American rapper Mike Jones. Produced by the former, it was released in late 2005 and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it T-Pain's second top ten single, and Mike Jones's first. The track is T-Pain's third most successful single on the chart, tying with "Bartender". "I'm 'n Luv (wit a Stripper)" is also Mike Jones's highest charting single. The official remix of the song features Twista, Pimp C, R. Kelly, Too Short, Paul Wall and MJG, and was accompanied with its own music video.
"Do I Make You Proud" is a soul-pop song written for American Idol season five winner Taylor Hicks by Tracy Ackerman, Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of the Absolute production team, and co-produced by Dave Way. The song was released as a single on June 13, 2006 from the Arista record label.
"You're Pitiful" is a parody of the James Blunt song "You're Beautiful" written and recorded by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released exclusively online on June 7, 2006. In it, Yankovic chides a 42-year-old man who lives a pitiful existence. It was originally intended as the lead single of his twelfth studio album, Straight Outta Lynwood.
Straight Outta Lynwood is the twelfth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 26, 2006, the title drawing inspiration from hip hop group N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton. It was the sixth studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the mid-2000s. The album's lead single, "White & Nerdy", is a parody of Chamillionaire's hit single "Ridin'". The single debuted at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #9 the following week; "Canadian Idiot", a parody of Green Day's "American Idiot", also charted, peaking at #82.
"Canadian Idiot" is a song by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on 26 September 2006 from his album Straight Outta Lynwood. It is a parody of Green Day's song "American Idiot".
The discography of American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, actor and parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic consists of fourteen studio albums, two soundtrack albums, nine compilation albums, eleven video albums, two extended plays, two box sets, forty-six singles and fifty-four music videos. Since the debut of his first comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums—more than any other comedy act in history—recorded more than 150 parody and original songs, and performed more than 1,000 live shows. His works have earned him five Grammy Awards among sixteen nominations, along with several gold and platinum record certifications in the United States. Yankovic's first single, "My Bologna", was released in 1979, and he made his chart debut two years later with his second single, "Another One Rides the Bus", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. His self-titled debut studio album was released on Scotti Brothers Records on May 3, 1983, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 and being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Ricky", the album's third single, became his first single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 64.
"Trapped in the Drive-Thru" is the eleventh song from "Weird Al" Yankovic's twelfth studio album Straight Outta Lynwood, which was released on September 26, 2006. This song is a parody of Trapped in the Closet by R. Kelly. To date, the song is Yankovic's longest parody, and his second longest song ever released on his studio albums.
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing comedy songs that often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.
Internet Leaks is the second EP released by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. Released digitally on August 25, 2009, its lead single is a parody of "Whatever You Like" by artist T.I. For Yankovic, the EP was an experiment in using the Internet as a way to release music in an efficient and timely manner. As a result, the lead single, "Whatever You Like", references the Great Recession of 2008. The EP also contains style parodies of the Doors, Weezer, the White Stripes, and Queen; all of the songs, except for "Ringtone", had been released as separate digital singles between October 2008 and August 2009, preceding the record's release.
Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It was the seventh studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 2000s and early 2010s. The album's first single, "Whatever You Like", was released almost two and a half years prior to the release of the album, and the single peaked at number 104 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's final single, "Perform This Way", was released digitally on April 25, 2011, but failed to chart.
"White & Nerdy" erupted on the Billboard singles charts at #28 (as the "Hot Shot Debut") and then rocketed to #9 the next week, making it Al's very first Top 10 single! Thanks, everybody, for giving Al his highest-charting album and single of all time!
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