“Weird Al” Yankovic ushered in the filmed performance of Hamilton on Disney + by putting together a new video for his “Hamilton Polka”.
Weird Al released her polka dot medley Hamilton tracks in 2018 as part of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s monthly “Hamildrops” series. With his faithful accordion in hand, Yankovic condensed the three-hour musical into a five-minute potpourri with lighthearted performances of “Alexander Hamilton,” “My Shot,” “You’ll Come Back,” “Wait,” “The Room Where It Happens,” and the “Schuyler Sisters”.
Weird Al’s new video for “Hamilton Polka” combines the song with footage from the newly released performance film. However, to make it work, the footage is accelerated frequently, and hilariously, to accommodate Weird Al’s breakneck pace. There’s also an undeniable delight in watching people like Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom Jr. and more move their lips. and hear Weird Al’s nose purr.
In 2018, Weird Al and Miranda spoke to Rolling Stone about their friendship and how the “Polka Hamilton” came about. Polka potpourri, of course, has been a key teaser in Weird Al’s career, and as a result, Miranda said he was quite nervous when he asked Yankovic to create one for his musical.
“Listen, as a longtime Weird Al fan, it’s a scary question,” said Miranda. “I also know that there have only been two other cases where he dedicated a complete medley to a particular artist. There are ‘Hot Rocks Polka’ in the UHF soundtrack and polka queen [‘Bohemian Polka’]. I can’t brag about being in that weird air like the Rolling fuckin ‘Stones! But I asked.
