Weird Al's Poodle Hat Jumps Into Billboard's Top 20 Marking Highest Debut Ever for Yankovic

Pop music's master of satire, "Weird Al" Yankovic, returns from a four-year hiatus with the best chart debut ever in his nearly 25-year career. Poodle Hat (Way Moby/Volcano), Yankovic's latest collection of parodies and warped original tunes, enters the Billboard Album Chart this week at No. 17.

Throughout his career, Yankovic has skewered pop culture with his sharp wit and comic genius. The best-selling comedy artist of all time, Weird Al has amassed 25 Gold and Platinum albums in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Though Poodle Hat is Yankovic's 11th studio recording, it marks some significant firsts for the artist. Not only is the disc Yankovic's first to debut in the Top 20, it does so without the benefit of a video to accompany the CD's lead track, "Couch Potato," a send-up of the Academy Award-winning hit "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. While the rapper gave Weird Al his blessings for the parody as a track on the album, he refused to allow a video to be made.

Poodle Hat also features parodies of Avril Lavigne, Nelly, Backstreet Boys and Billy Joel, as well as one of Yankovic's signature accordion-fueled medleys ("Angry White Boy Polka") and several original compositions, including homages to Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa.

Yankovic is also slated to appear in his 9th "AL-TV" special, where he will be taking over the airwaves of VH1 to wreak his own brand of havoc in an all-new one-hour special set to premiere on June 17.

Weird Al will begin his Poodle Hat US Tour on June 19 (see attached tour dates). As always, the tour promises to be a high-energy multimedia extravaganza complete with hilarious video montages and elaborate costume changes.

For further information on "Weird Al" Yankovic please call Sonia Muckle at 212.824.1370.

For tour press information please contact Sandro Grancaric at 718.458.9222 or email sgrancaric@aol.com.

  The Poodle Hat Tour:

   DATE           CITY                     VENUE

   June 19        DEL MAR, CA              Del Mar Fairgrounds
   June 20        KELSEYVILLE, CA          Konocti Field Amphitheatre
   June 21        LAS VEGAS, NV            Aladdin Theater
   June 22        SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA      Christopher Cohan Center
   June 26        MILWAUKEE, WI            Summerfest
   June 27        KALAMAZOO, MI            Kalmazoo State Theatre
   June 28        TOLEDO, OH               Zoo Amphitheatre
   June 29        BUFFALO, NY              Melody Fair Theatre

   July 1         VERONA, NY               Turning Stone Casino
   July 3         PORTSMOUTH, VA           Harbor Center
   July 4         MYRTLE BEACH, SC         House of Blues
   July 5         ORLANDO, FL              House of Blues
   July 10        WALLINGFORD, CT          Oakdale Theatre
   July 11        POUGHKEEPSIE, NY         Mid-Hudson Civic Center
   July 12        ALLENTOWN, PA            Allentown Fair Grounds
   July 13        DOSWELL (RICHMOND), VA   Paramount's Kings Dominion
   July 15        ALBANY, NY               Palace Theatre
   July 16        PORTLAND, ME             State Theatre
   July 18        HAMPTON BEACH, NH        Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
   July 19        PHILADELPHIA, PA         Mann Center for the
                                            Performing Arts
   July 20        HOLMDEL, NJ              PNC Bank Arts Center
   July 22        WESTBURY, NY             Westbury Music Fair
   July 23        WESTBURY, NY             Westbury Music Fair
   July 25        PITTSBURGH, PA           Amphitheatre at Station Square
   July 26        CHICAGO, IL              Navy Pier
   July 27        KINGS ISLAND
                  (CINCINNATI), OH         Paramount's King's Island

   August 1       TULSA, OK                River Park Amphitheatre
   August 2       ST. LOUIS, MO            The Pageant
   August 3       WICHITA, KS              The Cotillion Ballroom
   August 5       KANSAS CITY, MO          Starlight Theatre
   August 6       OKLAHOMA CITY, OK        Bricktown Events Center
   August 8       GULFPORT, MS             Grand Casino Gulfport
   August 9       VALDOSTA, GA             Wild Adventures Theme Park
   August 10      CHARLOTTE, NC            Paramount's Carowinds
   August 12      HOUSTON, TX              Verizon Wireless Center
   August 13      DALLAS, TX               Bronco Bowl Theatre
   August 15      ALBUQUERQUE, NM          Kiva Auditorium
   August 16      PUEBLO, CO               Colorado State Fair
   August 17      DENVER, CO               Universal Lending Pavillion
   August 22      ROCHESTER HILLS, MI      Meadowbrook Music Festival
   August 23      ROCKFORD, IL             Coronado Theatre
   August 24      ST. PAUL, MN             Minnesota State Fair
   August 26      FT. WAYNE, IN            Embassy Center
   August 27      SAULT ST. MARIE, MI      Kewadin Casino
   August 29      S. WOODSTOCK
                  (PUTNAM), CT             Woodstock Fair
   August 31      CLEVELAND, OH            Tower City Amphitheatre

   September 4    PHOENIX, AZ              Dodge Theater
   September 5    LOS ANGELES, CA          Greek Theatre
   September 7    SANTA CLARA, CA          Paramount's Great Adventure
   September 9    PUYALLUP, WA             Western Washington Fair

SOURCE: Volcano

CONTACT: For further information on "Weird Al" Yankovic please call
Sonia Muckle, +1-212-824-1370. For tour press information please contact
Sandro Grancaric, +1-718-458-9222, sgrancaric@aol.com, both for Volcano