Weird Al Yankovic ‘Not Gonna Do ‘My Corona’

The whole world is currently keeping track of the coronavirus crisis, and even “Weird Al” Yankovic is weighing in on the matter. More specifically, the comedian took to Twitter recently to jokingly express how he won’t be releasing a pun-filled track about the virus.

On Tuesday, Yankovic took to Twitter to share that he would not be making a parody out of the coronavirus crisis. More specifically, he noted that he would not be making a parody of The Knack’s “My Sharona,” which he would have titled, “My Corona.”

Yankovic’s tweet comes amidst a growing crisis surrounding the coronavirus. According to CBS News, there are over 100 cases in 15 states in the United States, with new cases being reported in New Hampshire and Georgia as of Tuesday. The Trump administration and the World Health Organization have both said that the threat that the virus poses is manageable. The coronavirus has hit many countries hard, with some of the biggest outbreaks being found in China, Italy, South Korea, Iran, and Japan.

If you’re familiar with Yankovic’s work, you would know that he’s known for making parody songs of popular tracks. In an interview with Esquire, published back in 2014, the singer/comedian opened up about his creative process.

“My sensibility and my process have remained fairly constant over the years. I like to think that I’ve gotten better at what I do,” he told the publication. “I spend more time and pay more attention to detail album after album. But pretty much it’s stayed the same. My process for the parodies is that I get an idea for a song and then get approval from the artist and then go in and record it and probably try to get it out as soon as possible.”

In addition to his popular parodies, Yankovic has also produced a number of original tracks during his lengthy career.

“With originals, most of those are style parodies or pastiches — and for that I mean I do original songs in the style of other artists, where I try to learn all their musical idiosyncrasies and try to do something that sounds like them and yet is a bit more sick and twisted,” Yankovic explained.

Yankovic continued to tell Esquire that he felt as though there wasn’t a specific place for his music within the industry. But, he feels much more accepted by both the comedy and music communities now.

“I do a lot of different things, sometimes at the same time, and it’s very difficult to figure out where I fit,” he shared. “The nice thing is that when I started out, I didn’t feel like I was really accepted in the music or comedy communities, and I was somewhere on the edge, but now I feel like I’m accepted in both, which is extremely gratifying.”