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Eat It

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This article is about the song. For the Humble Pie album, see Eat It (Humble Pie album).
"Eat It"
Song
B-side"That Boy Could Dance"

"Eat It" is a 1984 song by comedy music artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. The track was both a commercial and critical success, earning Yankovic a Grammy Award.

According to Yankovic, when he presented his lyrics to Jackson for review, he didn't know what kind of reaction he'd get. Jackson allegedly thought it was amusing, and agreed to allow the parody.[1] On October 19, 1989, the RIAA certified "Eat It" as a gold single.[2]

Reception

The single reached number 1 in Australia, and it was his highest-charting US single on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 12 until "White & Nerdy" peaked at number 9 in October 2006.[3] "Eat It" earned Yankovic a 1984 Grammy Award in the Best Comedy Recording category.[4] "Eat It" also outranked "Beat It" in overall highest position on the Australian Aria Charts, with its highest rank being number 1, while "Beat It"'s highest is 3rd. As stated before, the RIAA certified "Eat It" as a gold single on October 19, 1989.[2]

Track listing

1984 release

  1. "Eat It" – 3:19
  2. "That Boy Could Dance" – 3:32

1985/1993 re-release

  1. "Eat It" – 3:19
  2. "I Lost on Jeopardy" – 3:26

Music video

The video for "Eat It" is styled as a shot-for-shot remake of Jackson's video for "Beat It", featuring the same actors and using the same sets, but with elements being parodied in various silly ways. For example, one man grabs his girlfriend by the head and swings her back to kiss her, and her head comes off; two rival gang members brandish a spoon and fork at one another during the song's bridge, then begin to fight over a rubber chicken as the solo guitarist's instrument explodes in his hands. The video ends with a spoof of "Thriller," in which Yankovic wakes from a dream, turns to prepare some Alka-Seltzer, and, when he turns back around, he has the yellow, slitted animal eyes Jackson sported at the end of "Thriller." [5]

Chart positions

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart[6] 18
New Zealand Singles Chart[7] 6
UK Singles Chart 36
US Billboard Hot 100 12

See also

References

  1. ^ Jackson allows Yankovic to parody "Beat It"
  2. ^ a b Eat It's Certification in the US
  3. ^ Eat It's Highest Ranking on the Billboard 100
  4. ^ Yankovic discusses Grammy's with Andy Greene
  5. ^ "Eat It" Music Video
  6. ^ "Search". Irish Charts. In the "Search by Artist" field, put in Weird Al Yankocic. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  7. ^ "Werid Al Yankovic - Eat It". New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
Preceded by Australian Kent Music Report number-one single
May 7, 1984 		Succeeded by
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