It’s been a crazy week for Psy.
The Korean rapper known as Psy (born Park Jae-Sang) created a tidal wave of hype this past week as his song “Gangnam Style” absolutely squashed a multitude of records.
Psy was born in South Korea on December 31, 1977, which inspired “Gangnam Style.” “Gangnam Style” is a term used in Korean that refers to someone who lives in the Gangnam district of Seoul; it’s roughly the equivalent of “swag” in American culture. According to Korean analysts, Gangnam is known for its lavish lifestyles and obsession with coffee at the expense of all else.
The song itself is a perfect example of Korean pop, or K-pop. Although K-pop has been around for a while, “Gangnam Style” is the genre’s first real journey into American culture. And what a journey it’s been.
The video for the song is certifiably crazy, and has been the song’s biggest claim to fame. It opens with the hook “Oppa Gangnam Style,” which is the title of the song, with the word “oppa” meaning “big brother” in Korean. Psy demonstrates his crazy dancing moves that can only be described as looking like riding a horse in space. As Psy dances his way through various locales, he imbues the entire video with a refreshing sense of humor missing in most music videos. On top of that, his moves are simple and relatively easy to do, but hard to master, making it fairly addicting.
Those records I referenced earlier? Yeah, they’re pretty big ones. Since being released on July 15, “Gangnam Style” has jumped to the top of the iTunes chart (something no Korean artist has ever done), “Gangnam Style” is the most searched-for term in the world on Google, and the music video has gathered over 255 million views on Youtube alone, as well as garnering the Guinness World Record of Most Liked Video on Youtube with over 2.5 million likes.
Psy himself has appeared on Ellen to teach Ellen Degeneres and Britney Spears his signature moves, the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, The Today Show, Saturday Night Live, and in front of 43,000 baseball fans at Dodger Stadium.
While Psy’s popularity continues to skyrocket, only time will tell if “Gangnam Style” is merely a fad or the start of something big. Either way, there’s no denying the impact it’s made on culture, not only in Korea, but around the world.
