When the Ok-pop trade first got down to crack the profitable Western market, it’s unlikely that Psy was the determine they’d in thoughts. At 34, he was a relative old-timer when “Gangnam Style” was launched, and he had neither the squeaky-clean picture (he’d been in hassle with the authorities for marijuana use) nor the normal appears to be like of a traditional Ok-pop star. So how did he do it, and what was it in regards to the track – a extremely localized critique of South Korean Society – that turned it into such a worldwide phenomenon?
Setting the stage
Psy had written “Gangnam Style” with the thought of parodying the flamboyance, narcissism, and ostentatious wealth he felt had develop into prevalent within the newly wealthy nation – epitomized by the youth who hung across the ultra-rich district of Gangnam, recognized domestically because the Beverly Hills of Seoul.
Mockingly, Psy was from the realm himself. Born Park Jae-sung, in 1977, to an prosperous household, he was earmarked to take over his father’s semiconductor manufacturing enterprise. Despatched to the US to check, he quickly stop his place at Boston College to dedicate himself to music.
Within the 11 years earlier than “Gangnam Style” was launched, Psy had carved out a distinct segment for himself as a rapper recognized for his comedy, irreverence, and controversy (the blunt lyrics on his first album acquired him fined for “inappropriate content,” whereas his second was banned outright). By 2012 he’d joined YG Entertainment, one among South Korea’s three largest leisure companies, and was a longtime star. With these components in place, his sixth album, Psy 6 (Six Guidelines), Half 1, and its lead observe, “Gangnam Style,” was set to be successful – domestically, no less than.
A YouTube sensation
Shot in a mere 48 hours, “Gangnam Style”’s music video was filled with a bunch of well-known South Korean celebrities to make sure native success. Seven-year-old Hwang Min-woo, whose dancing had proved a sensation on TV expertise reveals, was introduced in so as to add his distinctive strikes together with comic and TV host Quickly Jae-suk (who dances alongside Psy in a yellow swimsuit). TV persona No Hong-chul offered the notorious elevator dance, with Ok-pop star Hyuna featured because the romantic curiosity.
After which, in fact, there was the “horse dance” itself. Psy had already constructed a popularity for his memorably foolish dance strikes. Eager to present his followers one thing distinctive, he and his choreographer spent a month arising with “Gangnam Style’”s signature horse trot and lasso spin.
Launched on July 15, 2012, the track galloped straight out of the gates, with 500,000 YouTube views on its first day. What occurred over the subsequent few months, nevertheless, cemented “Gangnam Style’”s place in historical past.
Because the track gained home reputation (earlier than the month was out, it turned one of many largest South Korean hits of the 12 months), phrase started to unfold means past Ok-pop’s heartland. US rapper T-Ache was reportedly the primary to present the observe his endorsement when he tweeted enthusiastically about it, on July 29. Earlier than lengthy, a cavalcade of stars, amongst them Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Tom Cruise, and Robbie Williams, had picked up on it, too, introducing the track to their thousands and thousands of followers and making a viral sensation within the course of. By September, “Gangnam Style” was averaging over six million views a day. Having topped the charts in over 30 international locations, on December 21, 2012, it turned the primary video to achieve one billion views on YouTube. By the point it hit 2,147,483,647 views, in 2014, YouTube’s counter wanted to be upgraded as a way to register any extra. As of December 2019, the full is heading in the direction of 3.5 billion.
‘Gangnam Style’ parodies and cultural impression
As momentum constructed, parodies of the dance swept internationally. The British Military and Thai Navy filmed their variations, whereas celebrities and politicians from international locations as various as Pakistan, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, and Germany carried out it on regional tv. Flash mobs of hundreds tried recreations in California, New York, Sydney, Paris, Rome, and Milan, {and professional} footballers, boxers, tennis gamers, and cricketers all paid tribute of their sporting celebrations. Even the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and members of the British royal household tried their very own variations of the video’s dance routine.
In the end, “Gangnam Style’”s worldwide success may be put right down to a wide range of components: an amazing video crammed with a mixture of silliness and satire; a supremely catchy tune; and a dance that was weird, sensible, and simple to parody. With good timing, it harnessed the facility of the web to make a South Korean rapping in his personal language a world break-out star.
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