K-Pop Star Psy's "Gangnam Style" Video Goes Viral
- 12 years ago
A chubby singer with slicked-back hair and a tacky suit is the latest musical sensation to burst upon the world from South Korea, via a YouTube music video that has been seen by over 20 million people around the world in less than a month.
In a nation famed for K-Pop stars who are pretty but often bland, nobody was more surprised by the success of the video "Gangnam Style" than its creator, Psy, a musician from South Korea who had never expected to become popular overseas.
[Psy, South Korean Singer]:
"The video on YouTube never targeted viewers in foreign countries. It was just for local fans. My goal in this music video was to look uncool from the beginning to the end. I achieved it. The video does not look cool at all from the beginning to the end."
Decked out in a bow tie and suit jackets varying from pink to baby blue, the 34-year-old Psy busts comical dance moves in venues ranging from playgrounds to subways.
The video has been viewed more than 26 million times since mid-July, eclipsing mega star Justin Bieber's latest video, according to YouTube.
Parodies have popped up in South Korea and the United States, and the tune was used as part of Stockholm's Pride Parade earlier this month.
Even a few of South Korea's normally conservative presidential candidates are imitating Psy's moves in an attempt to appeal to voters.
The song is meant as a commentary on the rampant materialism and shallow culture of today's South Korea - particularly in relation to Gangnam, which Psy terms Seoul's Beverly Hills.
Psy hopes to perform his first concert overseas in Japan in September.
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In a nation famed for K-Pop stars who are pretty but often bland, nobody was more surprised by the success of the video "Gangnam Style" than its creator, Psy, a musician from South Korea who had never expected to become popular overseas.
[Psy, South Korean Singer]:
"The video on YouTube never targeted viewers in foreign countries. It was just for local fans. My goal in this music video was to look uncool from the beginning to the end. I achieved it. The video does not look cool at all from the beginning to the end."
Decked out in a bow tie and suit jackets varying from pink to baby blue, the 34-year-old Psy busts comical dance moves in venues ranging from playgrounds to subways.
The video has been viewed more than 26 million times since mid-July, eclipsing mega star Justin Bieber's latest video, according to YouTube.
Parodies have popped up in South Korea and the United States, and the tune was used as part of Stockholm's Pride Parade earlier this month.
Even a few of South Korea's normally conservative presidential candidates are imitating Psy's moves in an attempt to appeal to voters.
The song is meant as a commentary on the rampant materialism and shallow culture of today's South Korea - particularly in relation to Gangnam, which Psy terms Seoul's Beverly Hills.
Psy hopes to perform his first concert overseas in Japan in September.
For more news and videos visit ☛ http://english.ntdtv.com
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C