The 34-year-old phenomenon from South Korea known as PSY (Park Jae-sang) is a musical force to be reckoned with on the music charts right now. We recently reported on his explosive success, but due to Gangnam now topping charts worldwide we thought he was worth another look.
We pointed out in the past that his celebrity was on the rise with appearances on Saturday Night Live and the MTV video music awards. This was due to his viral video for Gangnam Style (now at 290 million plus views on YouTube), but this doesn’t seem to be as much of a typical 15 minutes of fame scenario as some people thought.
Many thought Gangnam Style would be your typical YouTube viral video. It might get a few laughs on shows like Tosh.0 or Jimmy Fallon, but in the end wouldn’t be taken seriously. That, my friends, is not the case. PSY has quickly captured a few milestones, including the number one download on the iTunes charts. This hit single – now topping charts all over the world – has begun to cement his status as a legit artist.
The level of media attention PSY is receiving is at a level I have never seen. This month, during a visit to South Korea to promote the Nexus 7 tablet, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt joined the Gangnam Style train and busted a few moves with PSY.
Along with all of the hype and success, PSY is bringing K-pop music to a global audience. This year marked a first for the genre with a Billboard chart designated for K-pop music. Will k-pop be the next techno and fade off into the sunset, or are we viewing the birth of a valid new genre in music.
The sheer popularity of Gangnam Style has helped parodies of his video reach over one million views on YoutTube. There are tons of videos on the net, either paying homage to PSY’s talents, or seemingly made out of pure boredom. Does this K-pop mega hit inspire you to get behind the camera and show off your best Gangnam moves?
A Viral Parody of Psy’s Gangnam Style Video:
