'Gangnam Style' at 10: How Psy's smash hit sent Korean culture global

The early on years of the 2010s were an era of instant hits. From the "Harlem Milkshake" to the "Party Rock Anthem," digital platforms ushered in a new era of hype and virality.

On July fifteen, 2012, Due south Korean vocalizer and rapper Psy burst onto the global music scene in a vivid blue tuxedo, an unforgettable dance on horseback, and an energetic crush that turned into the tricky lyric, "Oppan Gangnam mode."

"Gangnam Style" soon went viral and caused a worldwide awareness. The song hijacked the airwaves, the music video flooded Facebook timelines, and Psy's slicked-back hair and sunglasses appeared on American belatedly-nighttime talk shows. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in September, before climbing to number 2 weeks later. Information technology also became the showtime video to achieve one billion views on YouTube.

The music video for "Gangnam Way" became the get-go video to reach ane billion views on YouTube in 2012. Credit: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images

Already pop in his home country but barely known globally, Psy quickly became one of the globe'southward nearly recognizable artists. Within a year, he had broken iii Guinness World Records and was performing at New York's Madison Foursquare Garden with Madonna. For the and then 35-year-old man from Seoul, the breakneck success was something he could never take imagined.

In an interview leading up to the song's 10th anniversary, he compares that flow of his life to celebrating a birthday. "The day before, you're excited by the anticipation," he tells CNN from the Seoul headquarters of P-Nation, the tape label and entertainment agency he founded in 2018. "So the 24-hour interval of…everything is a piffling wild and crazy".

But the song's impact extended far beyond the music industry. In fact, the success of "Gangnam Fashion" is seen as a major catalyst for the "Korean Wave" or "hallyu," a term that describes the contempo proliferation of Korean civilisation internationally, something the Southward Korean government has been trying to boost. music and media since the 1990s.

According to Gyu Tag Lee, an associate professor of cultural studies specializing in 1000-popular and hallyu at George Mason University's South korea campus, it was "Gangnam Style" that brought Korean pop culture mainstream recognition outside of the East. from Asia.

"These kinds of media platforms going viral on the internet, (like) YouTube, made K-popular and hallyu really popular and big overseas," he says.

paving the way

Fast-forward a decade and South Korean talents have reached new levels of global popularity and fandom.

K-pop band BTS was the world's acknowledged music human activity in 2021, and the grouping has since performed at the Grammys and appeared at the White Business firm to speak out on Asian representation and anti-Asian hate crimes. Meanwhile, girl group Blackpink performed at the Coachella music festival and collaborated with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez, and its 4 members joined major brands or luxury fashion houses as ambassadors.

Lee believes these blockbuster One thousand-pop acts are following in Psy'south footsteps by using shareable video content to reach global audiences.

"Without the huge hit that 'Gangnam Style' was, at that place might not take been BTS, in that location might not accept been Blackpink," says Lee.

BTS has frequently quoted and thanked Psy for helping to globalize K-pop. I of the boy band members, Suga, even co-produced and appeared on "That That," the lead single from Psy'south new album, "Psy 9th." Like "Gangnam Style," the vocal is tricky and danceable, while the music video features some of the vocaliser's trademark humor and has already garnered over 272 million views on YouTube.

In a backside-the-scenes video interview posted on Psy'southward YouTube business relationship, Suga expresses his gratitude for the "Gangnam Style" singer.

"It paved the way for K-popular in the US, which allowed (BTS) to follow that path more comfortably," says Suga.

And the appreciation is mutual. "I think that'due south an astonishing feat," Psy says of BTS' success. "Every role of me applauds and thanks for yous. That heavy burden I felt in 2012, BTS has been carrying for six or seven years."

Across breaking records

For Psy, in that location has always been another side to his worldwide success. As excited and happy as he was during those "Gangnam Style" days, he said that performing and touring left him feeling "too overwhelmed" and "a niggling empty inside."

Fame also created new expectations and the pressure to brand more hits.

"When the song is a hit, your songs should continue to be hits," he says. "When the person is a success, the success is more than sustainable. In this instance, I am the showtime and BTS is the 2nd."

While Psy never replicated the success of "Gangnam Style," he'south spent the past decade proving to exist a musician and dancer with a singular drive to entertain. Since 2012, he has released three full-length albums showcasing his various style, from the trip the light fantastic toe hits he is all-time known for to softer rhythmic ballads reminiscent of his before output. Since he founded P-Nation, he has used the label to creatively detect, develop and support the next generation of South Korean acts.

Psy at a printing briefing for his new anthology "Psy 9th" at the Fairmont Administrator Hotel on April 29, 2022 in Seoul, South korea. Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Between everything, Psy continues filling places in his country of origin. Her annual concert series "Summer Swag" is currently underway after being canceled due to the pandemic.

"Interacting with the audition (and) sharing that experience is something I tin can't even describe," says Psy. "I experience incredibly proud and happy at that moment."

And their mission hasn't changed since their big success: "Brand fun music, fun trip the light fantastic, and brand my fans happy."

"That's my hope," he adds. "I had the aforementioned opinion 10 years agone and I remember I volition feel the same way 20 years from at present. I will always stay true to that."

Championship of the image above: Park Jae-Sang, also known as Psy, performs "Gangnam Style" in front of a oversupply during a flash mob on November 5, 2012 in Paris.

Source: https://zdioy.com/gangnam-style-at-10-how-psys-smash-hit-sent-korean-culture-around-the-world/

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