How To Pronounce Psy Gangnam Style

The early 2010s were an era of instant hits. From the "Harlem Milk shake" to "Party Rock Anthem", digital platforms ushered in a new era of publicity -- and virality.

On July 15, 2012, South Korean vocaliser and rapper Psy broke onto the global music scene with a brilliant blue tuxedo, an unforgettable horse-riding trip the light fantastic and an energetic beat that dropped to the tricky lyric, "Oppan Gangnam style."

"Gangnam Style" soon went viral, making waves around the earth. The song hijacked the airwaves, the music video flooded Facebook timelines and Psy's slicked-back hair and sunglasses showed up on American late-night shows. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in September, before climbing to number 2 weeks later. It also became the first video to hit one billion views on YouTube.

The music video for "Gangnam Manner" became the first video to hit a billion views on YouTube in 2012.

Credit: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images

Psy, who was already popular in his home country but barely known globally, apace became ane of the most recognizable artists in the globe. Within a twelvemonth, he had broken three Guinness Globe Records and was performing at New York'southward Madison Square Garden with Madonna. For the then-35-yr-old from Seoul, the cyclone success was something he could have never imagined.

In an interview alee of the song'southward 10-year anniversary, he compares that period of his life to celebrating a birthday. "On the day before, you're excited in anticipation," he tells CNN from the Seoul headquarters of P-Nation, the record label and entertainment agency he founded in 2018. "And then on the day of ... information technology's all a little wild and crazy."

But the vocal's touch stretched far across the music industry. In fact, the success of "Gangnam Manner" is considered a major goad in the "Korean moving ridge", or "hallyu", a term describing the recent proliferation of Korean culture internationally -- something the S Korean authorities has been attempting to push through music and media since the 1990s.

According to Gyu Tag Lee, an associate professor of cultural studies specializing in K-popular and hallyu at George Bricklayer University'due south South Korean campus, it was "Gangnam Style" that gave Korean pop civilisation mainstream recognition outside of Eastern asia.

"These kinds of going-viral-on-the-net media platforms, (such as) YouTube, fabricated K-popular and hallyu actually popular and big overseas," he says.

Paving the way

Fast forrad a decade and South Korean talents accept reached new levels of global popularity and fandom.

Yard-popular band BTS was the world's top-selling musical deed in 2021, and the group has since performed at the Grammys and fabricated an appearance at the White House to discuss Asian representation and anti-Asian hate crimes. Girl grouping Blackpink, meanwhile, has performed at the Coachella music festival and collaborated with the likes of Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez, with its four members all joining major brands or luxury way houses as ambassadors.

Lee believes that these highly successful Grand-pop acts are following in Psy'south footsteps past using shareable video content to reach global audiences.

"Without the large hit that was 'Gangnam Manner,' there may non accept been BTS, at that place may non have been Blackpink," Lee says.

BTS has ofttimes cited -- and thanked -- Psy for helping globalize M-popular. One of the boy band's members, Suga, even co-produced and featured on "That That" , the lead single from the Psy's new album, "Psy ninth". Like "Gangnam Style", the song is catchy and danceable, while the music video features some of the vocaliser'southward signature humor and has already garnered more than than 272 1000000 views on YouTube.

Southward Korean rapper Park Jae-Sang as well known as Psy performs "Gangnam Style" in front of a crowd during a flashmob on November five, 2012 in Paris.

Credit: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

In a behind-the-scenes video interview, posted to Psy's YouTube account, Suga expresses his gratitude for the "Gangnam Style" singer.

"He paved the mode for Chiliad-pop in the US, which allowed (BTS) to follow that path more comfortably," Suga says.

And the appreciation is mutual. "I think information technology's an incredible feat," Psy says of BTS' success. "Every single part of me applauds them and is cheering them on. That heavy burden that I felt in 2012 -- BTS has been shouldering that for 6 or seven years at present."

Beyond breaking records

For Psy, at that place has always been some other side to his global success. As excited and happy as he was during those "Gangnam Style" days, he said that performing and beingness on the road left him feeling "just also overwhelmed" and "a piddling empty within."

Fame also brought about new expectations -- and the pressure to make more than hits.

"When the vocal is a hit, then your songs need to continue to exist hits," he says. "When the person is a hitting, the success is more sustainable. In this case, I'm the former and BTS is the latter."

While Psy never replicated the success of "Gangnam Style", he has spent the concluding decade proving himself to be a musician and dancer with a atypical drive to entertain. Since 2012, he has released 3 full-length albums that showcase his diverse style -- from the dance hits he's best known for, to softer, rhythmic ballads reminiscent of his earlier output. Since founding P-Nation, he has used the label to discover, develop and creatively support the adjacent generation of Southward Korean acts.

Psy at a press briefing of his new album "Psy ninth" at the Fairmont Ambassador Hotel on Apr 29, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea.

Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Between it all, Psy is nonetheless filling venues in his dwelling house country. His almanac concert series, "Summer Swag" is currently underway after existence canceled due to the pandemic.

"Interacting with audiences (and) sharing that experience is something I can't even draw," Psy says. "I experience incredibly proud and content in that moment."

And his mission hasn't changed since his breakout hit: "To make fun music, fun dances and bring joy to my fans."

"That'due south my hope," he adds. "I was of the aforementioned listen 10 years agone and I think I'll feel the aforementioned style 20 years from now also. I'll e'er be true to that."

Watch the video above to hear more from Psy.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/psy-gangnam-style-10-years-intl-hnk/index.html

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