NEWS
EVENTS
Will we all be dancing ‘Gangnam Style’ soon?
Other | Friday 21st September 2012 | Osh
PSY’s viral hit could soon be the first K-pop track to reach the top spot in the UK charts.
Internet-based hits have really been coming into the public sphere of late, but many could be described as somewhat formulaic. However, the latest song catching eyes is anything but.
Bombing along at a rate of nearly 10 million views a day, PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ could well ascend to number one in the UK – the first ever K-pop track to do so. With big-name fans like Simon Cowell, Katy Perry and Tom Cruise, the idea isn’t entirely out of the question. The oh-so famous video, involving the frankly hilarious “horse riding” dance, has become something of an internet sensation, despite only being released in July. 220 million views in total don’t lie, and the attention has resulted in a nomination for best video at the MTV Europe music awards. The artist – real name Park Jae-Sang – has also joined with a management team led by Scooter Braun to make it big in America.
PSY has been singing for 12 years in his home country, with a back catalogue spanning six albums, but it is this parody of a pop video that has seen his stratospheric rise to worldwide fame – so much so that it has spawned numerous parodies of its own. Notable among them is ‘Lifeguard style’, which saw several lifeguards lose their jobs over using the pool they worked at without permission, in El Monte, California. Happily, PSY himself has given his support to those involved in the attempt to get their jobs back, appealing to the mayor directly. Other parodies include the mash up with Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’, the Oregon Duck’s version, and the quite mad ‘Gandalf Style’, which sees a man dressed as Tolkien’s wizard prancing around the streets of America, with an overdub involving cave trolls and hobbits. A mental send-up of a mental send-up. Thank you, internet.
On his possible – or should that be inevitable – success, the man himself has said: "If I have number one in UK - I promise I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll bring Gangnam Style." Buckle up, everyone… the insanity is on its way.
By Dave Rees
