Still remember the Korean guy with that viral music video (Gangnam Style) that got over 1 billion hits? Well, he’s back! Korean musician PSY released his new single called Gentleman on April 12th, 2o13.
Although branded to surpass the success of Gangnam Style, it is obvious that the music and dance style strongly followed, or rather, carried over from, that of Gangnam Style. Icons such as strong bass, Korean rap, black suit and sunglasses, gradually advancing chorus, hip dance moves, exaggerated facial expressions, seem to be recurring elements throughout the two songs. And of course, the guy from the elevator in Gangnam Style… There are still some questionable content that verges on vulgarity – many of PSY’s acts in the music video are the exact opposite of those done by a gentleman. And our question is: is this PSY’s only way out his post-Gangnam Style hiatus?
The song has received mixed receptions from the public. Although many enjoyed its beats and tunes, critics were concerned that it is hard for PSY to recreate his success from Gangnam Style. To respond to these doubts, PSY said,” I’ve been doing this for 12 years. Would it be fair to call me a one-hit wonder just because my next song falls flat? I gained international fame almost by accident but that does not mean that I will make desperate efforts to maintain that global popularity. I will just continue to do what I have been doing for all these years. If it satisfies people’s appetite it will. If not, it won’t.”
“It’s really good. It’s really funny. But it’s really hard to compare with the classic (Gangnam Style) though,” said a PSY fan.
Regardless of people’s doubts, PSY has once again successfully gathered attention from the public after all – the music video has set the YouTube records for: most views in its first 24 hours, most views in any 24 hours, fastest music video to reach 100 million views, fastest overall video to reach 200 million views, and 300 million views. Whether PSY could repeat his miracle or not, only time will give us an answer.
