Gangnam Style
"Gangnam Style" (Korean: 강남스타일, IPA: [kaŋ.nam sɯ.tʰa.il]) is a K-pop song by South Korean rapper Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1 (Ssai Yukgap Part 1). The term "Gangnam Style" is a neologism that refers to the nouveau riche lifestyles associated with the Gangnam region of Seoul.
For the music video, see Gangnam Style (music video)."Gangnam Style"
July 15, 2012
2011–2012
3:39
- Park Jae-sang
- Yoo Gun-hyung
- Yang Hyun-suk
Gangnam seutail
Kangnam sŭt'ail
On July 15, 2012, "Gangnam Style" debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Chart, receiving generally positive reviews, with praise for its catchy beat and Psy's amusing dancing during live performances and in various locations around the world in its music video. The song and its music video went viral in August 2012 and have influenced popular culture worldwide. In the United States, "Gangnam Style" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, which at the time, was the highest charting song by a South Korean artist. By the end of 2012, "Gangnam Style" had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Psy's dance in the music video itself became a cultural phenomenon.
It subsequently won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards held that year. It became a source of parodies and reaction videos by many different individuals, groups, and organizations. On December 21, 2012, "Gangnam Style" became the first YouTube video to reach a billion views.[7] The song's music video was the most viewed video on YouTube from November 24, 2012, when it surpassed the music video for "Baby" by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris,[8] to July 10, 2017, when it was itself surpassed by the music video for "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth.[9]
Its dance was attempted by political leaders such as British Prime Minister David Cameron and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who hailed it as "a force for world peace".[10] On May 7, 2013, at a bilateral meeting with South Korea's President Park Geun-hye at the White House, US President Barack Obama cited the success of "Gangnam Style" as an example of how people around the world are being "swept up" by the Korean Wave of culture.[11]
Legacy[edit]
The success of "Gangnam Style" was a result of the build-up of South Korea's music industry that had been in the works for more than 20 years,[245] and it led to other K-pop artists positioning themselves for similar breakthroughs in the U.S. music industry.[246] Frances Moore, chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, brought up Gangnam Style as an example of how South Korea became one of the "most successful exporters of repertoire".[247]
According to the news agency Agence France-Presse, the success of "Gangnam Style" has led to the further rise and spread of the Korean Wave to other countries.[32] As the song continued to attract worldwide media attention, it also led to various broadcasting networks and national newspapers focusing its attention on K-pop and other aspects of Korean culture. For example, The Daily Telegraph published an article recommending its readers to try out everything from K-Pop to "K-Cars", "K-Phones" and "K-Cuisine".[248] Kim Byoung-gi, the Korean Ambassador to Lebanon, wrote that "Gangnam Style" had helped bridge Lebanese and Korean cultures.[249] The French-born political commentator Tim Soutphommasane, a research fellow at Monash University, agreed that the "Gangnam phenomenon" was "something worth studying". According to Soutphommasane, the world was only beginning to appreciate Gangnam Style as "part of a broader hallyu cultural wave coming out of the country [South Korea]".[250]
In 2012, the South Korean government announced that "Gangnam Style" had brought in $13.4 million to the country's audio sector, and it subsequently launched a campaign to further expand the K-Pop music industry overseas.[251] According to the Bank of Korea, the country's services account recorded a surplus of US$2.3 billion in the first nine months of this year, compared to a deficit of US$4.5 billion last year. This was mainly due to the growing influence and popularity of K-pop songs such as "Gangnam Style."[252] However, American journalist John Seabrook noted that by "satirizing standard K-pop tropes in Gangnam Style", Psy may have subverted the music genre's chances of making it big in the West.[253]
Record executives in the music industry believe that music charts will increasingly be filled with YouTube-driven globalised acts from foreign countries. Sean Carey, a research fellow in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Roehampton, wrote that the flow of popular music will no longer be a single traffic route from North America and Europe to other parts of the globe, but will also move the other way as well.[254] According to Adam Sherwin from The Independent, the global web demand for Gangnam Style had short-circuited the "traditional reluctance" of radio stations to play foreign-language songs.[255] The song is also underlining a shift in how money is being made in the music business.[256] Although Psy earned more than US$60,000 from music sales of "Gangnam Style" in South Korea alone, he and his music label YG Entertainment have raked in almost US$1 million from advertisements which appear on YouTube videos identified for using "Gangnam Style" in its content. The Harvard Business Review published an article written by Kevin Evers, who explained how "Gangnam Style" had changed Billboard's ranking methodology of its music charts. Instead of relying solely on radio plays and paid purchases, Billboard started to place a heavier emphasis on digital sales and YouTube views.[257] As a result of the change, "Gangnam Style" moved up to the top position of Billboard's Hot Rap Songs music chart.[258] According to the British Phonographic Industry's report based on Official Charts Company sales data, thanks to "Gangnam Style" and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe", pop had become the UK's favourite musical genre of the year, taking the lion's share of the singles market (38.5%) in 2012.[259]
Chart performance[edit]
South Korea[edit]
Upon its release, "Gangnam Style" was an enormous hit. The song went straight to number one on the Gaon Singles Chart on the fourth week of July 2012, with 816,868 digital downloads,[321][322] and spent five consecutive weeks at the top position of the chart, tying it with IU's "Good Day" for the most weeks at number one single in the chart's history.[323] In addition, the song became the first-place winner on various weekly chart shows such as M Countdown (three straight weeks)[324] and Music Bank (a total of 16 weeks including a record 10-consecutive-week).[325] According to the Korea Music Content Industry Association, "Gangnam Style" became the best selling song of 2012 in South Korea with 3,842,109 download sales.[326]
The song debuted at number six on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 for the week of July 28, 2012.[327] It then topped the chart the week after and remained at the summit for five consecutive weeks, tying IU's record with "You and I" for the longest running number one song on the chart. The record, however, was broken by Lee Seung-gi's "Return" earned six weeks at the top spot from December 2012 to January 2013.[328][329][330] "Gangnam Style" took number one spot on the 2012 Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 year-end chart.[331]
Oceania[edit]
In Oceania, "Gangnam Style" was a huge success. The single made its chart debut on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 21 on September 3, 2012.[332] After two weeks, the song reached in the top ten and the following week topped the chart, becoming the first K-pop song and the first foreign language song in three decades to achieve that feat since German band Nena's "99 Luftballons" hit the top spot in March 1982.[333] The song remained atop the chart for two consecutive weeks before being deposed from the top spot by One Direction's "Live While We're Young." After one week of the band's reign, "Gangnam Style" regained its number one position and stayed at the top spot for a further four weeks, tallying a total of six nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart. The track was ranked in the top ten of the chart for 17 consecutive weeks before it fell to number 11 on the January 14, 2013, chart.[332] The song has been certified 4× Platinum with sales exceeding 60,000 by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).[334] "Gangnam Style" was the second biggest-selling single of 2012 in the country behind Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."[335]
In Australia, the song debuted at number seven on the ARIA Singles Chart on September 17, 2012, becoming the highest debut for the week. It reached number one on the chart just three weeks after its release, overtaking "Battle Scars" by Guy Sebastian featuring Lupe Fiasco, and spent six consecutive weeks at the summit, making it the second-longest running chart-topper for 2012 behind Flo Rida's "Whistle" remained at the pole position for seven weeks.[336][337] As a result, Psy became the first artist to reach number one on the chart with a foreign-language song since Las Ketchup topped the chart with "The Ketchup Song" in September 2002, and the eighth overall. In addition, "Gangnam Style" was the first Korean song to enter the chart and to climb to the top spot in Australian chart history.[338] After the single spent the first 14 weeks in the top ten of the chart since its chart debut, it dropped to number 11 in its 15th week. The song, however, rebounded from the position to number three on the issue date of December 31, 2012. It descended to number 14 in its 18th week, ending a 16-week in the top ten, and out of the top 20 the following week, placed at number 23.[336] It has been certified 10× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), with sales exceeding 700,000 copies.[339] "Gangnam Style" was placed at number two on the 2012 ARIA Singles year-end chart behind Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."[340]
Europe[edit]
In Europe, the song was successful as well, topping the charts in almost all countries. "Gangnam Style" made its first European chart appearance, entering the Danish Singles Chart at number 40 on August 3, 2012. It reached the top ten in its fifth week, and climbed to number four in its sixth.[341] For the issue dated September 14, 2012, the song became Psy's first number one on the chart, ending the one-week reign of the Danish rock band Nephew's "Hjertestarter."[341] The song remained at the top position for seven consecutive weeks, tying it with "Somebody That I Used to Know" performed by Gotye featuring Kimbra for the longest running number one single on the chart for 2012. In its 24th week, it climbed back to the top, giving it its 8th week in that position. The single spent 22 straight weeks in the top ten of the chart.[341] In January 2013, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI Denmark) certified the single 2× Platinum, denoting sales of 60,000 copies.[342]
The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 196 on September 1, 2012, and in its fourth week broke into the top 40 at number 37.[343][344] In its fifth week, the song reached the top five on the chart and eventually peaked at number one on the week of October 6, becoming the first-ever K-pop song to achieve that feat. While the track only remained atop the chart for one week before being overtaken by Rihanna's "Diamonds", it spent a further 17 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the chart before it fell to number twelve on the January 26, 2013, chart. The song was the sixth biggest selling single of 2012 with 878,000 sales,[345] and ranked at number 24 among the top 40 most streamed tracks of the year in the United Kingdom.[346] According to Official Charts Company sales data, "Gangnam Style" has become not only the 129th track to sell more than 1 million copies in the history of the UK's Official Singles Chart, but also the first million seller by an Asian music star.[347] On April 9, 2013, the song became 13th most downloaded single of all time in the UK.[348]
Elsewhere in Europe, the song also peaked at number one on the German Singles Chart for two non-consecutive weeks in 2012. For the week of January 11, 2013, it returned to the summit, ending the ten-consecutive-week reign of "Diamonds" by Rihanna, and spent a week at the top. Psy's song remained in the top ten on the chart for a 19th straight week including 15 in the top three position since October 2012.[349] It has been certified 5× Gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI), denoting sales of 750,000 copies.[350] In addition, the single remained number one in Austria for four nonconsecutive weeks,[351] Belgium (Flanders) for five consecutive weeks,[352] Belgium (Wallonia) for seven straight weeks,[353] Czech Republic for one week,[354] Finland for four consecutive weeks,[355] France for six non-consecutive weeks,[356] Italy for a week,[357] the Netherlands for two consecutive weeks,[358] Norway for four straight weeks,[359] Scotland for a week,[360] Spain for 12 consecutive weeks,[361] and Switzerland for three nonconsecutive weeks.[362] It additionally placed top five positions in Iceland, Ireland, and Sweden,[363][364] and top ten in Hungary and Slovakia.[365][366]
North America[edit]
In the United States, "Gangnam Style" debuted at number 64 the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of September 22, 2012, with 61,000 downloads sold, more than the total number of previous weeks (57,000), becoming the second K-pop song to enter the chart behind the Wonder Girls' "Nobody," which spent a week at number 76 on the October 31, 2009 chart.[367] The following week, the song rocketed to number 11 on the chart with 188,000 downloads, seeing a sales increase of 210% after Psy appeared on various TV shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and NBC's Today.[368] In its third week, it rose to number two on the chart, topping the Hot Digital Songs chart with a 60% increase to 301,000 downloads sold and climbing to number nine on On-Demand Songs chart.[369] After that, the song peaked at the runner-up spot for seven consecutive weeks behind Maroon 5's "One More Night," failing to gain in enough radio audience to ascend to the summit, although it ruled Hot Digital Songs for a fourth week and On-Demand Songs for a fifth week during that period.[370] While "One More Night" dominated the Radio Songs chart for eight weeks, "Gangnam Style" peaked at just number 12 on the chart.[371]
For the week of November 24, the song dropped to number five on the Hot 100, despite leading in sales with 188,000 downloads.[372] In its 12th week, the single rebounded from number seven to number five with top Digital Gainer accolades, spurred by Psy's show-closing performance of the song with MC Hammer at the AMA. The track returned for a sixth week atop Hot Digital Songs with 229,000 downloads sold including 41,000 stemmed from the duet version, which mixed in Hammer's 1992 No. 5 Hot 100 hit "2 Legit 2 Quit."[373] It was the first song to spend six weeks at number one on the Digital Songs chart without reaching the top spot on the Hot 100 since Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." in 2009.[374] After the song stayed in the top ten of the Hot 100 for 11 consecutive weeks, it dropped out of the top ten on the December 22, 2012, chart, falling from number 10 to number 11.[375] The following week, "Gangnam Style" descended to number 18 on the chart but achieved the milestone of 3 million downloads sold in the country, becoming the first and only K-pop song to reach the mark.[376] For the week of January 12, 2013, powered by consumers purchasing some of 2012's most buzzworthy hits and radio airplay recounting the same in year-end retrospectives, the song resurged from number 19 to number six with its best weekly total 400,000 downloads sold, returning to the Hot 100's top ten after three weeks out of the top ten.[377] The track dropped to number 14 in its 18th week, ending a 12-week in the top 10, and number 22 in its 19th week, despite staying in the top ten of Digital Songs chart with 192,000 and 105,000 copies sold, respectively.[378][379] On February 20, 2013, Billboard and Nielsen announced the addition of U.S. YouTube video streaming data to its platforms, which includes an update to the methodology for the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Thanks to the change to reflect online video activity, "Gangnam Style" rebounded from number 48 to number 26 on the Hot 100 for the week of March 2, 2013.[380][381]
On October 11, 2012, Billboard unveiled new methodology for the Hot Rap Songs chart, including digital download sales and streaming data for the first time, along with radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS. Due to this, "Gangnam Style" soared from number 20 to number one on the October 20, 2012, chart.[382] The song spent eight consecutive weeks atop the chart before being overtaken by Flo Rida's "I Cry." After four weeks of his reign, "Gangnam Style" regained its number one position in the week of January 12, 2013.[383] The track also peaked at number three on the Hot Dance/Club Play Songs chart in the week of November 17, 2012.[384] The song was certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 19, 2013, denoting digital download sales of 4,000,000.[385] According to Nielsen SoundScan, "Gangnam Style" became the 9th best selling song of 2012 in the United States with 3,592,000 download sales.[386] In late January 2013, the song topped the 4 million mark in digital sales, becoming the third comic/novelty song to reach the mark, following LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" and Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You!."[387]
In Canada, "Gangnam Style" was a big hit just like the rest of the world. The song entered the Canadian Hot 100 chart at number 71 on the week of September 8, 2012.[388] In its fourth week, it reached in the top ten of the chart, climbing to number three, and the following week hit the pole position.[389] The single spent seven consecutive weeks atop the chart, making it the second longest running number one song of 2012 behind Maroon 5's "Payphone" remained at the top for eight straight weeks.[390] On the week of September 12, 2012, the song debuted at number seven on the Top 20 Digital Tracks chart, based on Nielsen SoundScan data.[391] The following week it topped the chart and spent four weeks at the top spot before giving the summit to "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift.[391] "Gangnam Style," however, was back on top of the chart for the week of October 24, and grabbed the number one position for another four straight weeks, tallying a total of eight nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart.[391] On November 16, 2012, the track was certified 4× Platinum by Music Canada, and as of January 2013 had sold more than 476,000 copies in the country.[392]
iTunes Music Video Charts[edit]
On August 21, 2012, "Gangnam Style" charted number one on the iTunes Music Video Charts, overtaking Justin Bieber's "As Long as You Love Me" and Katy Perry's "Wide Awake"; this feat was the first for any South Korean artist.[393] From September 8, 2012, to February 23, 2013, the song has also peaked and stayed at number one on Billboard's YouTube Chart for 22 weeks, until being surpassed by "Stay" by Rihanna for one week; as of April 2013, it had reclaimed its top position for a 30th week.[394]