Gangnam Style

Gangnam Style

Information
Released	June 3, 2009 - July 3, 2012 (ITunes) July 15, 2012 (US Single)
Recorded	2008
Genre	K-Pop
Length	3:39

Gangnam Style (Korean: 강남스타일, IPA: [kaŋnam sɯtʰail]) is a K-pop single by the South Korean musician PSY. The song debuted on ITunes In June 2009 - Early July 2012 The song was released in July 2012 as the lead single of his sixth studio album PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1, and debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Chart. On December 21, 2012, at around 15:50 UTC, "Gangnam Style" became the first video in the history of the Internet to be viewed more than a billion times. As of December 25, 2012 (2012 -12-25), the music video has been viewed over 1.05 billion times on YouTube, and it is the site's most watched video after surpassing Justin Bieber's single "Baby".

Trivia[]

Gangnam style was written by Psy for his girlfriend, Hyuna.
There are two versions of this video. See Gangnam Style ft. Hyuna

History[]

The phrase "Gangnam Style" is a Korean neologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam District of Seoul. The song and its accompanying music video went viral in August 2012 and have influenced popular culture worldwide since then. "Gangnam Style" received mixed to positive reviews, with praise going to its catchy beat and PSY's amusing dance moves (which themselves have become a phenomenon) in the music video and during live performances in various locations around the world. In September 2012, "Gangnam Style" was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most "liked" video on YouTube.[8] It subsequently won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards held later that year. It became a source of parodies and reaction videos by many different individuals, groups and organizations while also inspiring flashmobs in Paris, Rome and Milan with tens of thousands of participants each. According to German media, the world's biggest flashmob is set to take place on New Year's Eve at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with an expected crowd size of up to 1 million people dancing "Gangnam Style".

By the end of 2012, the song had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Although its reception in Japan remained lukewarm, "Gangnam Style" topped China's Baidu 500 download list and was labelled by state-controlled media as having a "divine melody."

As the song continued to rapidly gain popularity and ubiquity, its signature dance moves were attempted by many notable political leaders such as the British Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who hailed it as a "force for world peace". Its influence on political activism was exemplified by the short film Gangnam for Freedom, produced by the British sculptor Anish Kapoor to advocate the freedom of expression with the support of various human rights organisations such as Index on Censorship and Amnesty International. According to the United Nations' news division, PSY has become an "international sensation" through his song "Gangnam Style".

Background & release[]

"Gangnam Style" is a Korean neologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam District of Seoul, where people are trendy, hip and exude a certain supposed "class." The term was listed in Time's weekly vocabulary list as a manner associated with lavish lifestyles in Seoul's Gangnam district. PSY likened the Gangnam District to Beverly Hills, California, and said in an interview that he intended in a twisted sense of humour by claiming himself to be "Gangnam Style" when everything about the song, dance, looks, and the music video is far from being such a high class.

People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are—it's only the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are "Gangnam Style"—so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying so hard to be something that they're not. —PSY

The song talks about "the perfect girlfriend who knows when to be refined and when to get wild." The song's refrain "오빤 강남 스타일 (Oppan Gangnam style)" has been translated as "Big brother is Gangnam style", with PSY referring to himself; "Oppa" is a Korean expression used by females to refer to an older male friend or older brother. During an interview with The New York Times, PSY revealed that the Korean fans have huge expectations about his dancing, so he felt a lot of pressure. In order to keep up with expectations, he studied hard to find something new and stayed up late for about 30 nights to come up with the "Gangnam Style" dance. Along the way, he had tested various "cheesy" animal-inspired dance moves with his choreographer, including panda and kangaroo moves, before settling for the horse trot, which involves pretending to ride a horse, alternately holding the reins and spinning a lasso, and moving into a legs-shuffling side gallop.

During an interview with Reuters, PSY claimed that "Gangnam Style" was originally produced only for local K-pop fans, and he later said the same thing during a speech at the University of Oxford. On July 11, PSY and his music label YG Entertainment started releasing several promotional teasers for "Gangnam Style" to their subscribers on YouTube. On July 15, 2012, the full music video of "Gangnam Style" was uploaded onto YouTube and was immediately a sensation, receiving about 500,000 views on its first day. However, in Germany, an ongoing dispute between YouTube and the GEMA (the country's performance rights organization) regarding copyright issues has led to thousands of music videos including "Gangnam Style" being blocked in the country.

PSY Gangnam Style[]

[]

The video starts out with PSY, who is seen lounging at what looks like a sandy beach, under a sun umbrella and holding a cold drink, but the camera zooms out to reveal he is actually at a playground. The video then alternates between the playground, where a boy, Hwang Min-Woo, dances next to him; and a row of horses in stalls, where PSY performs his signature "invisible horse dance". As PSY (and two girls) walk through a parking garage, they are pelted by pieces of newspaper, trash, and snow. At a sauna, he rests his head on a man's shoulder, dressed in blue, while another man covered in tattoos is stretching. He then sings in front of two men playing Janggi (Korean chess), alternatively dancing with a woman at a tennis court, and bouncing around on a tour bus of seniors. The scenes alternate quickly until there is an explosion near the chess players, causing them to explode. PSY immediately walks towards the camera, pointing and shouting "Oppan Gangnam Style". Afterward, the chorus starts and he and some dancers start to perform at a horse stable. He dances as two women walk backwards. He dances at the tennis court, a carousel, and the tour bus. He shuffles into an outdoor yoga session and on a boat. The camera zooms in on a woman's butt, then shows PSY "yelling" at it.

The chorus ends and he is seen at a parking lot, where PSY is approached by a man (Yoo Jae-Suk) with a red Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 and a yellow suit; they have a dance duel. He then appears in an elevator underneath a man (Noh Hongchul) who is straddling him and thrusting his pelvis. The man in the yellow suit then gets in his car and leaves. The camera pans and it shows PSY in a subway cabin, where he notices an attractive young woman (Hyuna) dancing. At one of the train stops, he approaches the girl in slow motion, and she does the same. They start to embrace. He then tells the girl "Oppan Gangnam style", and they horse dance along with some others at the train stop, commencing the second chorus. He also surfaces from a spa.

PSY sings to the girl at a night club as people in all sorts of costumes walk behind them. He raps, "You know what I'm saying" in a serious voice, in an enclosed space, but when the camera zooms out, he is actually sitting on a toilet with his pants down. PSY and a large group of dancers do the horse dance and strike a final pose. After a brief reprise of the dance duel, PSY says, "Oppan Gangnam style", and the video finishes with a cartoon graphic.

Lyrics[]

Oppa Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style

Najeneun ttasaroun inganjeogin yeoja
Keopi hanjanui yeoyureul aneun pumgyeok inneun yeoja
Bami omyeon simjangi tteugeowojineun yeoja
Geureon banjeon inneun yeoja

Naneun sanai
Najeneun neomankeum ttasaroun geureon sanai
Keopi sikgido jeone wonsyat ttaerineun sanai
Bami omyeon simjangi teojyeobeorineun sanai
Geureon sanai

Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Geurae neo hey geurae baro neo hey

Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Geurae neo hey geurae baro neo hey

Jigeumbuteo gal dekkaji gabolkka

Oppa Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style

Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style

Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style

Eh, sexy lady
Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style

Eh, sexy lady
Op, op, op, op
Eh-eh-eh, eh-eh-eh

Jeongsukhae boijiman nol ttaen noneun yeoja
Ittaeda sipeumyeon mukkeotdeon meori puneun yeoja
Garyeotjiman wenmanhan nochulboda yahan yeoja
Geureon gamgakjeogin yeoja

Naneun sanai
Jeomjanha boijiman nol ttaen noneun sanai
Ttaega doemyeon wanjeon michyeobeorineun sanai
Geunyukboda sasangi ultungbultunghan sanai
Geureon sanai

Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Geurae neo, hey, geurae baro neo, hey

Areumdawo sarangseureowo
Geurae neo, hey, geurae baro neo, hey

Jigeumbuteo gal dekkaji gabolkka

Oppa Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style

Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style
Gangnam Style

ah

Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style

Eh, sexy lady
Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style

Eh, sexy lady
Op, op, op, op
Eh-eh-eh, eh-eh-eh

Ttwineun nom geu wie naneun nom
Baby, baby
Naneun mwol jom aneun nom

Ttwineun nom geu wie naneun nom
Baby, baby
Naneun mwol jom aneun nom
You know what I'm saying

Oppa Gangnam Style
Eh-eh-eh, eh-eh-eh
Eh, sexy lady
Op, op, op, op
Oppa Gangnam Style

Eh, sexy lady
Op, op, op, op
Eh-eh-eh, eh-eh-eh

Oppa Gangnam Style

ah

[English Translation:]

Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style

A girl who is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist

I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensable girl like that

I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I’m saying
Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

Oppa is Gangnam style