Korean Rapper PSY's Oppa Gangnam Style Official Music Video

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Korean Rapper PSY's Oppa Gangnam Style Official Music Video

What is Oppa Gangnam Style ? Who is PSY ? Probably, that are the questions playing in your mind after you discovered that Oppa Gangnam Style is trending on the micro-blogging site, Twitter. Don't worry if you still don't know what it is because I made a short research about it, so I hope after you read this post of mine, you will not asked those questions anymore.

Without further ado, Here it goes...

Gangnam Style is a 2012 dance pop single written and performed by Korean pop singer Park Jae Sung, better known by his stage name PSY. Since the release of the song and its highly entertaining music video in mid-July 2012, the video has gained more than 8 million views in the span of two weeks and spawned numerous parodies and copycat dance videos on YouTube.

The song “Gangnam Style” was written and recorded as the title single of the sixth studio album PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1 by Korean singer PSY, who is best known for his quick-witted sense of humor and comical dance moves. The song was released on July 15th, 2012, along with the music video which made its online debut via PSY’s official YouTube channel on the same day.

Upon its release, the song took off on virtually all Korean billboard charts, portal search sites and online music stores, but it began garnering international attention after the video went viral on YouTube during the third week of July 2012. The mass appeal of the music video has been attributed to its signature dance move known as “the horse-riding dance,” which combines the stylistic elements of shuffle dancing and hand movements resembling the posture of a horseback rider. The dance was previously introduced through the debut single of another Korean K-pop girl group Girl’s Day in 2010.

SPIN-OFF MUSIC VIDEO:

On August 14th, PSY released a spin-off version of the song and the music video starring Hyun-A, a member of the K-POP group 4Minute who appeared in the original music video as PSY’s muse in the subway. Titled “Oppa Is Just My Style,” the music video sets itself apart by putting the female pop singer on the center stage and removing the original chorus “Gangnam Style” altogether.

TERMINOLOGY:

“Gangnam Style” is a Korean neologism mainly associated with upscale fashion and lavish lifestyle associated with trendsetters in Seoul’s Gangnam district (강남), which is considered the most affluent part of the metropolitan area. In colloquial usage, it is comparable to the English slang terms “swag” or “yolo”.