When Korean pop superstar Psy released his hit song “Gangnam Style” in July, I thought the single’s music video was funny yet typical of the enigmatic performer. More enthusiastic reactions came from my non-Korean friends, who could hardly contain themselves from being swept up in “Psy fever.”
One of my friends told me that she was thinking about making a “Sanlitun Style” parody inspired by the song. I haven’t heard such a mock song, although there have been plenty of other inspired tributes from the Middle Kingdom in the form of “China Style,” “Laowai Style,” “Nurse Style” and many more.
Some of them are too much and push the envelope of sex appeal too far, even though they must have been a lot of fun to shoot.
It’s remarkable that one song can inspire so much fun around the globe.
But not everyone likes “Gangnam Style,” even if it has generated more than 500 million views on video sharing website YouTube. Some people take it too seriously and use the song as an example of the lack of artistic merit in pop music nowadays.
But it’s worth remembering that a song’s popularity speaks for itself. “Gangnam Style” still trails the top two most viewed music videos on YouTube, namely Justin Bieber’s “Baby ft. Ludacris” at nearly 800 million views and Jennifer Lopez’s “On The Floor ft. Pitbull.”
Psy’s detractors argue he is too ugly and fat to be a true superstar. When he first came into the spotlight in 2001 in South Korea, he was introduced as a “grotesque singer.” K-pop fans were shocked by his appearance and anti-institutional messages in his songs, even if they did have catchy rhythm and rhyming lyrics. But Psy’s success paved the way for stars who didn’t fit the traditional K-pop mold.
When “Gangnam Style” went viral on the Internet, the South Korean government thought it was an ideal opportunity to use the song to promote South Korea’s sovereignty over the Dokdo Islands, known as Takeshima in Japanese. Seoul sought to enlist Psy to make a “Dokdo Style” video carrying this message. But the idea of mixing pop with politics was slammed by South Korean fans.
Meanwhile, claims have emerged in Japan that many of the views on YouTube of “Gangnam Style” were manipulated and his success is largely due to promotion by the South Korean government.
Psy, who insists “Gangnam Style” pokes fun at “posers” and “wannabes” of the namesake Seoul district, has become a bastion for fun through music.
Critics need to relax and enjoy the song for what it is: harmless fun. After all, the fun won’t last forever.
The last chance to milk “Gangnam Style” for all it’s worth looms with Halloween next week.
Many have already said they plan to dress up as Psy, so I have reluctantly abandoned this idea. Breaking out into the horse dance, on the other hand, appears inevitable.
Source:
http://justinbieber.blogm4u.com/2012/10/22/gangnam-critics-breathe-a-psy-of-relief/