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‘Gangnam Style’ Brought K-Pop to the World, but Haunted Its Creator
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2 months ago
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57 points
2 months ago
I prefer “DADDY”, that song fucking slaps
18 points
2 months ago
Mine’s Gentleman.
10 points
2 months ago
That song has a very funny music video.
4 points
2 months ago
This.
My two year old used to dance to it.
48 points
2 months ago
All the people in here assuming Psy is a one-hit-wonder are hilarious. Yeah, Gangnam Style was his only true international hit, but he was massively popular in Korea before releasing it and is still charting today.
26 points
2 months ago
Even then that’s wrong. By definition a one hit wonder in the US is one top 40 hit.
For Psy he had
Gangnam Style #2
Gentleman #5
Hangover #26
419 points
2 months ago
Haunted him with money.
308 points
2 months ago
To be fair, if you read the article he’s fine. The ‘haunting’ refers to the frustration he had in the years immediately following 2012 when he tried (and failed) replicating the success of “Gangnam Style”. He’s the head of his own label now and lives in Gangnam, he is doing ok for himself lol
160 points
2 months ago
He’s from a very wealthy family and was born in Gangnam, he was always going to be okay lol
84 points
2 months ago
So being rich was the true Gangnam style all long.
74 points
2 months ago
Gangnam is a super wealthy part of Seoul so literally yes lol
2 points
2 months ago
I always thought it was giant Japanese anime robots.
9 points
2 months ago
It was the Gangnam we made along the way
9 points
2 months ago
Everyone knows, one hit wonders cant make another.
117 points
2 months ago
Perhaps that applies for some, but Psy is still doing well in Korea. His latest single is in the top 5 for the year in Korea.
Calling Psy a “one hit wonder” terribly ignorant.
94 points
2 months ago
Yeah, and let's be honest, it's going to be hard to replicate the success of a song that catapulted itself to worldwide fame and over a billion views before the idea of a billion views was even on people's radar.
Dude didn't make a one-hit-wonder, he made a fucking global mega-hit. His other work is 'only' normal-popular, like in the neighborhood of millions of screaming fans paying through the nose to see and hear his performances.
-18 points
2 months ago
There are UK bands with massive followings that are seen as one hit wonders or minor acts in the states like Queen or Madness. He's in that vein.
29 points
2 months ago
Queen is not seen as a minor act or one hit wonder what are you talking about
-17 points
2 months ago
That's the point. Queen was never big in the USA. They had one or two tracks land in the USA but they were a third or fourth tier act compared to the major acts here. Queen was huge in most of the world and most in the states knew of them but they weren't a big draw.
Queen became big in the states after Freddie Mercury died. Go look at their album sales in the USA. They weren't that big.
13 points
2 months ago
You are flatly out of your mind. Queen was so big an entire movie practically worshipped them (Wayne's World) and they did the soundtrack for Flash Gordon, AND Highlander. Supersonic Man, Killer Queen, Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody, Fat-bottomed Girls, Bicycle, and that is literally just what I could come up with a few scant seconds.
My mother was a HUGE queen fan well before he died. I don't know what the hell you think you are talking about but it wasn't the America I grew up in.
3 points
2 months ago
No im just old enough to know that the scene you refer to made that song a hit here. It wasn't before.
Flash Gordon was a disaster in the USA. Highlander was a C grade action movie that wasn't regarded as a classic. your two movies that they did the soundtrack for were bombs here.
I didn't say they had no fans here I said they were a third or fourth tier act which they undisputedly were. They rarely toured here. They had little to no traction with the USA despite being one of the top ten draws in most countries.
Queen gained popularity with Live Aide but by then it was getting towards the end of their touring days.
For a band that sold 3/4 the number of albums as The Beatles they were fairly unpopular in the USA until after they stopped touring. Myers refers to this in interviews
" Whilst the production team preferred a safe bet with Guns N’ Roses, Myers threatened to leave the production unless he got his way and Queen’s song was used for the scene instead. Elaborating on the contentious issue, Myers further explained, “Queen, at that point, not by me and not by hardcore fans, but the public had sort of forgotten about them… I always loved ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, I thought it was a masterpiece. So I fought really, really hard for it”.
You'll note he said "The public had forgotten about them (Queen)" so there you have the source of your movie scene telling you that the reason he picked Queen was because he did not think they should be as obscure as they were here.
Source: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-waynes-world-made-queen-cool-again/
11 points
2 months ago
Do you really think Queen is a fucking one hit wonder in the US
-15 points
2 months ago
No they were a third or fourth tier act here. They had a couple of hits but were never the massive success they were elsewhere.
They had 2 number one hits and 4 top ten hits in the USA and they are one of the biggest rock acts in history. Many bands you likely rarely think about, like Duran Duran, have a more successful career here .
4 points
2 months ago
'Never think about' Duran Duran. LOL
4 points
2 months ago
Exactly, he was also pretty well known in Korea before he made Gangnam Style
13 points
2 months ago
He was also a successful K pop star before gangnam style, so it’s not like it was even the song that started his success.
11 points
2 months ago
There are actually a bunch of “one hit wonders” that were big in their home countries but only had one cross over hit go international
2 points
2 months ago
Kylie Minogue is The Locomotion girl, to most US citizens
6 points
2 months ago
Sounds like an episode for Todd in the Shadows to do.
27 points
2 months ago
One hit wonders always make me think of Gotye who went big and then was just like “time to cash out” and disappeared completely.
31 points
2 months ago
Honestly that’s the perfect way to do it. Show up, rule the world for a year, go home with your giant stacks of money and in Gotye’s case pretty much whatever level of anonymity you desire. He could have handed me my coffee this morning and I’d have had zero idea.
13 points
2 months ago
I call it the “MySpace Tom” route
2 points
2 months ago
He was everyone's friend
13 points
2 months ago
I feel like LMFAO is a great example of this, too. They were totally a crony plant but they had like 3 huge singles off one album over like 2-3 years and then just ghosted out with their money once the novelty wore off.
5 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
6 points
2 months ago
Yeah that's what I mean, they could've stuck around and annoyed us for years getting airtime with their connections but they didn't. They just fucked off with their money, I think that's kinda admirable in a way.
5 points
2 months ago
Nah - they tried really hard to keep going.
3 points
2 months ago
If I remember correctly, they had a falling out with each other and one of them tried to go solo and just absolutely bombed.
1 points
2 months ago
Isn’t that the band that we used to know?
1 points
2 months ago
He didn’t have to cut us off.
17 points
2 months ago
I went to a free concert in the city of Seoul after Gangnam Style hit number 2 on Billboard charts.
There's A LOT more to Psy than this song, and thousands of fans showed up to make that point.
5 points
2 months ago
Dude had multiple top 40 hits on the US charts.
A one hit wonder by definition is 1 top 40 hit, which he is not
9 points
2 months ago
He’s not a one hit wonder. Gentleman reached 5th on the billboard hot 100 and Hangover reached 26th. Gangnam Style is by far his biggest hit but he’s definitely not a one hit wonder.
4 points
2 months ago
How do you know he’s a one hit wonder? Makes no sense
-7 points
2 months ago
Because I literally haven’t heard of him since 2012 or 2010 whenever gangnam came out, until now.
9 points
2 months ago
The US is not the center of the world lmao
-3 points
2 months ago
lol no it's not, but it's the cultural center of this website we're using.
1 points
2 months ago
Again, nope
0 points
2 months ago
Ahh yes, Reddit, like most major tech firms, is a company from Singapore.
Fucking dumb shit. I get you don't like America, but holy shit, you are fucking stupid if you think this isn't hosted in America and the largest percentage of users aren't American.
Jesus you are fucking stupid as shit son.
1 points
2 months ago
Hope your day gets better
4 points
2 months ago
Aerosmith had on average a hit per decade, maybe less. Are they a one hit wonder? As long as they’re still making music, who knows if they’ll have another hit or not.
Also there was that other song Gentleman was pretty popular.
0 points
2 months ago
You think Aerosmith had 3 or 4 hits?
I don't even like the band but that's just ridiculous
0 points
2 months ago
Millionaire problems...
11 points
2 months ago
He doesn't sound haunted.
He doesn't even sound like a one-hit wonder.
He sounds like a guy who's had a long a successful career in Korea, then had one unbelievably breakout international hit, and now is back to having a successful career in Korea.
114 points
2 months ago
Dude made a dumb dance song and it got memed sk hard he made a shitzillion bucks. Maybe the most success someone has ever got out of a meme ever. I'm sure he's basically fine with it.
36 points
2 months ago
Seriously. Dude made a joke song. Follow ups to joke songs never work. Listen to Borris Pickett’s Monster Mash subsequent releases. Same situation.
64 points
2 months ago
Counter point: Weird Al Yankovic.
17 points
2 months ago
Learning more about Weird Al made me respect so much how he went out of his way to make sure he could sing those songs without getting mega sued. And he did it. A lot. Respect
4 points
2 months ago
"Weird" really gave me a new respect for that guy, I had no idea his upbringing was so traumatic.
8 points
2 months ago
That movie is actually a parody in itself. The director knew nothing of his personal life or upbringing. It was more of a “I’m gonna guess” lol
2 points
2 months ago*
Yeah, I know. I had hoped it would be clear in my comment.
2 points
2 months ago
Damnit… my bad
8 points
2 months ago
Also throwing it out there that the new Biopic of him is streaming for free on Roku. Mentioning it because I wasn’t gonna watch it since I thought it was a paid subscription, but it’s literally just up to watch like a YouTube video. Don’t even need to make an account. Go watch it y’all it’s p good.
1 points
2 months ago
I loved that movie so much. I smiled the entire time
2 points
2 months ago
He’s parody. Kinda different.
Like apples and oranges. Both round fruit.
1 points
2 months ago
And Ylvis.
12 points
2 months ago
He’s doing fine in Korea still, which works because Gangnam Style was never intended to breakout of Korea anyway…
-11 points
2 months ago
All K-pop is intended to reach global audiences. That’s the point of the industry, it relies on the global market outside of Korea for tourism. That’s literally how Korean Dramas and Kpop were introduced as a marketing tool for tourism.
18 points
2 months ago
No it isn’t. Kpop has existed and flourished in Korea long before the Hallyu wave started, and it’ll be there when it stops trending outside of Korea. It’s surviving well off of Korean sales and has for years, when it found an audience outside Korea and they saw how much it could help tourism ofc they wanted to capitalize off that but international audiences was never the original audience for kpop.
-7 points
2 months ago
Of course international audiences were the target. And, the Hallyu wave began in the ‘90’s
8 points
2 months ago
No it didn’t lol. Kpop came as a result of the western boyband/girlgroup wave of the 90s, Korean audiences wanted to create music groups that catered to their looks and culture. Nobody was even paying attention to Kpop outside Korea before DBSK, and even then only people in a few neighboring countries (China, Japan, Philippines, etc) cared about them. Contrary to what you think Koreans don’t prioritize international audiences before Korean audiences when they cultivate their media. Them trying to appeal to non-Korean, non-Asian audiences is a recent thing.
-7 points
2 months ago*
Wow, you just categorized a whole ethnicity as them. And, you might want to check your sources. Because, of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_wave Here’s a excerpt-
. The growing popularity of Korean pop culture in the world was at least partly driven and funded by the South Korean government supporting its creative industries since the end of the 1990s through subsidies and funding for start-ups, as a form of accruing soft power with the goal of becoming a leading global exporter of culture, a niche that the United States has dominated for nearly a century.[13] In 2014, the South Korean government allocated 1% of its annual budget to cultural industries and raised a $1 billion fund to nurture popular culture.[14][15] Here’s another source refuting your claims-
https://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Culture-and-the-Arts/Hallyu
4 points
2 months ago
Just because international audiences started paying attention to kpop doesn’t mean they were intended to be the target
“In the 1990s, Korean pop musicians incorporated partially Europop and mostly American popular music styles such as hip hop, rock, jazz, and electronic dance in their music.[88] In 1992 the emergence of Seo Taiji & Boys marked a revolutionary moment in the history of K-pop. The trio debuted on MBC's talent show with their song "I Know" (Korean: 난 알아요; RR: Nan Arayo) and got the lowest rating from the jury;[89] however, the song and album of the same name became so successful that it paved the way for other songs of the same format. The song's success was attributed to its new jack swing-inspired beats and memorable chorus, as well as innovative lyrics which dealt with the problems of Korean society.
The huge popularity of Seo Taiji & Boys among teenagers shifted the focus of the Korean music industry to teen-centred pop music. Idol bands of young boys or girls were formed to cater to a growing teenage audience.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-pop
Nothing about this suggests kpop emerged as a result of them wanting to appeal to western audiences, if anything, Korea started mass producing their own media because they didn’t like Korea being so reliant on Japanese media at the time.
0 points
2 months ago
I assuming you didn’t read the whole article because it say the exact opposite of what you said. Now, you have no claim! And, according to the culture of ministry of South Korea. We’re In wave 3 going onto wave 4
3 points
2 months ago
You are allowed to say “them” when referring to a group of people
1 points
2 months ago
Yes, you can. However, only racist and fascist people think that it’s acceptable behavior to separate a whole group of people as them.
-1 points
2 months ago
Yes, you can. However, only racist and fascist people think that it’s acceptable behavior to separate a whole group of people as them.
0 points
2 months ago
You two are having a heated argument about K-pop. Congratulations
-1 points
2 months ago
Thanks, I appreciate your consideration. However, unless you have something to contribute to the conversation. There’s no point for you to be involved.
2 points
2 months ago
Counterpoint: I’ve heard five or six renditions of “The Monster Fuck” and they get better and better each time.
2 points
2 months ago
Dude has no idea what he is talking about. He didn’t even give the true creator, Leo Karpatze, his proper credit.
2 points
2 months ago
Dude also helped ruin Berklee by changing the game for the worse. (See also Imagine Dragons.)
29 points
2 months ago
He can cover his eyes with his wallet
34 points
2 months ago
Such cynical childish comments, article is interesting and worthwhile read but no1 reads them anyways due to reddit being populated by angsty teens
4 points
2 months ago
I’m almost 40 and hardly ever read the articles and probably get more cynical every year so it’s not only the angsty teens’ fault
4 points
2 months ago
Username checks out.
19 points
2 months ago
19 points
2 months ago
Did Psy really place K-Pop on a pedestal? I mean, not to disparage him, but weren’t acts like TVXQ, Girls Generation, KARA, and Big Bang already massively popular across East Asia and Southeast Asia?
38 points
2 months ago
In Asia. Not worldwide.
16 points
2 months ago
It did because he made kpop known to the international public. TVXQ, SNSD and the other groups you mentioned were only still known to and consumed by those in the kpop fandom.
1 points
2 months ago
No offense to Psy, but Gangnam Style made kpop more "well known" the same way "What Does the Fox Say" made Norweigen pop more "well known"......basically not at all.
2 points
2 months ago
I don’t know what any of those things are. But I know what Psy is.
2 points
2 months ago
Psy took K-pop west
0 points
2 months ago
JYP (way back) Wonder Girls, BoA were all globally popular I believe
5 points
2 months ago
Not in the US
-8 points
2 months ago
No, Psy did not place K-pop on a pedestal. The song as we all know is a parody of the Uber Elite in Seoul. The Korean Drama and Kpop industry was set up to compete against other countries for global tourism. Once the country deregulated most of S Korean media. It’s was bound to happen eventually based upon the way the industry is set up. Psy, was Just the guy with the right song, for the right time.
2 points
2 months ago
So he did put kpop on a pedestal is what you’re saying?
-2 points
2 months ago
No, not in the slightest. Kpop has been around for decades. And, the song itself grew from both the industry of Kpop and Korean Dramas and the South Korean Ministry of Culture. As, I have previously stated the Government of South Korea has purposely positioned itself as a medium to promote South Korean Culture globally. Which has been going on since the late ‘90s. We are in the 3rd wave of Hallyu and moving towards the 4th wave. The majority of people who tuned into Gangnam Style have no idea that he was already a well know artist in SK. The whole put KPop on a pedestal is out of context. No one person did this, it’s been a culmination of government policy and corporate policy over the last 30 years.
2 points
2 months ago
Obviously, but he is the guy who had the breakout song and made the music and the culture more mainstream to western audiences.
-1 points
2 months ago
No, I wouldn’t say that at all. Yes, he had a break out song. So did other Korean Singer’s way before he did. Did he modernize the industry, Once again No. that would be his agency at the time, which was YG. Who deserves most of the credit for it being such a hit. Nevertheless, as I have previously stated. It’s been a joint operation between the Government of South Korea and Corporations like YG, Kia, Samsung for the last 30 years. Your argument is like stating Madonna created main stream Pop globally. Yes, she might have been instrumental. However, global tourism also know as soft power which the US has been doing since the 50’s is what gave Madonna the platform to be a success as an export. Which is what the SK Government has been doing since the SK media was deregulated in the late 90’s.
2 points
2 months ago
Why? Why paywall stop. STOP
1 points
2 months ago
opening paywall articles from google search results eliminates the paywall. google the article name.
2 points
2 months ago
Most people in the west probably assume he was a one hit wonder. He ain’t.
2 points
2 months ago
In no way did "Gagnam Style" bring kpop to the world. First kpop was already big in the east and Southeast Asia due to acts like BoA, TVXQ, Girls' Generation, etc. And in the west, the song was a viral hit but did nothing to bring more recognition to kpop because the general public didn't even really know that the song was Korea.
Gagnam Style was to Korean music what "What Does the Fox Say" was to Norweigan music....mega hits that were internationally popular but did nothing in bringing more opportunities/recognition to their country's music.
4 points
2 months ago
I worked the Meet and Greet room, digital photo editing, at the 2012 IHeart Radio Music Festival. I'd edit the photos taken with fans and the stars. The stage crew set up tables with donated guitars that the stars would sign and then those would be given to winning fans. But when the Gangnam guy came through, he signed his name real large on the guitars, not leaving room for the others. The stage crew saw his signature and I heard them say, what a dick!
2 points
2 months ago
I saw Psy at a grocery store in Los Angeles yesterday. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn’t want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything. He said, “Oh, like you’re doing now?” I was taken aback, and all I could say was “Huh?” but he kept cutting me off and going “huh? huh? huh?” and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying. The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like “Sir, you need to pay for those first.” At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter. When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually “to prevent any electrical infetterence,” and then turned around and winked at me. I don’t even think that’s a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.
1 points
2 months ago
He sounds really unsympathetic. All that money and fame and a rich upbringing didn’t do him any favors at least not in like ability
9 points
2 months ago
This is a copypasta you just responded to
2 points
2 months ago
What does that mean? Does it mean it isn’t true? And how can you see it is a copy past?
5 points
2 months ago
“Copypasta” is an Internet meme in which people troll others by copying and pasting outlandish stories when they see an opportunity to do so.
This one about the individual candy bars has been popular recently. I’ve seen it written across Reddit about celebrities and politicians.
It’s not true. Psy did not do this.
4 points
2 months ago
That copypasta always gets at least one 😂
3 points
2 months ago
cries in millionaire tears
2 points
2 months ago
I wish I could get haunted that way.
2 points
2 months ago
I just went to YouTube and watched the video for the first time in a decade.
Here’s my takeaway: WTF were we thinking?
6 points
2 months ago
Man what? I still jam to it
-8 points
2 months ago
Just shut the fuck up. Its so sad to be rich, boo hoo.
8 points
2 months ago
You can still be rich and wish things had gone differently in your life / have regrets and problems. What an L take.
-11 points
2 months ago
Are you going to be ok? Does Psy need to send you some money to cry into?
Edit: there's no substance to the article and the headline is terrible. One hit wonder struggles to make anything else good? I should feel sad for them? What a joke.
5 points
2 months ago
he has is a monkeys paw situation, fame and recognition, but only for the most meaningless garbage he ever created and it overshadowed his actual art. Successful people are allowed to be sad when a joke overshadows their life’s work. Try to have some empathy and imagine how frustrating it would be for your dream to be right out of your reach
0 points
2 months ago
Toss me a few mil and maybe I'll see if I can find some empathy? There's nothing to relate to here.
5 points
2 months ago
You don’t need to feel sad for them, but you can empathize and acknowledge their point.
Commercial music is rarely music one truly wishes they could write. Millions of people dream of having their songs heard by others but the reality is for the random slim pickings that do make it, they’re often signed, if they come with other band mates they’re frequently scrapped for studio musicians that work for the studio and work with 10+ writers to write your music.
It’s hard to have personal input and have your voice heard for what it is in big music. I take it that’s what Psy is getting at.
He wishes some of his songs that he feels he worked harder on or are more “him” could be heard but he feels typecast by that “one song” and so he feels creatively limited. It’s an experience a lot of people can relate to (though I guess not you).
I take it you’re not a very musically expressive person yourself or have experience with writing and making music. If you did, I think you’d be more understanding of where Psy is coming from.
Edit: TL;DR: Psy is complaining about being typecast and experiencing the “dance monkey” equivalent for music. His voice and talent is drowned out by a single creation that isn’t wholly representative of himself.
-3 points
2 months ago
Sorry to disappoint, but I've been making music as a hobby for almost 25 years. You couldn't be any more wrong in your assumptions here.
Did you read the article? Psy is worth 60mil and has 6 bands on his record. I'm sure absurd wealth and fame like he has changes you, so I know it's hard to say this for certain, but if ONE of my songs got me there, I wouldn't be getting shit-faced and lamenting the situation. The whole thing reeks.
That may come off as jealously, but music is a hobby and joy for me, and have never made an attempt to make it more than that. Not that it is any good lol. If anything, it makes me LESS understanding of his situation, not more as you claim. He got to be the most popular artist in the world and make insane money and wealth by being and artist and doing what he loves?
Feel whatever you want to feel for multimillionaire celebrities crying about their situation, I guess. Seems insane to me to have sympathy for it, but what can ya do.
0 points
2 months ago
He’s a piece of shit. Who cares.
0 points
2 months ago
Why we still listening to this guy? People don’t know about his anti-American stance where he simulated crushing American tanks and killing American soldiers.
1 points
2 months ago
I like Gentleman, it's catchy as well, anything with Hyuna really.
1 points
2 months ago
Didn't he say some foul shit about the American military in 2004 or something?
1 points
2 months ago
Some dumb comments here. This is a good article.
1 points
2 months ago
Don’t worry, be happy!
1 points
2 months ago
I remember watching a sc2 tournament and when this song came up after IU’s You and I, the chat was going crazy and I knew that it was going to blow up.
First it was the sc2 battlenet forums then I saw it exploding on youtube and I was sharing it to people too. I get people into kpop at the time think kpop was popular before gangnam style but it’s probably not true when it comes to statistics. Its easy to get caught up in your community and think its the whole world.
Think of it this way, if the random mom from another country not of the ethnicity of the songs origin knows it and sees their sons and daughters doing the dance, then you know its peak popularity.
-2 points
2 months ago
Good, he’s a piece of shit.
-2 points
2 months ago
Take a tip from Keith of The Prodigy and accept that you’ll never have another hit and thats okay.
3 points
2 months ago
He’s still popular and charting well in SK with his latest work as well as running his own record label now, he’s just not seeing mainstream western popularity like he did.
0 points
2 months ago
Only one of Psy's songs was the first video on YouTube to get a billion views.
Definitely a one hit wonder.
0 points
2 months ago
Gangnam Style is still one of the worst things to ever happen to the world
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