Crazy, eccentric and weird dance steps, mumble jumbo lyrics, but Gangnam style has been rated as the second most viewed of all time.
The song a techno ode to a trendy Seoul neighbourhood is the creative handiwork of 34-year old South korean singer Park Jae-Sang, better known as Psy’s.
According to Wikipedia, the song released on July 15, 2012, is the lead single of Park’s sixth studio album PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1. “Gangnam Style” debuted at number one on the Gaon Chart, the national record chart of South Korea. As of November 17, 2012, the music video has been viewed over 740 million times on YouTube,and is the site’s most watched K-pop video and second most watched video ever.
Psy and his song are at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart in the United States for a sixth straight week after topping charts in countries including Britain and Australia.
Officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the most “liked” video in YouTube history , it has also won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
The airplay the video is enjoying has helped the singer land a contract with Bieber’s management agency.
Abass Ogundipe
Synopsis (culled from Wikipedia)
At the beginning of the video, PSY is seen lounging at what looks like a sandy beach, but the camera zooms out to reveal he is actually at a playground. The video 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, while another man covered in tattoos is stretching. He sings in front of two men playing chess, dances with a woman at a tennis court, and bounces around on a tour bus of seniors. The scenes alternate quickly until there is an explosion at the chess players. Psy walks towards the camera, shouting “Oppan Gangnam style”. He and some dancers 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. He dances on a boat. The camera zooms on a woman’s butt, then shows Psy “yelling” at it.
At a parking lot, Psy is approached by a man (Yoo Jae-Suk) with a red Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class 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 gets in his car and leaves. In a subway cabin, 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. 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 “seriously” 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 some additional footage of the dance duel, Psy says, “Oppan Gangnam style”, and the video finishes with a cartoon graphic.