Despite serious diplomatic tensions in the peninsula, South Koreans’ attention in recent weeks was focused on just one thing: whether Psy’s latest single would be another global hit or a mega flop.
Well, the wait is over and the verdict is out: the irreverent rapper has done it again, with Gentleman receiving more than 197 million views on YouTube to date.
The 35-year-old’s highly anticipated single is, so far, living up to the success of Gangnam Style, the global music and dance sensation that has received more than 1.5 billion hits on YouTube since its release in July 2012.
To describe Gentlemanas his difficult second single would not be quite accurate. Psy has been part of the South Korean music scene for more than a decade – but for many of his overseas fans, Gangnam Style will always be his “first” song.
The single topped music charts around the world, inspired dozens of parodies – from US military cadets to schoolboys – and its deceptively tricky hip-swinging choreography has sparked an international dance craze.
Gentleman has even gained some notoriety, being banned by broadcasting giant KBS for a scene in the video that shows Psy violating road rules by kicking a traffic cone – the least of his misdeeds in the tongue-in-cheek video that also shows him behaving badly towards women.
Nevertheless, Psy must be relieved with his latest success, given he has been “working and reworking it continuously”, as he told South Korean television. At one point, record executives worried that the video would not be finished in time for the release.
