psy
South Korean celebrates ten years of Gangnam Style
Psy conquered the worldwide charts ten years ago with “Gangnam Style”.
© imago/China Photo Press
Ten years ago, South Korean Psy released his viral hit Gangnam Style. Today he is still proud of his success.
“Oppa Gangnam Style”: Exactly ten years ago, on July 15, 2012, Psy (44) released his viral hit “Gangnam Style” – a hymn to Gangnam-gu, the most affluent district of Seoul, South Korea. The song with the funny dance quickly developed into a global phenomenon. Psy became the first artist to have a song reach 1 billion views on YouTube. Even today, “Gangnam Style” is still one of the five most clicked music videos on the platform with around 4.4 billion views.
Psy now in fifth place in the “Billion Club”
The 44-year-old has now been overtaken by Luis Fonsi (44) and Daddy Yankee (45) with “Despacito” (7.8 billion), Ed Sheeran (31) with “Shape of You” (5.7 billion), Wiz Khalifa (34) and Charlie Puth (30) with “See You Again” (5.5 billion) and Mark Ronson (46) and Bruno Mars (36) with “Uptown Funk” (4.6 billion). However, that doesn’t seem to bother the pop singer much. in one Statement from YouTube for “Variety” he is still proud of his record at that time.
“Being the first artist to reach 1 billion views on YouTube was an amazing feeling ten years ago and it still is today. It’s a true honor to have played a role in pioneering music of all kinds can cross borders,” explains the South Korean.
On December 21, 2012, Psy became the first member of YouTube’s “Billion Club”.