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'Gangnam Style' becomes YouTube's most watched video

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Smith, you think you know hard facts. Fact one...AKB48 also talentless. Fact two...YouTube viewings tell you nothing about talent.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

Just look at the thumbs down on my posts to prove what I've said above -- people here are just jealous of the man's success

People gave you a thumbs down because they don't agree with what you said, not because of jealousy of anyone. Don't confuse those two things.

10 ( +14 / -3 )

SmithinJapan. No one is jealous of this fat face Korean. It is just plain crap. Beiber and this chump are what people are spending their time watching. Sad indeed.

6 ( +13 / -6 )

Is there a member of staff here with the job of publishing "gangnam style" related articles and nothing more? Seriously. It's like listening to a teenage girl talk about a boy over and over again. We get it.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Not to mention he's popular because a known stereotype of silly Asian dude in western countries.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

This guy is a pop artist at best, not a rapper.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

@smithinjapan: Psy's well-liked in China. He's been invited to appear at next year's Spring Festival Gala which is a widely watched variety show in China.

Japanese shouldn't be jealous. After all, the staying power for Japanese icons Godzilla and Hello Kitty are still strong.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

I suspect part of it's success is that in a world where Pop stars must be stunning, and perfect and have a carefully tailored style and persona and be the beautiful people of the world, you have this chubby little guy who parodies himself in action, dress and style and just looks to be having a laugh more than anything. I don't give a fat rat's clacker about Pop music, but from what I occasionally see of it, it's a complete dream/fallacy/fantasy world. But this guy kind of looks normal. And, he's making fun of that fantasy. It's kind of subversive pop. I guess it strikes a chord with people.

I like his work.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Gangnam what?! again!move on...

4 ( +7 / -3 )

I can't imagine this being a song you would want to listen to that often unless maybe you understood the lyrics and they were as funny as the video- the video being world famous, I understand. It is funny.

But made it to # one? So what? This is just evidence of the last ten yrs increase of pc/ net users in the last say ten yrs along with faster speeds and memory which make a hi res vid go viral all over the world. (ten yrs ago it was probably still mostly N american and European funny cat videos that would go viral only in N Am and Euro.) Things go viral, ppl get a kick out of it and then move on to the next funny cat video. We're going to see more quirky vids from locally-semi-famous ppl go viral like this every couple yrs I would guess. Some will become big Beibers some will fade out.

Best of luck to the singer- I saw him talk about the unexpected success of the song and the pressure he felt to "be" that guy, where as he just wanted to keep doing what he wants to do. Some ppl crack under pressure, hope he goes on to be happy doing whatever he does. Tho at least he can go out w/ a big fat paycheck if he checks out of shobiz.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

I have to admit I like the video,i hated hearing it on the radio at work,seemed like they played it 2o times a day,thought it sucked until i finally watched it,thought he was saying "OPEN CONDOM STORE"

3 ( +6 / -3 )

I am surprised no one has mentioned about what happened last year when Youtube banned Korea users from creating accounts on Youtube because people there would create fake accounts to boost the views count of groups like Girls Generation and Kara to make them look like they have the most popular type of pop music in the World. Why wouldn't Psy's view count be the result of the same practice?

3 ( +6 / -3 )

It's official, youtube say so, the World is dumb!

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Relative to whom, may I ask? Seems he's talented enough to have hundreds of parodies, marching bands at half-time play his song, major artists not only welcome him but imitate him, etc. You want to talk talentless, look no further than the mirror, then stop being jealous.

uhh, how do any of those these mean he has talent? I still am not seeing any talent in terms of singing, rapping, dancing, etc. he's honestly probably even worse than those lame boybands JT tries to push on us. at least they can do actual choreography. Psy is a joke and this is the Macarena of the 2010s, just deal with it.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

If you go to this site:

http://www.tubepromoter.com

You can guy like 15,000 views for like twenty bucks or something.

Any system can be gamed.

Who's selling more records, Bieber or Psy? You can't fake that.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

He's never going to be popular in Japan. K-Pop is on the decline in Japan with several high profile concerts cancelled for lack of ticket sales. Japanese entertainment is rigged to a fair extent anyway with very cozy relationships between talent agencies and media outlets. Add a little nationalism and some disputed islands into the mix and no company in Japan has any reason to put resources into a K-Pop group.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Nothing of what I said was wrong, and the thumbs down prove I am right -- people just don't like to hear it and so the thumbs down.

In a world where "most views on youtube" equates to talent, then surely "most thumbs down: in the comments section is evidence of an unpopular and incorrect viewpoint. Just saying ....

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Although I heard this irritating song on the radio many times, I didn't know who he was either...and Korean at that. I kept asking myself, what does he keep saying? Condom what?

2 ( +9 / -7 )

I can't believe this. There are tons of way more entertaining videos than this on YouTube, ha ha!

2 ( +4 / -2 )

It's well known Japan has a higher rate of plastic surgery per capita than Korea, and that there are even tours for Japanese to do so because it's cheaper in SK.

Huh?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

How utterly refreshing to see that this is still news.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Don't think anyone truly denies that this particular piece contains effective hooks both musically and visually and a clever sense of humor with a universal appeal. How he will continue to fare with his future compositions should truly determine whether any of the discussions here carry much meaning. Well done psy by all means for proving that there is some global appetite for clever dance music from Asia to hit the charts at this level while sincerely hoping he does not turn out to be the next MC Hammer.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Bye Bye Bieber.

I for once am glad that Ms. Bieber is no longer most viewed "artist" on YT, but on the other hand sad that this idiotic MV took her place. How the world has fallen. Dearly miss 90s and early 2000s music.

1 ( +8 / -8 )

I wonder how many views were out of curiosity? I was tempted to watch it once because of all the hype.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@Smith, K-pop had been popular long before this shill came out, from late 90s when K dramas started broadcasting all over the world, featuring cool OSTs.

Some bands/singers were very successful. For example, from 2001 to 2004, we, as students, were crazy over Baby V.O.X. They are sexy, very Americanized, and among the first Korean bands singing in English. As for solo singer, gotta love Boa. IMO she's better than Britney in every way, except nastiness. Se7en is also a prominent singer in early 2000s.

As a music lover, it's painful to watch Kpop nowadays, so terrible, including this Gangnam Style. I couldn't help imagining it as a monkey show rather than a "music" video

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Whatever you might think of Psy, he is not a one-hit-wonder. The man has topped Korean music charts six times. He is a popular rap singer in his country. Give the man his due. He has provided the world with another way to enjoy themselves for a while. What could be wrong with that?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I decided to try and go about this in an unbiased way, so I listened to some of his previous "rap" songs. Painful is the first word that comes to mind.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Bye Bye Bieber.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Smith, I must apologize for not knowing everything about everybody.

and whats this man talent exactly?

I doubt any of the bashers here are jealous. They just call it as it is.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

Give me the 80s music BACK. Now, please.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

"but the Gangnam Style craze is so over right now."

Not really--Psy's new version is a mashup of Gangnam Style and MC Hammer's 2 Legit 2 Quit. They performed it at the close of American Music Awards last week and it brought the house down. Already getting a lot of play in clubs and on You Tube. It's probably better than the original song--May end up with a tour in Korea and SE Asia with Hammer and Psy...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Heeeeeeey sexy lady!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Putting aside whether he is talented or whether this video deserved as many hits as it got, I for one am happy that the top video is more in the vein of an "Internet sensation" type of class rather than just another MTV clip that viewers flock to Youtube to play on demand, like the Justin Bieber vids and most others in the top 10 most viewed. Youtube is at its best when it has that bizarre, made-for-internet-audiences-only atmosphere, which is what Gangnam has. So I say, congrats and let the next number one be even sillier.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

And he is not making a cent out of all these views (at least not directly)?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I must admit I haven't seen it. But the guy sounds a bit odd. When he was in Australia and was, asked about a drug conviction he had in Korea a few years back he just threw a tanty and walked out of the radio station.. Precious

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I wonder which will hit a billion first.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The guy is not some Johnny's hack group like SMAP, who cannot play any instruments, cannot write their own music, cannot dance, and cannot sing

I guess he can write his own inane raps but he can't do any of the other things... he's talentless. no vocal talent, no dancing ability, not attractive and he's a one-hit-wonder so just get over it and move on. even Bieber can kinda sing.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Bieber's popularity will drop off the face of the earth once he gets caught doing a George Michael....

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Not to mention he's popular because a known stereotype of silly Asian dude in western countries.

Really? What country are you living in? In the past six months, I have been all over Netherlands, London, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and LA. Haven't heard anyone characterize him as an negative Asian stereotype, whether in media or on the various college campuses where I've been. They just like the music--If you dispense with the You Tube rhetoric, the album sales, ITunes downloads, and radio requests in Europe, North America and Asia are very significant. Because of the way they are promoted, no Japanese artist has ever or will likely ever come close (That includes Sakamoto Kyu, B'z, Puffy, MoMu, AKB, etc.)

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I find it hard to believe that most Japanese don't know or aren't aware of this guy. With all the K-Pop fans in Japan it doesnt make sense.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Take a look, it's funny. Being #1 doesn't mean it is the funniest thing in the world, just that enough ppl/ places thot it was novel enough to get that many hits.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

so why hasn`t a japanese come out with aoyama style or something like that?

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

The new You Tube versions of Gangnam Style featuring MC Hammer with Psy will not eclipse the original but are gaining popularity. The black community has been slower to embrace the song, so that' probably why they cqame up with this version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BHtSwocAfJU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WOyo7JD7hjo

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Just for the curious, here's somebody's quick list of some of the better Gangnam parody music videos:

http://theweek.com/article/index/233651/gangnam-style-the-11-best-parodies-of-the-viral-video-updated

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Laurenco: "I thought Koreans shunned on anything that was over 130lbs and had single eyelid creases. "

Well there goes your racist rant! It's well known Japan has a higher rate of plastic surgery per capita than Korea, and that there are even tours for Japanese to do so because it's cheaper in SK. Seriously, if you're going to come in with baggage, check it at the door.

Guess what: Psy wins! That will make any radical and person bent on nationality angry, but all that says is how stupid such people are. There is no debate about this man's skill and popularity any more than there is denial he appeared with Madonna and with many others. Might make you angry, but then who's fault is that?

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Have to admire S. Korea for bringing their country, economy, culture and soft-power out of the shadows in such a few short years. Hardly anyone though about Korea whenever Asia or Far East was mentioned a decade ago. Now they practically overshadow Japan and China in popularity.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

DevilsAssistant: "and whats this man talent exactly?"

That you have to ask shows you are indeed quite uninformed. The guy is not some Johnny's hack group like SMAP, who cannot play any instruments, cannot write their own music, cannot dance, and cannot sing, the man can do all of those and then some, and clearly that is reflected in his popularity. But hey, if you need to ask yourself again what the man's talents are, ask Madonna while you're at it.

Onniyama: "SmithinJapan. No one is jealous of this fat face Korean."

Nope, certainly no bitterness there. You know when you lash out and call names that something has hit home -- I'm not sure why this man's success hurts so many Japanese people, Onniyama, but I guess it's just typical insecurity or the jealousy I mentioned earlier. But go ahead and hurl more insults at him if you think judging his looks makes him less of a success and makes you feel better.

-8 ( +4 / -12 )

genjuro: "People gave you a thumbs down because they don't agree with what you said, not because of jealousy of anyone. Don't confuse those two things."

Nothing of what I said was wrong, and the thumbs down prove I am right -- people just don't like to hear it and so the thumbs down.

-8 ( +5 / -13 )

lachatamber: "I guess he can write his own inane raps but he can't do any of the other things... he's talentless."

Relative to whom, may I ask? Seems he's talented enough to have hundreds of parodies, marching bands at half-time play his song, major artists not only welcome him but imitate him, etc. You want to talk talentless, look no further than the mirror, then stop being jealous.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

DevilsAssistant: I know, hard facts, eh? But how about we talk about the thread -- you know, the one where a Korean pop star has the highest viewings of anyone in history? My guess is you simply don't like to hear the truth. It's not AKB, so you're angry.

-9 ( +3 / -12 )

An interesting thing to note is that the count of course only relates to the original version. I read that if you tally in all the views of parodies or Psy appearances it's near 3 billion views based on one man's originality. From what I've seen in interviews, he's got a pretty down-to-earth view of things, is not at all arrogant, and has a good sense of humor.

-10 ( +8 / -18 )

Just look at the thumbs down on my posts to prove what I've said above -- people here are just jealous of the man's success, and if you point that out, they get even more upset as though they have some cause. Celebrate the man and his accomplishments, and if you don't like it -- do better yourselves.

-10 ( +9 / -19 )

blackrock: "@Smith, K-pop had been popular long before this shill came out, from late 90s when K dramas started broadcasting all over the world, featuring cool OSTs."

Where did I say it was not? In fact time and again I have said SK produces great movies, and has for a long time. Doesn't change the fact that they are more popular than ever now. And I agree with you on BoA and other singers with talent, and agree as well that like Japan, the US, and pretty much any nation on the planet, the assembled boy and girl bands can be pretty ridiculous for the most part.

Tamarama: "But this guy kind of looks normal. And, he's making fun of that fantasy. It's kind of subversive pop. I guess it strikes a chord with people."

Bingo! And that will be the key to his staying power, if he achieves it more than now. Unlike the flakes who are assembled in bands that break up after a few years of domestic success, this guy did it himself, is normal, and down to earth. A lot of people don't realize he's mocking the rich and what not, and just enjoy it for its silliness, which is okay too.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

I'm not a huge fan of the guy or his song, but it is original, quite funny, and the guy is smart and down to earth. There are some very bitter people on here and elsewhere chiding the guy for no reason aside from jealousy, ignorance, and hate, but deny the man's talent all they want, he is currently the world's most emulated artist -- he's been on stage with Madonna, Mel B, countless other actors and musicians, and even been spoofed on South Park.

Devil's Assistant: "I didn't know who he was either...and Korean at that."

Like I said, ignorance.

Anyway, congrats to Psy -- well deserved. I think it's going to be incredibly hard for him to avoid being a one-hit wonder given the success of Gangnam Style, but best of luck in upping the game.

-11 ( +6 / -17 )

akkk1: "Hardly anyone though about Korea whenever Asia or Far East was mentioned a decade ago. Now they practically overshadow Japan and China in popularity."

Exactly! And that's why the success of people like Psy and of Korea's pop culture in general have hissy fits and actually protest against it being more popular than products in their own nation, like the wingers in Japan. If Psy has shown anything with this it's that positivity and culture make gains for a person and a nation, not bitterness and demands that said gains be stopped because they are not one's own.

-16 ( +3 / -19 )

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