Gangnam Style - Most Viewed Music Video on YouTube

South Korean Duo PSY and HyundA nail the record with more than a billion views.

PSY and HyunA

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - Music and dance sensations 'PSY' and 'HyunA' from South Korea, best known for the song 'Gangnam Style', are surely one of, if not the most widely appreciated and talented music duos in world history. I was shocked to look at the YouTube counter for Gangnam Style and see more than a billion views

1,113,284,301

I didn't know that any single video in all of history had been watched that many times. As a number, a 'billion' really blows the doors off of the notion of viral. While I make no claims, it does seem possible that this is the single most viewed piece of visual information in existence. I am curious as to what other people think. By all means feel encouraged to politely share what you know in the comment section of this story.

It isn't hard to understand why this is so intensely popular. These two... their musical performances are ridiculously addicting and I don't speak a word of Korean, so there is no lyrical clarity in my case, just great sound and stunning visuals.

They're also known worldwide for a song called 'Ice Cream' but we can save that for another day.

What I appreciate about this unlikely duo, is that the guy, PSY, isn't strapped, he's chubby. As talented as he may be, he continually strikes the viewer as being simply human. That in and of itself is a great talent.

From an American point of view, his performance is partly self-deprecating. His dazzling array of clothing reminds me of both Elvis Presley and Elton John. The guy has guts, he also does scenes that are homoerotic and sings while sitting on a toilet seat, briefly. His dancing is both funny and excellent, hard not to appreciate.

Really I don't exactly know what to make of it, but I am extremely entertained by this song and accompanying video. Raised on classic rock music, I also have not always been the most open-minded person when it comes to music, however this one that I quickly liked and the world flavor is exquisite.

While PSY seems to make fun of his slightly rotund physique, it doesn't diminish his talent in any way. I suspect many people appreciate it every time a person with a less than perfect appearance makes the big time.

PSY now redefines the very expression itself with the billion view reality.

And if he isn't as much of a hunk as some, there are plenty of handsome suave guys and lots of beautiful girls; beyond HyunA. However she is a show stealer extraordinaire.

I noticed while collecting pictures for this article, that she is being followed and copied on a grand scale, even her makeup in this particular video is heavily emulated, even celebrated.

There is stardom, and there is incredibly, record setting, intense über stardom. I get the impression from watching this video that the world is moving on without Americans, we are no longer the coolest cats in town - at least in the minds of others!

HyundA has name recognition everywhere in the world and so does PSY. International music has never been so wildly popular and while we criticize the politics of YouTube, we also enjoy the never ending education that we receive from it.

We have indeed arrived at the dawn of a new day when a Korean girl lightens her hair and takes on the look of a white girl, only to have white girls try to emulate her look. There is something really inexplicably cool about that.

The much parodied 'Gangnam Style' has fans in every corner of the globe not only enjoying the music and video and driving the popularity, but as you will see below, one video after another, with people acting out the famous dance sequences that are just plain fun.

The amazingly bright colors that pop out from set after set in their videos had to cost an arm and a leg, even in this modern high tech digital world.

The dance choreography is what we have come to expect from Asian cinema, where the art is taken to a grand scale with so many people in sync and extreme emphasis of detail.

In keeping with many artful South Korean productions, there is no mistaking the extreme nature of several of the scenes, but it is as comical as it is anything else and I trust even homophobes can deal with the elevator scene, truly original and madly entertaining.

HyunA more than fills in her end of the deal as part of this musical duo, with the performance of a true superstar whose sexiness is riveting and unavoidable.

The song has been parodied in every imaginable way, I have included a few examples and also the YouTube links so you can hit that 'like' button on the various pages if you are so inclined. I tried to include a lot but this is just a tiny representation of what PSY and HyundA have in store, it will be interesting to see if they can top the magic that they conveyed in the 'cutish' song 'Gangnan style' but if they do, then I will be compelled to write about that also.

According to Billboard Magazine:

Following the news that PSY's "Gangnam Style" music video is officially the most-watched clip ever on YouTube, he and the video's co-star HyunA finally joined forces on stage at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs) in Hong Kong Friday (Nov. 30). The MAMAs are in the vein of the Grammy Awards in Asia.
PSY, who took home the coveted Song Of The Year award as well as Best Dance Performance - Solo, Best Music Video, and International Favorite Artist, displayed his showmanship with his usual antics but this time left a section for him and HyunA to take the stage together (finally). It was additionally fun to see Asia's biggest stars, like BIGBANG and Super Junior, rock out to the inescapable dance.
While HyunA kept things PG with PSY, the same couldn't be said for her performance earlier in the night with Hyunseung (of boy band Beast) -- when they took to the stage as the duo unit Trouble Maker. The pair, who won the award for Best Collaboration Performance, included a lot of sexy touching and popping in their performance of their single "Trouble Maker." - Billboard

I am so buried always in human rights news that I rarely lift my head to see things like this. I suspect many who watch late night talk shows already know about PSY, but for those of us more concerned with other aspects of life, I bring you this information and sincerely hope that you watch the video below, and others I tagged in for your interest and convenience. Special thanks to my nephew, Nory King, for bringing this to my attention during our recent, most excellent holiday visit.

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V



PSY (ft. HYUNA) 오빤 딱 내 스타일

Ever Essential Parodies

GUNMAN STYLE - GANGNAM STYLE (ASIAN WESTERN PARODY)

Oppan China Style - 美少女强势演绎中国版江南Style

Gangnam Style Parody-New York Style

PSY - Gangnam Style - New York City (Arabic Parody Ganin Style) (강남스타일) M/V

Flash Mob Videos

Who doesn't love a good flash mob anyway? (Yeah yeah) I think they are fantastic and who would not expect there to be Gangam Style flashers?

Gangnam Style Flashmob (illegal mob) - Happy Holiday Indonesia #5



GANGNAM STYLE flashmob in Paris, France, at Trocadero on October 7th 2012

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Denny Laine, founder of the Moody Blues and member of Paul McCartney and Wings, Bonnie King, the late Pete Bennett, who Billboard Magazine called 'The Greatest Rock Promoter in History' and Tim King

Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Tim is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine who follows stories of Marines and Marine Veterans; he's covered British Royal Marines and in Iraq, Tim embedded with the same unit he served with in the 1980's.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from traditional mainstream news agencies like The Associated Press and Electronic Media Association; he also holds awards from the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs; and was presented with a 'Good Neighbor Award' for his reporting, by the The Red Cross.

Tim's years as a Human Rights reporter have taken on many dimensions; he has rallied for a long list of cultures and populations and continues to every day, with a strong and direct concentration on the 2009 Genocide of Tamil Hindus and Christians in Sri Lanka. As a result of his long list of reports exposing war crimes against Tamil people, Tim was invited to be the keynote speaker at the FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America) Conference in Baltimore, in July 2012. This is the largest annual gathering of North American Tamils; Tim addressed more than 3000 people and was presented with a traditional Sri Lanka ‘blessed garland’ and a shawl as per the tradition and custom of Tamil Nadu

In a personal capacity, Tim has written 2,026 articles as of March 2012 for Salem-News.com since the new format designed by Matt Lintz was launched in December, 2005. Serving readers with news from all over the globe, Tim's life is literally encircled by the endless news flow published by Salem-News.com, where more than 100 writers contribute stories from 23+ countries and regions.

Tim specializes in writing about political and military developments worldwide; and maintains that the label 'terrorist' is ill placed in many cases; specifically with the LTTE Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, where it was used as an excuse to slaughter people by the tens of thousands; and in Gaza, where a trapped population lives at the mercy of Israel's destructive military war crime grinder. At the center of all of this, Tim pays extremely close attention to the safety and welfare of journalists worldwide. You can write to Tim at this address: tim@salem-news.com. Visit Tim's Facebook page (facebook.com/TimKing.Reporter)




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Anonymous January 9, 2013 1:20 am (Pacific time)


Hi, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this post. It was practical. Keep on posting!

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Zachary January 5, 2013 4:04 pm (Pacific time)


The article was pleasurable to read, but I don't think "Gangnam Style" is the most widely viewed piece of visual information in the world. I think that title either belongs to some of the widely celebrated photographs of awesome insights as to the nature of what was photographed, certain parts of the Olympics, or the Google homepage.

Editor: Thanks Zachary, interesting point and I suspect that could be the case.  Certainly the Google homepage would have been seen more times.


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Anonymous January 4, 2013 3:42 pm (Pacific time)


Timmy: Obama's peace partner, President Morsi of Egypt, not long ago referred to Jews as "the descendants of apes and pigs,” "bloodsuckers" and "warmongers." He called upon "Arabs and Muslims outside of Israel to support terrorists and 'besiege the Zionist wherever they are.'" We must project fairness and it's not fair to consider him a savage; that's just what he does. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3NCiaozL0k ] This Korean racist is liked by Obama because anyone who hates and wants non-coloreds killed is okay with Barry.

Tim King: You never cease to amaze.  It's just a song, the story is about how it reached a billion  views.  By 'Barry' you obviously are referring to the President of the United States?  Anyway on the video of Morsi, I agree with about 99% of everything he says.  I do not support the "dogs and pigs" comment nor do I believe that all Zionists can or should be driven from the land because that is needlessly violent and most Israelis are not the people who founded the place, they are truly born there and that matters, so Israel should be allowed to keep what it was granted in 1948 and that's it.  Note that he talks about Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians as separate subjects because they are.  Being victimized by the US and Israel is the common denominator, there are many types of Arabs, a large number of Christians among them, and the same goes for Palestine.  Morsi is right to call for backing the Palestinian resistance, he is correct that the Arab governments long ago sold out, he is right for supporting the Boycott, he never once calls for 'terrorists' do do anything. And I even made your link live you little bigot, just for you.

Timmy 


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Anonymous January 4, 2013 3:21 pm (Pacific time)


King you should hit the gym. You look pretty girly. Can you even do 100 push-ups?

Tim King: LOL - it was just a bad angle.  Yes I can BTW


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Anonymous January 4, 2013 1:41 am (Pacific time)


Why am I dangerous to this Country? Because I pray to God every day and I believe that my God will be with me, no matter how bad it is? And I sure don't call that piece of trash entertainment. Maybe you do call it entertainment, it just tells me what kind of personality you really have

Editor: Because of the way you regard the President of the United States.  Real Americans hit a point of acceptance with regard to the overall process, you're the kind of nut who ends up in a clock tower but falls to his death before he can get his first shot off.  You're a mean spirited person, period.

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Anonymous January 3, 2013 9:30 pm (Pacific time)


There is the evidence that our Country exists of a bunch of illiterate
People. I can't get nothing out of some idiot dancing stupid with a girl, looking and acting like a slut. This guy and his female companion, whatever she is, are disgusting, nasty and its nothing but trash. The dictator in chief sure likes him, there you can tell about the intelligence if our so called leaders. Anyhow, this looser "PSY" hates our troops and America and everything it stands for. Now I know why our great leader and PSY got along so great. Our Country is so in decline, makes me wonder if there is any hope for us. The only thing I can say, God help us.

Editor: They are entertainers.  The lyrics you refer to are mistranslated.  You are not an American, your thinking is dangerous to this country.


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Anonymous January 3, 2013 9:30 pm (Pacific time)


There is the evidence that our Country exists of a bunch of illiterate
People. I can't get nothing out of some idiot dancing stupid with a girl, looking and acting like a slut. This guy and his female companion, whatever she is, are disgusting, nasty and its nothing but trash. The dictator in chief sure likes him, there you can tell about the intelligence if our so called leaders. Anyhow, this looser "PSY" hates our troops and America and everything it stands for. Now I know why our great leader and PSY got along so great. Our Country is so in decline, makes me wonder if there is any hope for us. The only thing I can say, God help us.

Editor: You follow a charge of national illiteracy by saying "I can't get nothing out of..." Why is it so hard to accept something foreign to your understanding?  Anyway thanks for your comment.

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Anonymous January 3, 2013 9:31 am (Pacific time)


This Korean POS is on record praying for the violent deaths of our miltary personnel and their "...wives,sisters, mothers, fathers and children..." How many Americans died so this piece of crap lived free in a very prosperous country that we helped develop? You never really catch up do you king...and that's why you're such a loser!

Tim King: How many Americans did die and why?  You support violence, I detest it.  You don't feel regret for the 'war fought over false information' but I do.  You haven't even seen Iraq, you know nothing which you claim to know.  Even the comment about PSY is false, as are the alleged calls for the destruction of Israel by President Ahmadinejad.  Controversy over Psy’s anti-American lyrics might be based on shoddy translation


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