SEOUL - South Korean pop sensation Psy’s “Gangnam Style”
has become the second most-watched YouTube video of all time with more
than 620 million hits as the quirky rapper continues to take the world
by storm. The 34-year-old singer, whose real name is Park Jae-Sang,
rocketed to international fame after “Gangnam Style” - a techno ode to a
trendy Seoul neighbourhood - become a worldwide hit following its debut
in July.
The video went viral online with its goofy signature
horse-riding dance and on Friday ousted singer Jennifer Lopez’s dance
hit “On the Floor” from second place. But it still trails behind
Canadian teenage heartthrob Justin Bieber’s “Baby”, which has had over
795 million hits. John Hirai, head of music at YouTube’s Korea-Japan
branch, told a conference in Seoul that Psy would pass Bieber on
YouTube’s most-watched list in about a month.
He thinks the secret
of Psy’s success lies in the speed at which the singer uploaded a
sequel video on his official website, as well as footage of the making
of his video and interviews, for users wanting to know more about him
and “Gangnam Style”.
“It comes like a total package at the end, so it just generated views,” Hirai said, according to Yonhap news agency.
“I’ve
been in this music business for 25 plus years and I’ve never seen
anything like this and I’ve never imagined anything like this would come
out of Asia. It’s just unbelievable but it’s overwhelming,” he said.
Psy
has also remained 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.
The popularity of the
song and video, which spawned hundreds of parodies and tribute videos
across the world, has helped the singer land a contract with Bieber’s
management agency. Psy, currently on a promotional tour in the United
States, last week performed on ABC’s “The View” talk show, after his
appearances at the MTV awards and other prime-time programmes last month
boosted his profile. The star is already a music veteran at home with
six albums under his belt and next week he will begin a promotional tour
in Europe that includes a speech at the Oxford Union and an appearance
at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Germany.