It is equivalent to the English slang terms “swag” or “yolo.” It is known for it’s upbeat and ridiculously catchy tune. It danced its way into the record books, Guinness style. It is known for its invisible horse-riding dance. The video climbed to 100 million views in 51 days, faster than Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Rebecca Black’s “Friday”.
It’s Gangnam style.
The Korean pop single has become a huge trend everywhere. Not only do you see “#gangnamstyle” on Twitter or through photos shared on Facebook captioned: Who needs swag when you have gangnam style? But it’s also played numerous times on the radio daily. The lyrics and video are addicting to watch, helping the phenomenon spread.
“It’s very trendy. Everyone knows it,” said Tim Schroeder ’14. “Literally, in my math class, a guy stood up and said ‘Oppa gangnam style’, and everyone started doing the dance and sang along.”
Gangnam is a rich district in South Korea where young people go out to party. The song explains South Koreans’ “love-hate relationship with Gangnam. In the song, PSY, the singer, describes himself as the kind of guy that likes girls from Gangnam. It also parodies the people and lifestyle of Gangnam.
“It really makes the people in South Korea proud, considering it’s number one on iTunes in America,” said Hanna Ching ’15.
The music video consists of PSY wearing sleeveless dress shirts with painted on bow ties, while riding an invisible horse in a variety of locations. Some of these include a parking lot and a disco club.
“I thought he was saying ‘condom style’ at first,” said an anonymous Staples student.
If the costumes are crazy, the dancing is pointless, and majority of the lyrics are in Korean, then why is this video so popular?
“There’s a particular part in the song I like, when the song crescendos into ‘gangnam style,’” said Social Studies teacher Rob Rogers.
It’s also entertaining when artists don’t take themselves too seriously. Or on the other hand, when the take themselves so seriously that you can’t help but burst out laughing.
Psy even taught Britney Spears the dance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. While explaining, “My intent of this dance is dress classy and dance cheesy.”
When you update your Facebook newsfeed it’s hilarious to see parodies of the song.
Pictures of parodies such as ‘Gotham Style’ or ‘Hot Dog Condom Style’ contribute to popularity of the song.
“It’s so fun to crank the song on the highway. Then when you get at a stoplight you can do the dance and freak the person in the car next to you,” said Sonia Sarfaraz ’14.
Gangnam style is yet to hit No.1 on the Top 100 Music Hits, but it is definitely on the horizon of the next “Big Thing.”
Check out the music video here.
