‘GangNam’ giddy up: How Twitter brought K-Pop to the masses
It was the shot heard around the music world. A catchy tune and a horse dance launched a worldwide craze and more than a half-billion views on YouTube. South Korean rapper PSY’s take on the high life in an expensive Seoul neighborhood counts fans on all continents, including celebrities asking for lessons. Here’s how a song became a hit:
July 15, 2012: South Korean rapper PSY uploads the video “Gangnam Style” to YouTube. The single is the first from his sixth album, “PSY6 (Six Rules, Part 1).” The video receives 500,000 hits on the first day.
Words cannot even describe how amazing this video is… http://t.co/FoO0Pt25
— T-Pain (@TPAIN) July 29, 2012
July 29: Rapper T-Pain tweets a link with “Words cannot even describe how amazing this video is.” In the ensuing days, Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Tom Cruise and Joseph Gordon-Levitt tweet links to the song.
Help, I’m in a gangnam style k hole: http://t.co/KboJd2OO — Katy Perry (@katyperry) August 21, 2012
Aug. 21: Katy Perry tweets: “Help, I’m in a gangnam style k hole” to her 25 million followers.
Sept. 6: PSY dances with comedian Kevin Hart at the MTV Music Video Awards.
SSept. 10: Britney Spears receives a one-on-one lesson from PSY.
Sept. 14: PSY performs on “Today” and teaches the morning crew and “Meet the Press” host David Gregory how to “Gangnam.”
Hugh Jackman learns the style of “Gangnam” from the master himself, Psy.
Oct. 16: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine gets the lesson from PSY.
Dwight Howard strikes a “Gangnam Style” pose. | The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Oct. 18: Dwight Howard video blogs his moves backstage on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” “Gangnam style has helped me strengthen my core and lower back,” Howard said. “I’ve got a great PT program, but this dance has taken me to the next level.”