Park Jae-sang (born December 31, 1977), better known by his stage name Psy (Korean: 싸이, IPA: [s͈ai]; English: /ˈsaɪ/ SY), stylized PSY, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, record producer and television personality. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage performances, and internationally for his hit single "Gangnam Style." The song's refrain "Oppan Gangnam Style" (translated as "Big brother is Gangnam style", with Psy referring to himself)[1][2] was entered into The Yale Book of Quotations as one of the most famous quotes of 2012.[3]
On October 23, 2012, Psy met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations Headquarters where Ban expressed his desire to work with the singer because of his "unlimited global reach".[4] On December 21, 2012, his music video for "Gangnam Style" exceeded 1 billion views on YouTube, becoming the first and currently only video to do so in the website's history.[5][6] Psy was subsequently recognized by the media as the "King of YouTube".[7][8][9]
In December 2012, MTV noted Psy's rise from little-known to "global superstar", and, for being first in the YouTube-era to secure a place in pop-culture history, hailed the singer as the "Viral Star of 2012".[10] On December 31, 2012, Psy performed in a globally televised New Year's Eve celebration with American rapper MC Hammer on-stage in front of a live audience of over a million people in Times Square, New York City.[11][12]
Psy has been added to Encyclopædia Britannica, the oldest English-language Encyclopedia still produced, as South Korean singer and rapper.[13]
In South Korea, Psy made his first appearance on Korean national television in 2000 after his dancing caught the eye of a TV producer.[26]
n January 2001, Psy debuted his full-length album Psy from the Psycho World!, for which he was fined by South Korean government authorities due to his album's "inappropriate content".[27] Psy was a rookie hip hop singer that stirred up the Korean pop music scene with very blunt lyrics, peculiar dance moves and an unconventional appearance that earned him the nickname "The Bizarre Singer".[28][29][30]
His second album Sa 2 also created controversy upon its release in 2002, earning complaints from civil groups due to the potentially negative influence his album would have on children and teenagers. Since then, Psy has been thought of as a controversial artist, and Sa 2 was banned in 2002 from being sold to the under-19 set. In September of the same year, Psy released his third album 3 Psy. The album's title song, "Champion", saw great success partly due to the hype from the World Cup games held in Seoul. Despite the significant amount of controversy surrounding his music, Psy was awarded songwriting accolades at the annual Seoul Music Awards, marking his breakthrough in the South Korean music industry.[31]
In 2003, Psy was enlisted in the South Korean military as part of mandatory military service imposed on all South Korean men aged 18 to 35.[32][33] Psy was excused from military duty due to working at a software developing company (the South Korean government grants those with technical expertise work in companies that serve the national interest). He was expected to be released from duties in 2005.[34] In 2006, Psy released his fourth album Sa Jib, which won honors at the 2006 SBS Music Awards and Hong Kong's Mnet Asian Music Awards.[31]
In 2007, state prosecutors accused Psy of "neglecting" his work, holding concerts and appearing on local television networks during his period of prior employment.[35] On October 12, 2007, the Seoul Administrative Court decided that Psy must be redrafted, rejecting a lawsuit filed by Psy against the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) in August. Two months later, Psy was re-drafted into the military where he had held the rank of Private First Class and served as a signalman in the 52nd Army Infantry Division, before being released from duties in July 2009.[36][37]
2010–12: 5th studio album and debut performance in Japan
Owing to financial difficulties, Psy could no longer release his own songs. His wife encouraged him to join the South Korean music label YG Entertainment, whose founder and chief executive officer Yang Hyun-suk was an old friend of Psy.[38] In 2010, Psy joined YG Entertainment.[39] The K-pop singer Kim Heechul, from the boyband Super Junior, expressed that he'd wished Psy would have joined his group's label SM Entertainment instead.[40] Psy released his fifth album PsyFive in 2010, and its lead single "Right Now" was banned from under-19 audiences by South Korea's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for what it deemed an "obscene" lyric, "Life is like toxic alcohol".[41] Despite the ban, Psy received awards during the 2011 Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards.[31] Psy had, up until this point, topped domestic music charts half a dozen times throughout his twelve-year career in South Korea.[42]On January 7, 2012, Psy performed alongside K-pop bands Bigbang and 2NE1 in front of 80,000 Japanese fans during the YG Family Concert in Osaka. His performance was broadcast by Mezamashi TV (mezamashi meaning "wake-up alarm"), a Japanese news magazine show produced by Fuji Television. This marked his first appearance on a foreign broadcasting network.[43] During the concert, Psy introduced himself to his Japanese fans with a sign that read "I’m a famous singer well-known for driving the audience wild in Korea, but here, today, I’m just a little chubby newcomer" and sang five of his hit songs while Japanese TV commentators expressed their approval in their astonishment at his humorous incorporation of the moves of Lady Gaga and Beyonce.[44]
2012–13: "Gangnam Style" and unexpected international breakthrough
| “ | "When I realized that some top stars like have imagined or tweeted about me, I thought, 'That's joking. That's not gonna happen...' I never expect things like this, not because they are top stars, but because this is the biggest market in the universe for pop music, right, so everybody's dreaming about having appearance in the U.S. so I’m still saying, 'What going on here? This is beautiful.'"[53] | ” |
According to Korean newspaper The Dong-a Ilbo, Psy was appointed as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).[57]
On November 7, Psy held a speech in England at the Oxford Union to discuss the inspiration behind Gangnam Style and his next album. He told the audience that due to the success of Gangnam Style he is now living in both a dream and a nightmare, as it will be difficult for his next song to equal Gangnam Style's success. He also talked about his early life and the moment he realized Gangnam Style became famous. According to The Independent, tickets for his speech were "in such demand they had to be assigned by ballot – a method not required when former presidential candidate John McCain spoke earlier that year, nor when Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama nor Michael Jackson spoke."[58]
On November 24, "Gangnam Style" became the most viewed video in YouTube history, surpassing the previous most watched video, Justin Bieber's "Baby". The number of views were achieved about eleven times faster than Bieber's.[64] Psy later won four awards at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong. He met actor and stunt performer Jackie Chan, who called him a role model that proved that "dreams do come true".[65] On December 21, "Gangnam Style" reached 1 billion views on YouTube, becoming the first video to do so.[5]
In 2013, Psy made his debut on South American television by giving an interview on the Brazilian news program Fantástico.[66] It was announced on January 27, 2013, that Psy would perform at South Korea's presidential inauguration ceremony on February 25, 2013.[67]
2013–present: "Gentleman" and future endeavors
On April 12, the audio of Psy's follow-up single "Gentleman" was leaked onto the internet, a day before its official international release.[68] On the following day, the music video for 'Gentleman' premiered at Psy's 'Happening' Concert, which was attended by 50,000 people and live streamed on YouTube to an audience of 150,000.[69][70] Guest performers of the concert included Lee Hi, 2NE1 and G-Dragon.[70] He had reportedly invested US$2.7 million into the production of the concert.[71]Psy is slated to star in a South Korean remake of the Hindi film ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, taking over the role of Vishnu (Prabhu Deva) in the original film.[72]
On April 29, he became the tourism ambassador of South Korea.[73]
On May 9, 2013, Psy gave a special lecture at Harvard University. In this lecture, he spoke about his passion and other reasons for his popularity.[74] In the finale of American Idol season 12 on May 16, 2013, Psy performed "Gentlemen".[75]
On 17 May 2013, according to YG Entertainment, Psy will sing as part of the pre-match entertainment at Stadio Olimpico on May 26.[76]
May 21, 2013, Psy and his troupe perfomed his song "Gentleman" on the Finale of Dancing With the Stars, Season 16. [77]
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