Psy

Oppa, gangnam style! You guys probably know what I'm talking about. In a matter of a little more than a month, Psy's "Gangnam Style" music video has garnered more than 100 million views on YouTube. What's really amazing is that it has managed to reach Uni, where only a few enlightened fans of K-Pop reside. Although several K-Pop artists' music videos have managed to bring in millions of views, Psy's video is probably the only one that's gotten as popular with the international audience, particularly in the U.S. This, my friends, is the true power of the Internet.

Despite Psy's oh-so-popular video, what really got me to write this post is his most recent album, "Psy's Best Sixth." I have to admit, if it wasn't for his video, I wouldn't have gotten the motivation to actually download his album and listen to his songs. I try to be open to all kinds of music, but there's something about K-Pop that has you worshiping only one or two artists at a time, at all times. For those of you who aren't very familiar with K-Pop (Korean pop music, if you didn't already guess), Psy isn't your typical artist in the K-Pop world. Nowadays, you will see that most K-Pop artists are mainly groups formed of 5-7 members, that are more image-based (as in, pretty) than focused on their music. Of course, there are some K-Pop artists out there who don't fall into this category, and a very few who succeed in both looks and music, but that's the way it is mainly in the modern K-Pop world.

Psy, as you have seen in his music video, is a fairly chubby (some may say fat) Korean man in his mid-30s. He is not your average K-Pop artist, and therefore, he didn't catch my interest before. Psy (real name Park Jae Sang) was born in Korea, but received most of his post-secondary education in the U.S., attending Boston University and later, the Berklee College of Music. He officially debuted in 2001, with the release of his first album, "Psy...From the Psycho World." Known mainly as a rapper and hip-hop singer, most of his albums have been subject to criticism from the Korean public for its "inappropriate content." Many of his songs are about "scandalous" topics like sex and drinking, and therefore have been banned from selling to the younger audience, people under the age of 19.

Despite this, he is very well-known in the K-Pop industry, and has a huge following of fans in Korea. Unlike many K-Pop artists of his time, Psy composes almost all of his songs, some of which have become great hits. He's also known for his many collaborations with other famous Korean artists, such as Lee Jae Hoon and Brown Eyed Soul's Jung Yeop. 

Upon listening to his sixth album, I instantly fell in love with all of his songs. It's kind of weird, because I usually don't like this kind of music, but as soon as they came into my ears, they stuck, and buried themselves into my heart. That's how good his music is.

"Year of '77"


If I had to pick a favorite, I would say "Year of '77" stuck in my head the most. Psy was born on the very last day of 1977 (December 31st), and therefore the song is about back in the days, in the good old '70s and '80s. The song features singer Kim Jin Pyo and hip hop duo, Leessang, who were also born around the same time. It has a catchy chorus phrase, "do you remember," which basically states the nostalgic theme of the song. Along with a bittersweet melody, most of the song is rap, courtesy of Psy and Leessang members Gary and Gil. The lyrics really stuck to me - they basically tell of how it was back in the days, when they were only high schoolers, looking for love and still finding their place in the world. Of course, as a high schooler (and soon-to-be college student), I could just relate.

I'm still in the middle of exploring more of Psy's music, as this is the sixth album that he's released. As you probably noticed, I'm in love with his music. I'm so glad I tried a hand at a genre of K-Pop that I didn't know existed, or was so good. I really recommend trying out his music, even if you're not a fan of K-Pop. Who knows, you might be the one getting sucked into Gangnam Fever...

Here's the full tracklist for the album:


1. Blue Frog (ft. G-Dragon)
2. Passionate Goodbye (ft. Sung Si Kyung)
3. Gangnam Style
4. Year Of '77 (ft. Kim Jin Pyo, Leessang)
5. What Could Have Been (ft. Park Jung Hyun)

6. Never Say Goodbye (ft. Yoon Do Hyun)