Wednesday 3 October 2012

Disco balls, Horses, Explosions, and one addicting tune later…


Rapper Psy featured from his hit music video Gangnam Style 
We have Gangnam Style, I am sure you are already singing or humming “Oppa is Gangnam style” from the popular YouTube hit song. In case you have yet to see the viral video, I have posted it below.

How popular did this video get exactly?

  • The song was released to YouTube on July 15, 2012 and has been viewed over 336 million times as of September 30, 2012, making it the most watched video of this year.
  • Numerous celebrities have shared the video with fans and new parodies are uploaded everyday reaching sky rocketing views.
  • Rapper Psy taught Britney Spears how to “Gangnam Style on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZmkU5Pg1sw
  • Nelly Furtado performed the song at her concert in Manila, Philippines. Watch it here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehs-vZ1uF-k
  • It has even gone far enough to be recognized by Guinness World Records as the most “liked” video in YouTube history. 
The only unanswered question is why?
The video pokes fun at the cliché of many pop promos and commercials while recreating the American phrase “SWAG”.
Urban dictionary provides us with a definition.
The new generation's alternative word for “cool".
The new generation originally used swag to describe anyone thought to carry themselves in a way considered by some to be sexy / cool.
Note: considered to be absurd by many others.

“That guy’s got swag”
“I have 10x more swag than you do”
“I just fell down, lol. Swag.”
“Crush, kill, destroy, swag”

Rapper Psy uses the equivalent word for swag taken from his cultural, titling his song Gangnam Style. He explains it himself while being interviewed by CNN.
 People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are — it’s only the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are "Gangnam Style" — so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying so hard to be something that they’re not"
This is why there are so many absurd and outrageous things displayed in his music video. From dancing in a pool to a horse ranch to a sports car onto a train with disco balls, the insanity never seems to end. Do you agree that this video became a viral hit because of these so-called mainstream factors of “Gangnam Style” and “Swag” OR do you think the song would have still became popular without the crazy video.

Defiantly makes you think about what attracts an audience these days.

Tell me what you think.

Want to read more?

To read more on the definition of “swag” visit the urban dictionary below.


To read more about Rapper Psy’s interview with CNN visit the link below.

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