It is unlikely that anyone has not heard the killer dance song “Gangnam Style” performed by Korean artist Psy. It is no coincidence that the number of views of the corresponding clip on YouTube shocked the hosting administration, forcing them to make changes to the counter settings.
Childhood and youth
Psy, whose real name is Park Chae-sang, is a representative of the Korean “golden youth”. The singer was born in Seoul at the very end of 1977 in the family of the director of an electronics company. He studied at an elite boarding school and received other attributes of a rich life.
Chae Sang became interested in the work of American rappers, which did not cause understanding among his parents. The father sent his son to America as part of training specialists for his own enterprise, to study the basics of business management. However, the jungle of business administration did not fit into the guy’s plans, and six months later Pak stopped appearing in the classrooms of Boston University.
Psy decided to build his biography according to his own rules and entered Berklee College of Music. But even here I only had enough patience to study the synthesis of music and the basics of solfeggio. The young man returned home, began recording songs and posting his creations on the Internet.
Music
In 2001, Psy shook up the online space with the song “Bird” and the subsequent album “PSY from the PSYcho World!” Sales of new records “Sa 2” and “3 PSY” were subject to restrictions due to antisocial content. The only exception was the song “Champion” - the unofficial anthem of the FIFA World Cup, held in 2002 in South Korea and Japan.
Psy's song "Bird"Then there was a slight decline in creativity, and fans began to forget their former favorite. Participation in concerts and festivals saved me. Although during this time the singles “Beautiful Goodbyes”, “Father”, “RIGHT NOW”, “We Are the One” were released, there was no previous popularity. Psy was most often talked about as a producer and composer.
The finest hour came in 2012. “Gangnam Style” easily gained a billion views in 159 days and brought the singer an income of over $3.5 million. In addition to the Guinness Book of Records, the song “Gangnam Style” found a place at the top of the UK national chart and the authoritative publication Billboard. And the dance from the video was so loved by the singer’s fellow countrymen that in 2016, a monument in the form of crossed hands appeared in the mentioned area of Seoul. Neither the residents of the city nor Psay himself liked the idea; only tourists were delighted.
Psy's song "Gangnam Style"At the MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony, Psy competed well with world celebrities, and. And she didn’t even consider it shameful to dance with a Korean musician.
The song lost its Guinness record status only in the summer of 2017, giving way to the song “See You Again” from the movie “Fast and Furious 7.” One of the main characters left his friends to the accompaniment of this song at the end of the film.
Psy and MadonnaAfter the sensational main hit of his career, Psy released the song “Gentleman”, which was initially called “Assarabia”. This slang expression in Korea is used to convey thrill and has no racial parallels.
And yet, in order to avoid misinterpretation and offense, the singer changed the title and corrected the lyrics. At the presentation of the video, Psy appeared dressed from head to toe in white, causing a rush among fans for clothes of the same color.
Psy's song "Gentleman"According to the author, this time he used elements of Korean folk dances in the choreography. Chae San recorded the composition in his native language, inserting the phrases in English “I am mother father gentleman” and “I am a party mafia”.
Another record was the collaboration of Park Chae San and the American rapper “Hangover”. A funny video, filmed over a couple of days in the vicinity of a Korean airport and dubbed “hangover,” hit the top of the Billboard hit parade. More than 300 million viewers, 20 million of them in the first 24 hours alone, surprised no one.
In 2015, Psy presented the album “Chiljip PSY-da”. British pop singer, American rapper and producer Will.i.am participated in the recording of the tracks.
The video for the title track “DADDY,” which was viewed by 4 million viewers in 24 hours, featured South Korean star, actress and singer Lee Chae-rin, aka CL. The author remained true to his humorous style and told how he got such an ideal appearance. In reviews published on the pages of The Rollingstone, there were characteristics such as “stupid text” and “stupid video”.
Psy's song "DADDY"In May 2017, Psy published two new music videos for the songs “I luv it” and “New Face” on his YouTube channel. The first starred Japanese celebrity Piko Taro, whose 45-second composition about a pineapple, an apple and a pen was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest song. The hit reached the top position on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.
Both tracks are included in the artist’s new album entitled “4x2=8”. They took first and second place on the Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 chart.
Personal life
Details of his personal life are not an area in which PR is customary in Asia, and only the information that the singer provided for the official chronicle is known about Chae San.
In 2003, Psy met Yonsei University graduate, cellist Yoo Hye-yeon. Three years later, the young people got married and soon became parents of twins. The names of the children are kept secret and "Instagram" I can't find a photo of their father. The artist’s wife took on the duties of his personal stylist. The family lives in the USA, near Beverly Hills, in a mansion worth over $1 million.
Psy's popularity sometimes backfires on the singer. Thus, at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, an unidentified person in the guise of a Korean performer attended social events. It was assumed that this could be Chae San's double, the Frenchman Denis Carr, but the rumor was not confirmed.
And in 2012, Psay was reminded of anti-American protests in his homeland, when the artist joined a protest against the presence of American troops in Korea. And although this was in 2002, Psy’s participation in a charity concert under the patronage of the then US President was called into question. The musician explained that it was
“emotional reaction to the war in Iraq. I will always regret any pain I caused anyone with those words."
Psy now
At the beginning of 2018, information appeared in the press that, as part of the growing movement for the political unification of Korea, Psy concerts might be held in Pyongyang. And allegedly local star Hyun Sol Wol opposed the visit of her popular southern neighbor.
In May of the same year, Psy ended his long-term collaboration with the record company YG Entertainment, which largely contributed to the singer’s rise to the musical Olympus. In a press release, agency representatives said that they respect Psy’s desire to conquer new heights, wish him happiness and thank his fans for their love for the artist.
Discography
- 2001 – “PSY from the PSYcho World!”
- 2001 – “Bird”
- 2002 – “Champion”
- 2002 – “3 PSY”
- 2005 – “FATHER”
- 2006 – “Ssa Jip (Cheap House)”
- 2006 – “Calling You Because It’s Raining”
- 2010 – “PSY FIVE”
- 2011 – “It’s Art”
- 2012 – “PSY’s Best 6th Part 1”
- 2012 – “Gangnam Style”
- 2015 – “DADDY”
- 2017 – “4×2=8”
Gangnam Style. I wonder if there is still a person in the world who does not know what these two words mean? And even more interesting, did the Korean artist PSY himself know when recording this track that he would fly so high and be recognized in all corners of the globe?
An overweight and at first glance awkward man attracts audiences of millions at his concerts. And his fans consider him a real sex symbol, saying that everything about him is impeccable, especially his style. Well, he's really good at it. His permanent attributes are dark glasses and incredibly fashionable suits.
All photos 17
In South Korea, PSY is now so famous that a monument will soon be erected in honor of his song in Seoul. He is pride. But the funny thing is that this didn't always happen. There were times when his albums were banned from listening due to obscene content. So how did the K-pop star achieve such success? Where did his difficult path to fame begin?
Biography PSY
Park Chae Sang was born on December 31, 1977 in the affluent and fashionable Gangnam district of Seoul. Yes, yes, this is the real name of the Korean wave star, and the pseudonym PSY is derived from the English word psycho, which translated means “crazy, psycho.” In an interview, PSY, explaining why he settled on this particular pseudonym, said: “I think you know that I’m crazy about music, dancing, performing, that’s why I’m such a crazy person.”
PSY grew up in a wealthy family. His father worked as an executive director of a large South Korean semiconductor company. And, naturally, from childhood, the future singer had everything he could wish for: he studied at a closed school, had fun with friends in the most fashionable places in the capital.
Studying stopped worrying the teenager quite early. His main interest in life from the age of fifteen was music. In particular, he incredibly liked the work of rappers Eminem and Tupac Shakur. Probably trying to partly imitate his idols, PSY began recording his own tracks as a teenager. For the soul. Believing in a stellar future.
“I rarely went to school. At that time, I seriously doubted that one could learn about creativity there. Music is not something you can just hear about from other people. Sometimes I regret skipping classes. But I became more creative during the years of rebellion. I started out as a hip-hop artist and listened to a lot of Eminem and Tupac. I love their music, their lyrics,” he said in an interview.
And then it’s like in a typical Korean series. The influential father was absolutely not satisfied with his son’s choice. Music lessons? The Korean elite apparently does not accept this. And so in 1996, as part of a corporate program at a company where his father held an influential position, he sent his son to study at Boston University in the USA, where he began to learn business management techniques.
But can a person who has only thoughts of popularity in his head be forced to sit for a long time in one, and even a hated, place? So PSY was constantly skipping classes. His father even had to connect all his connections so that he would not be kicked out of the university. But, alas, not living up to his parents’ expectations, after some time he nevertheless abandoned his unloved studies and, having completed English courses, entered the Californian Berklee College of Music. But the basics of solfeggio, the synthesis of music and modern written form - this is all that the energetic singer, who does not stand calmly on stage for a second, had enough perseverance for today.
The return to South Korea was followed by a huge leap to the podium of fame. In 2001, PSY's first hit, "Bird," rocked show business. And then - the album “PSY from the PSYcho World!” and the entry of crazy clips that even then stood out for their bright and unusual dances into the national charts. The rise of South Korea's superstar was assured. And then two more albums - “Sa 2/Adult only” and “3 PSY”, which were distinguished by the scandalous content of the songs and antisocial lyrics. Only persons over nineteen years of age were allowed to purchase them, and the singer paid fines because of them. Video clips for songs from them were full of strange dance movements and unconventional appearance of its participants. But the public liked it!
But it doesn’t happen that everything always goes like clockwork. To achieve great success, you need to overcome difficulties. So PSY from 2003 to 2012 experienced the loss of fan interest. The songs he released during this period did not bring him the success he deserved. He entered his fourth decade, began to forget about his former fiery and expressiveness and increasingly showed himself not as a performer, but as a producer and composer.
But can such a purposeful person just stop? Of course not! Just slow down a little... And so, dreaming of new achievements, in 2012 PSY decides to record a track in the style of pop music that is not entirely typical for him and shoots an incredibly crazy video for it. Hoping to stir up Korea with them, he raises the ears of the whole world. “Gangnam Style” flies around one country after another at incredible speed and breaks all kinds of records.
The video, which appeared on the Internet on July 15, 2012, became the most viewed video in the history of YouTube on November 24, and on December 21, having crossed the 1 billion threshold, it became the most viewed video in the history of the entire Internet. Justin Bieber, once basking in the rays of leadership, fades into the background with the video for the song “Baby”.
The composition, spreading like a computer virus, is deservedly included in the Guinness Book of Records, becomes a real legend and thanks to this migrates to world radio stations and takes the place of leader on the iTunes platform in 31 countries of the world. Things are not only going well, but going uphill.
As you know, this composition alone brought PSY $8.1 million. By the way, today the number of views has exceeded 2.5 billion. YouTube developers even had to make changes to the service counter code because of such unprecedented interest. After all, the number of views exceeded the maximum allowable value for a 32-bit machine word at that time - 2,147,483,647.
“We never thought that the video would be viewed so many times, but that was before we met “Gangnam Style,” commented representatives of the video hosting site.
And then PSY is invited to the MTV Europe Music Awards, where he competes with Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga in the “Best Video” category and performs “Gangnam Style” with Madonna. And then his life is filled with a huge number of awards and recognitions from various people. It’s unlikely that he could have dreamed of this before!
But why did this particular song about a luxurious lifestyle in a wealthy area of Seoul blow up the public so much? It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally. It all just came together.
“Gangnam is like the Beverly Hills of Korea. But the guy doesn't look like Beverly Hills... And the situation in the video doesn't look like Beverly Hills. But he keeps saying he has Beverly Hills style. That's the whole point. This is a kind of highlight,” PSY shared in an interview.
Of course, the artist achieved unprecedented success. It would be worth rejoicing for the man, but there were also many who predicted his future, so to speak, a one-day star, those who did not believe that he would be able to release something like that again. But giving up is clearly not in PSY's rules.
In 2013, he released the song “Gentleman” (over 948 million views), in 2014, “Hangover” featuring Snoop Dogg (over 254 million views), and more recently, at the end of 2015, “Daddy” ( over 147 million views) and “Napal Baji” (over 28 million views). And this means only one thing: audience interest in the celebrity is still incredible. And so PSY is now basking in the glory and touring around the globe.
Personal life of PSY
With her, the Korean pop star, you know, is doing great. And, by the way, it’s been quite a long time!
The great love in PSY's life appeared on the horizon during the most difficult period for him - just when there was a decline in his career and nothing good was foreshadowed. It was then, in 2003, frankly speaking, that the singer was no longer young, but experienced and ready for a serious relationship, and met a cellist from Yonsei University in South Korea, the beautiful Yu Hye-yeon.
And the interesting thing is that she was clearly not afraid of the artist’s creative failures. She loved him with all her heart! And on October 14, 2006, the couple tied the knot, and a few years later they had two wonderful twin daughters.
PSY does not like to show off his personal life, and in South Korea, we note, this type of PR is not very popular. Therefore, all that is known about the artist’s family is that it is filled with happiness.
But, of course, as always, this story is not complete without evil tongues. After PSY’s incredible rise, there were rumors about his secret affair with the young Korean singer Im Yoon and that his wife knew everything very well, but she tolerated it because she did not want to destroy the family. But, as it later turned out, these were just incorrect conjectures and inventions of sensation-hungry journalists.
In fact, PSY now lives in perfect harmony with his wife and daughters on the west coast of the United States, near Beverly Hills, where he purchased an apartment for $1.25 million in 2012. And his wife supports him in everything and even partially helps him in his difficult task. It is she who carefully thinks through the design of all his costumes, working on them until she is satisfied with the result. So the spouses are bound not only by family obligations, but also by work. In general, they always have something to talk about!
Park Chae-sang is a performer and songwriter from South Korea. He performs on stage using the pseudonym Sai (PSY). He became popular thanks to his humorous video clips and performances at concerts.
The end of November 2012 became victorious for his video clip “Gangnam Style”. In terms of the number of “likes” on YouTube, almost six million (5.9 million), in terms of the number of views, the figure exceeded 971 million. Sy's video was able to overtake Justin Bieber with his "Baby" video.
2012, November 24 - the video clip “Gangnam Style” became known as the most popular and most frequently viewed in the entire existence of YouTube.
2012, December 21 - an event occurred that had never happened on YouTube or on the Internet in general. One video clip was watched by over one billion users. This is a video that belongs to Sai - "Gangnam Style".
2012, December 31 - Sy performed in a concert that took place in Times Square in New York. This is a concert dedicated to the New Year, which took place in front of a live audience.
2013, April 13 - the performer posted his new creation on YouTube, the video “Gentleman”, in style, is very similar to “Gangnam Style”. The new clip, in the first hours, managed to gain fifty million views.
Biography of South Korean artist PSY
For the first time, Park Chae San (PSY) performed in front of the public in 2001. Then he performed the song “Bird”. Since then he has gained great popularity and is still very much loved by the public today.
PSY (Park Chae-sang) received his education in America. He began studying at Boston University, but did not graduate. At the same time, he studied at Berklee College of Music.
In 2012, there was a worldwide news report discussing the choreography of his “Gangnam Style” video. Afterwards, the performer released his sixth album, recorded in the studio, called “PSY6”. Among global performers, PSY became the first worldwide whose song “Gangnam Style” (ITunes platform) took first place in the charts in 31 countries.
In September 2012, the singer and the American label Island Records signed a contract. According to this document, the singer’s activities throughout the world, except South Korea, will be controlled by this company.
2012, September 6, PSY attends the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, which was held at the Staples Center sports complex, Dos Angeles, California (USA). At this ceremony, PSY was one of the VIP guests that were invited to this event.
The song "Gangnam Style" is sung in Korean. However, this did not prevent the hit from taking first place in the UK national charts. The song reached number one on Billiboard's Digital Songs chart. The hit took second place on the Billiboard Hot 100 chart. The music video for this composition was included in the Guinness Book of Records, nominated for the most liked video on the YouTube video portal for the entire period of its work.
"Gangnam Style" literally means a luxurious lifestyle in Gangnam (a colloquial phrase used in Korean).
Gangnam is a luxurious, wealthy and very fashionable area in Seoul. During an interview with CNN, the Korean singer compared this area of Seoul to Beverly Hills.
Sai’s composition “Gangnam Style” is dedicated to a girl who is “ideal” and always knows how to behave, when to be sophisticated, and when to be quite the opposite.
Albums by South Korean artist PSY
Under the LNLT Entertainment label, Sai has released several albums:
- 2001 - PSY from the PSYcho World!
- 2002 - Sa 2/Adult only, as well as the album 3 PSY
- 2006 - Ssa Jip (Cheap House)
In 2010, the albums "PSY FIVE" and "PSY's Best 6th Part 1" were released under the YG Entertainment label.
Concerts of the South Korean artist PSY
Singer PSY is active in concert activities. Beginning in 2001, he held several solo concerts in Seoul (December 2001, December 2003 and December 2004). In July 2005 he performed at a festival in Seoul.
That same year, in August, he held a joint concert with Lexi. In December 2005 and August 2006 - solo performance in Seoul. In December 2006, he went on a solo tour to the cities of Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, and Daegu. From November 2009 to April 2010, he conducted a joint concert tour with Kim Chang Hoon. The tour took place in the cities of Daegu, Busan, Seoul, Changwon, Daejeon, Anyang, Incheon, Jinju, Jeju, Ilsan, Suwon, Ulsan, Yeosu. In May 2010, and then in May 2011, joint concerts with Kim Chang Hoon were held in the cities of Seoul and Cheonan. In December 2010, Sai and Kim Chang Hoon held a joint concert in Seoul, Busan and Gwangju.
From January to February 2011 - a concert tour in the cities: Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, Incheon, Ulsan, Daegu, Wonju, Jeonju, Cheongju. In August 2011, he held a solo performance in Seoul. From November to December 2011, a joint concert tour with Kim Chang Hoon in the cities of Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Incheon and Daegu. In December 2011, a joint performance with YG Entertainment artists in Seoul. The same line-up performed in Japan in January 2012. In August 2012, solo performance in Seoul. On April 13, 2013, a solo performance was held in Seoul, in which YG Entertainment artists took part.
Awards for South Korean artist PSY
2002 - SBS Gayo: Hip-Hop Award
2004 - 15th Seoul Music Awards: Best Lyricist Virtual
SBS Gayo: Songwriter of the Year,
2004 M.net KM Music Festival: Best Male Solo Artist Award
2005 - M.net KM Music Video Festival Awards: Concert Video Award
2006 - M.net KM Music Video Festival Awards: Best Film Music Video Award; SBS Gayo Prix
2009 - Military Grand Award
2010 - 19th High-1 Seoul Music Awards: Performance Culture Award; M.net Asian Music Awards: Producer Award; 2nd Melon Music: Music Awards Performance Cultural Award
2011 - 20th High-1 Seoul Music Awards: Best Album Award; Department of Defense Plaque of Appreciation; 1st Korea Music Copyright Target Singer: Songwriter Award; 1st Korea Music Copyright Target Singer (Hip-hop sector): Composition Award
2012 - MTV Europe Music Awards (Best video).
Filmography of South Korean performer PSY
Park Chae Sang takes part in the M.net Talent Show. "Superstar K4", as a judge.
Popularity of South Korean artist PSY in the Yandex search engine
Along with the PSY request, users of the Yandex search engine are looking for:
psy - 362341 requests to Yandex per month
psy style - 199235 requests to Yandex per month
psy gangnam - 194833 requests in Yandex per month
psy gangnam style - 191508 requests in Yandex per month
psy clip - 60355 requests in Yandex per month
download psy - 56341 requests in Yandex per month
psy style clip - 49511 in Yandex per month
psy gangnam clip - 49282 in Yandex per month
psy gangnam style clip - 49009 in Yandex per month
style psy download - 38480 in Yandex per month
psy gangnam download - 37208 in Yandex
psy gangnam style download - 36495 in Yandex
psy for free - 22699 in Yandex
psy free download - 19530 in Yandex
In 2012, a South Korean artist’s video for the song “Gangnam Style” “broke” the YouTube counter, gaining the maximum number of views allowed by the service. A video clip about “majors” from a fashionable area of Seoul was included in the Guinness Book of Records, having received the largest number of “likes” in the history of YouTube (currently the video has almost 3 billion views and more than 13 million likes). Even though the song was sung in a Korean language incomprehensible to most, the world fell in love with the composition, repeating PSY's funny words and movements.
In Russia about PSY, whose real name is Park Chae San, Today they are rarely remembered, but the South Korean performer is actively continuing his career. AiF.ru talks about the lesser-known hits of the rap star.
First, it’s worth looking into the past of the most famous singer in South Korea: he was born into a wealthy family that could afford to send their son to study at Boston University in the USA. To the chagrin of his parents, the young man was not very persevering. The only thing he had enough for was English language courses. After dropping out of university, PSY began to study music, and his first song, “Bird,” made him a superstar in his homeland.
Before the well-known hit Gangnam Style, there were still 11 years, during which time PSY managed to serve in the army, go to prison for drug possession and release two albums that were distinguished by scandalous content and antisocial lyrics.
The performer often faces censorship from the South Korean authorities, who oppose his songs with “inappropriate content.” But only once did PSY publicly apologize for the lyrics of his songs. When the rapper was invited to perform in front of US President Barack Obama, the press recalled that 8 years ago, in the song “Dear American,” PSY criticized American foreign policy, and in another hit he sang: “Kill those damned Yankees who tortured Iraqi prisoners.” The meeting with Obama did take place, but after PSY explained that the harsh lyrics of his songs were just an emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and "part of the general anti-war sentiment that was prevalent throughout the world at that time."
What is the song Gangnam Style about?
After the resounding success of Gangnam Style, the whole world was expecting a new hit from the funny Korean, and he did not disappoint. PSY's next composition was called "Gentleman" and ridiculed the respectful attitude towards the female sex. The comical video for this song received about 50 million views in the first 24 hours alone, setting a new record on YouTube. However, in the performer’s homeland, not everyone was happy with his work. For example, the KBS television and radio company refused to air the singer’s video because it “promotes immorality and teaches young people bad behavior.”
Along with deafening fame, problems with alcohol came to the Korean performer. In interviews, he admitted more than once that vodka is his best friend: “If I’m happy, I drink, if I’m sad, I drink. If it rains, I drink, if it’s sunny, I drink.” The next PSY song “Hangover” was dedicated to the same addiction, which he recorded together with the popular American hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg. However, this time many of his compatriots were dissatisfied with the rap star’s creation: they argued that the video gave the wrong idea about life in Korea.
After The Hangover, the South Korean's international fame began to fade noticeably. And although PSY continued to be popular in his homeland, he himself did not hide his disappointment that he had become a “one-song singer.” “After the success of Gangnam Style, I was very happy, but sometimes I didn’t feel happy because it was the biggest hit song of my life and I guess I’ll never be able to sing anything better,” the Korean complained. However, it does not seem that he ever tried to move away from his usual role and show the public a different side. His new songs and videos still remain “hooligan”: bright costumes, unrestrained dancing, humor and self-irony.
Information has repeatedly appeared in the media that PSY is going to end his career, but this has not happened yet. On the contrary, in the spring of 2017, the Korean reminded himself of himself with a new album, which was called “4x2=8”. On the eve of the release of the record, the rap star posted 2 videos on the Internet at once: “New Faces” (in which he starred with Song Na Eun, member of the Korean group A Pink) and “I Love It” (in the filming of which the Japanese took part comedian Pico Taro, who gained worldwide fame after the release of the song Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen). Within a few hours of appearing on the Internet, these clips collected almost half a million views each. So there is no need to talk about the decline of the funny Korean’s career yet.
