On October 4, tens of thousands of citizens gathered in Seoul Plaza, Korea, to enjoy Korean singer Psy’s concert.

The chubby 34-year-old rapper, who recently became a global sensation with his song ‘Gangnam Style,’ held the concert for free in return for fans’ support.

According to Korean police authorities, about 80,000 citizens gathered, and it was the first time that the massive plaza was packed with this many people. His concert was also aired on YouTube, but many people had trouble with watching it because of too many simultaneous log-ins.

17-year-old student Huh Seung-ah said, “Usually, the concert ticket for a famous singer is really expensive. But, today, Psy is holding the concert for free! I didn’t want to miss this chance.”

Not only teenagers, but also middle-aged citizens attended Psy’s concert. 43-year-old house wife Kim Ji-hee said, “I see Psy’s news on TV every day. I wanted to see how fun his concert is.”

Foreign fans were also spotted. 24-year-old Valentina from Chile said, “I came to Korea to enjoy the Korean singer’s music, and today I’m so happy that I can enjoy Psy’s concert for free.”

The concert, which started around 10 pm, kicked off with Psy’s song “Right Now,” and reached the climax when Psy sang “Gangnam Style.”

Around 11:30 pm, Psy showed up with a bottle of soju, saying, “I promised that I will not drink on the stage, but, today, I’m so happy that I feel like I should drink.” He emptied the bottle after shouting, “Korea! Hooray!”

When 11:40 pm came, he took off his shirt and danced topless to “Gangnam Style.” He once said he would dance topless if he tops the Billboard Hot 100. Even though his song remains on second place of the chart as of October 5, he performed topless as he promised.

Because of the concert, the traffic of Seoul was controlled and guided by the police authorities from 6pm to midnight. Hotels and stores located around Seoul Plaza benefited from Psy’s concert.

Seoul Plaza Hotel, which is standing right next to Seoul Plaza, was all booked by people who wanted to watch Psy’s concert in the hotel. According to the hotel, some customers asked the hotel to change their room to higher floor to enjoy the concert.”

Convenience stores around the plaza also witnessed their sales volume increase. A part-time worker at Seven Eleven said, “Thanks to Psy’s concert, the number of customers was doubled.”

Image Courtesy of  KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea

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PSY’s Gangnam Style has jumped to the 64th spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, now the best-selling record among Korean pop singers.

In 2009, the Korean girl band “Wonder Girls” reached the 76th spot of this chart with their song “Nobody,” and was at the time the highest grossing record any Korean singer had had in the U.S. market.

With his appearance on U.S. television and radio programs, on top of several promotion events with his new agent Scooter Braun, it is expected that his popularity will keep gaining momentum. Braun is also responsible for making Justin Bieber a super star. The number of YouTube views of PSY’s music video is still increasing, having reached 160 million views and holding great promise for his future success in the U.S.

PSY’s Gangnam Style is doing a great on the iTunes Music Chart as well. According to the single chart of iTunes, ‘Top Songs,’ Gangnam Style is staying at 6th place as of September 13.

PSY was invited to the MTV awards to celebrate 100 million YouTube views of his music video, making many American shows interested in inviting him to their show. He was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on September 11, teaching his “Horse dance” to Ellen and the other guest Britney Spears. It is reported that the show got its highest viewer ratings since 2003. PSY will be on the show again in the near future as a guest and will talk about himself with Ellen. It is reported that NBC’s Today Show is also planning to invite him as a guest.

The number of parody videos of the Gangnam Style music video is increasing. Currently, videos of the Obama version of Gangnam Style and the Romney version are gaining popularity online. In the Obama version, clips of Obama’s speeches are used to make up the song, and it looks like Obama is singing the Gangnam Style song. Meanwhile, NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno aired a parody video by using computer graphic that made Romney dance to Gangnam Style.

ABC news reported on Night Line that Gangnam Style’s humor, sarcasm and addictive beat are the key of PSY’s success.

The 36-year-old hip-hop singer who graduated Berklee college of music in Boston, debuted in 2001 in Korea, winning huge popularity with his single ‘Bird’. More information of Psy is available here.

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South Korea’s famous K-Pop star Psy, or Park Jae-sang, is grabbing the most attention in the U.S. with his latest song ‘Gangnam Style.’

His music video for “Gangnam Style” has already attracted about 59 million YouTube views, and stays at the number one spot on not only Billboard’s K-Pop charts, but also other Korean local music charts. The music video was introduced to viewers worldwide by global media such as CNN, ABC, LA TIMES, and the Wall Street Journal.

Psy recently visited the U.S., was on the U.S. TV show ‘Big Morning Buzz Live,’ on August 22, introducing his song to American viewers.

“Gangnam is an affluent area just like Beverly Hills in the state. But the funny part of my song is that a funny-looking guy like me is talking about Gangnam style in the song, because I don’t look like a guy from Gangnam,” said Psy on the show.

Psy taught his dance, the so-called horse dance, to the show hosts, making them laugh and excited.

The 36-year-old hip-hop singer, who graduated Berkelee college of music in Boston, debuted in 2001, winning huge popularity with his single ‘Bird’.

However, it did not take long for him to lose his fame and stand point.

His life has been just like a roller coaster over the past 12 years. He was convicted of smoking marijuana in the early 2000s. He was even accused of not properly fulfilling his alternative military service (In South Korea, men over the age of 18, need to fulfill their mandatory military service for two years), having the biggest crisis in his career and life in 2007.

Following several months of investigation by the prosecution, it turned out that Psy was neglecting his military duty, and he was ordered to serve the full two-year national service again in July 2007.

Because of all of these unfavorable factors for Psy, it seems that he has been gradually forgotten from the public’s memory. However, nothing could eliminate his passion toward music. He continues his music career by writing songs for other singers in Korea and holding concerts for his fans. His success with his latest song is not surprising.

It is reported that Psy has earned about ten billion won (about eight million dollars) so far with the song ‘Gangnam Style.’ He even was contacted by Justin Biber’s agency and flew to the U.S. to meet with him, implying that he might start his music career in the U.S. in the near future.

Image Courtesy of   PSY

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