Psy Page 2

Albums of note… In 2013, the apparent year of the comeback, Depeche Mode made a mini-one of their own, with their first album in four years Delta Machine. Dave Gahan’s still at the vocal helm and the group still enjoy looking at the darker side of pop. Something they’re still doing with great success according to our writer Dom Gourlay, who surmised “'Delta Machine' is a worthy comeback that while not quite hitting the peaks conquered so magnificently by 'Black Celebration', 'Violator' and 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion' back in the day, still sits comfortably in the upper quartile of Depeche Mode's finest releases to date.”

Another gaining the love of Contactmusic this week is Josh Kumra who released his debut LP Good Things Come To Those Don’t Wait. Give he’s only about 20/21 himself, it seems like he’s taken the title of his album to heart, and this Sony release looks set to make him a star early on in his career. Our man Jim Pusey reckoned “At its heart, Good Things Come To Those Who Don't Wait is a solid singer songwriter effort. It elevates itself beyond that by successfully dabbling in a number of musical styles along the way, while ensuring that Josh doesn't ever sound out of his depth. Certainly one of his strengths is his voice, and he gives himself ample opportunity to showcase that here too.”

Continue reading: A Week In Music, Depeche Mode Back With New Album, The Gaslight Anthem Storm The Boards, Have Coldplay Released The Best Album Ever?

Psy will perform a new song titled 'Gentleman' for the first time at a concert in South Korea on April 13. The Korean pop star became a global celebrity after his 'Gangnam Style' video became the most watched clip on YouTube, though the 35-year-old is refusing to rest on his laurels.

Speaking to local Korean television on Monday (April 1, 2013), Psy revealed, "The new song is extremely fun and ... what I can tell you is the song title is 'Gentleman'. I can't tell you about the dance but all Koreans know this dance - but (those in) other countries haven't seen it." It appears likely then that 'Gentleman' will feature some kind of traditional Korean dance, perhaps with a contemporary spin. Psy has asked his fans to turn up wearing white clothes at the forthcoming concert at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in, suggesting a spacesuit or a bridal gown.

Psy certainly appears to be suffering for his art, tweeted a photo of himself covering his face at a recording studio, with the caption, "pain of creation."

Continue reading: Psy Announces New Song 'Gentleman': But What About The Dance?

World beware, Psy is back!

For now he’s just back with an announcement, but in the brand new video on his youtube channel, the K-pop sensation announces his big return, due April 13. Don’t even pretend you’re not excited, we know you jumped around to Gangnam Style along with everybody else last summer and maybe, like us, you’re eagerly expecting the stylish Korean singer’s triumphant return.

The question that hangs on everybody’s mind tough (well, ok, on the minds of internet nerds) is: can he pull it off. Like the Numa Numa guy, Nyan Cat, and so many other memes before him, Psy was an instant hit and could very well be a flash in the pan. It’s clear the singer himself knows this and he opted for some clever marketing – namely, doing the Harlem Shake, or a version of it anyway. What? Two memes in one video? Your head is about to explode, we’re sure, but if it makes any difference, the Gangnam Shake bares practically no resemblance to the original Harlem Shake videos. So for now, we’re all left eagerly expecting the sequel to Gangnam Style and shaking our way to April 18th. If you haven’t caught Psy’s official announcement yet, you can watch the youtube video for it below.

Continue reading: Psy Returns With The Long Awaited Sequel To Gangnam Style

Psy is back with his hit multi-platinum single 'Gangnam Style' but this time introduces us to a collection of remixes just as the craze was starting to settle down!

The South Korean popstar is here with his new EP 'Remix Style' which features some stunning remixes from Diplo and Afrojack as well as some exciting collaborations with 2 Chainz and Tyga. The EP was released today (March 5th 2013) and will definitely have us enjoying the overly played track another time round. These new collaborations are particularly exciting to hear as he had told MTV News earlier in the year that he wasn't planning on any just yet. 'I don't think I'll be doing any collaborations until my new track is done, and it's not done yet, but I'm thinking of doing it by myself, so I can prove I can do it one more time', he told them. 

'Gangnam Style' became a worldwide hit topping the charts in numerous countries but it is best known for its music video featuring the singer performing a particularly striking dance routine. The video has been viewed more than 1.3 billion times on YouTube making it the first to reach 1 billion and, indeed, the most watched video ever on the video site.

Continue reading: Psy Returns With 'Gangnam Style Remix Style' EP Featuring Diplo And Afrojack

With Psy's Gangnam Style being the first uploaded video to reach 1 billion views, one's mind wanders to the financial implications for the Korean rapper. Given the advertising opportunity for videos with a high hit count, Psy is prime real location for such ventures. 

"I've seen a statistic which reckons the one song will have generated something like $8m [£5m] by the end of the year from money that comes directly from YouTube through advertising plus download sales, its uses in adverts and TV programmes," Chris Cooke, business editor of the CMU music news site, told the BBC. "It shows that YouTube - which is a free-to-use as a promotional platform for the music labels - can lead to substantial income. Should every artist be trying to think of a funny video that will go viral and be mimicked? I don't know whether it's a template that can be copied, but it certainly shows how quickly an eye-catching clip can spread thanks to social networks and YouTube."

Another aspect of the video's success is the videos that accompany it. From soldiers in the Middle East, to the wonderful world of Minecraft, fans have mimicked Gangnam style, leading traffic back to the original video, which of course, helped it clamber over the unprecedented 1 billion mark.

Psy's Gangnam Style became the most-watched YouTube video in history last week, though the South-Korean native has now well and truly cemented his place in popular culture with a dictionary inclusion! 

'Gangnam Style' - Psy's signature song featuring THAT horse-riding dance routine - has been chosen as one of Collins' Dictionary words of the year. OK, so it's more of a phrase (or title) than a word, but it joins a select group of other unconventional 'words' that encapsulate 2012, including "fiscal cliff" and "Romneyshambles." Ian Brookes, the dictionary's consultant editor said, "We were looking for words that told the story of the year. Some words are from events that have been and gone and so are not likely to stick around... but others are probably here to stay." Fiscal cliff refers to President Obama, Congress and government spending, while Romneyshambles specifically refers to Mitt Romney's gaffe-ridden visit to London in July in which he questioned Britain's readiness to host the Olympics. 

Though the words including on this year's list have no guarantee of inclusion into the next dictionary, Brookes said Gangnam Style has a decent chance. "It's obviously a craze, so there's the possibility it will go away. But it's been heard by so many people that I think it's probably earned the right to go into the dictionary."

Continue reading: Psy's 'Gangnam Style' Gets Dictionary Inclusion!

With only one successful song under his belt so far, South Korean viral sensation Psy sure knows how to stick around in the news on a daily basis. Earlier this week a song performed by the singer at a 2004 concert in his native South Korea was unearthed featuring some rather unsavoury lyrics aimed towards America. Needless to say, not everybody was happy about it.

Regardless of the inflammatory lyrics he once held in his repertoire, not everyone is as unforgiving as many predicted and the singer has hardly been affected by a backlash from angry Americans. Psy had been scheduled to perform in front of President Barack Obama and his family at this years annual Christmas in Washington, and despite the fact that a torrent of objection has been spewed in regards to his appearance at the event, it looks like the show will go on for Psy. The broadcasters of the event, TNT, have confirmed that Psy would still perform as planned, and have made no mention to any of his past performances.

In lieu of the unravelling of his past, Psy recently issued a public apology for the events that happened at concerts in 2002 and 2004 respectively. After expressing his gratitude at the freedom of expression he is granted as a human being, he went on to apologise to anyone who he may have hurt with his lyrics, adding, “I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words.”

Despite having been lauded for his bizarre and amusing song and video 'Gangnam Style', Psy may have perhaps ruined his entire career in the USA, after it has been discovered that eight years ago he performed a song which spoke about killing men, women and families in America, reports MTV. 

The track, which was a collaboration between Psy and Korean rock group N.E.X.T, was called 'Dear American', and included lyrics such as "Kill those f***ing Yankees who ordered them to torture... Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers... Kill them all slowly and painfully." 

Psy has since explained the context of the song, and accompanied it with an apology in a statement:

Continue reading: Gangnam Style's Psy Apologises For Defamatory Lyrics Against Americans

Fleetwood Mac have announced their tour dates for US and Canada in 2013 and the last date of the tour is in Detroit on June 12… just a few weeks before the UK’s iconic Glastonbury festival, which takes place on June 21 – 23. Can you see where we’re headed with this train of thought? Well, it looks like we’re not the only ones starting to think that Stevie Nicks and co. would make a brilliant addition to next year’s line-up, as the bookies, William Hill, have slashed the odds of Fleetwood Mac headlining the festival’s Pyramid Stage on the Sunday to 6/1, making them second favourites.

Currently, The Rolling Stones are favourites to be announced as the festival closers though frankly we’d like to know who’s giving William Hill their inside info because they currently have The Smiths in third position and everybody knows that Morrissey and Marr will never agree to let bygones be bygones and reform in time for Glastonbury 2013. Or ever. Right…? Right? Or is there something that someone’s not telling us?

The line-up for Glastonbury 2013 hasn’t yet been announced, even though tickets for the event have already sold out – such is the pulling power of what is widely considered to be the best festival on the planet. In 22nd place, on William Hill’s list is the Korean rapper, Psy at 200/1. We’re not convinced that Psy’s going to produce another hit on the same scale as ‘Gangnam Style’; file that one under ‘wasted bet.’

On last night's (Nov 29) edition of The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly distanced himself from the masses and admitted that he is in no way a fan of Korean singer Psy's massive YouTube hit 'Gangnam Style.'

Describing the singer as "a little fat guy from Pyongyang or some place," O'Reilly invited on to the show Fox News's resident 'psychiatrist' Keith Ablow to deconstruct the show, whilst also making perfectly clear that Psy is not Elvis Presley, nor will he ever be anything life him regardless of the Korean (that's South Korea, not North Korea like O'Reilly seems to think) current success.

The two spoke on the hot topic for about five minutes, with the conservative commentator and Ablow deconstructing and disagreeing with all of the hit song. At one point, Albow made the assertion that 'Gangnam Style' appeals to the masses because it is about "nothing," and that the song was mostly "without intelligible words" (and we kind of see his point).

Continue reading: Bill O'Reilly Not Taken In By The Psy Hype

A restaurant in Los Angeles has renamed itself Gangnam Style but Korean rapper Psy hasn’t been bothered by the move and will not be asking the restaurant’s owners to change it. The Koreatown restaurant was originally known as Soju Town. Last month, after a brief period of closure, the restaurant opened again, with a new name – an obvious homage to Psy’s hit single.

The restaurant owners didn’t think to ask Psy if he minded them dedicating their restaurant to his novelty hit and TMZ learned that his management team were initially none too pleased to learn about it. They reportedly considered taking legal action but as Psy himself wasn’t too bothered, they thought better of it. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right? Well, Psy certainly thinks so. Looks like the restaurant owners got off lightly with this one. We reckon it will have the (presumably desired) effect of getting more punters through the doors… especially now the story has been splashed across the news!

It’s been a cracking few months for Psy, whose Gangnam Style video became a viral hit after being uploaded to YouTube. It was recently announced that he’s toppled Justin Bieber by now having the most watched video on the site. Gangnam Style is everywhere… even in your local restaurants, now.

Surprise! Oh hang on, no… this particular little nugget of celebrity news story will come as a surprise to no one. Except possibly Justin Bieber, who will undoubtedly be having a hissy fit in his overalls right now. That’s right folks. The news you’ve all been waiting for. Kim Kardashian has snatched Bieber’s crown as Bing.com’s most searched-for celebrity.

This of course, will be a terrible blow for Bieber, who also got bumped off his ‘most watched YouTube’ throne, quite unceremoniously, by South Korean rapper Psy. Oh, the shame. I mean, all those MTV Awards, America Music Awards, the cash, the accolades… they all mean NOTHING if you are not the most searched for celebrity on Bing.com, right? Well, that particular title now belongs to none other than the almighty Kim Kardashian, queen of reality TV, queen of extraneous product lines and queen of general famous for being famousness. The 32 year old is clearly such an important role model to people across the globe that they simply have to search online to keep up to date with her every social movement. Well done Kim, you have worked so hard to get where you are today.

Kim was the top of a Top 10 list comprised almost solely of women. Bieber was a lone male, in a sea of chicks, with Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift all up there keeping him company. Of course, people are only searching for Selena Gomez because they want to know what Bieber’s up to, so she can expect to drop pretty swiftly off that list next year now that they’re no longer dating. Sorry Selena. 

Continue reading: Bieber Bumped Off Bing: Kim Kardashian Is Most Searched For Celeb On Bing.com

Move over Justin Bieber! Psy has just taken your YouTube crown.

Up until very recently, Justin Bieber’s music video ‘Baby,’ which has been online since its February 2010 release, was previously the most-watched YouTube video of all time. The South Korean rapper Psy has very swiftly snatched that accolade from the Canadian pop star, though. Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ has now garnered over 803,761,000 views on YouTube since it was posted there on July 15, 2012, Billboard have reported. That’s a pretty rapid ascent, in comparison!

‘Gangnam Style’ has already taken the mantle for the most number of ‘likes’ on YouTube (5.3 million, and counting), whereas ‘Baby’ only has 1.4 million. Psy is understandably pleased with his latest achievement; we’re guessing he’s barely had time to take a breath since the success of ‘Gangnam Style’ started snowballing, but he did find the time to post a message on his Twitter page, saying “‪#GangnamStyle just became the most watched video ‪@YouTube!! ‪#History” although, it is entirely possible that someone else posted that for him, of course.

Continue reading: Bye Bye, 'Baby!' Psy's 'Gangnam Style' Topples Justin Bieber From YouTube Chart

Watch out, Girls Aloud, because one of Korea’s most popular girl groups, Girls’ Generation are on their way and are planning to release their first ever English language album.

The nine-strong female band, all aged between 21 and 23, have been releasing records for 5 years and have sold in excess of 30 million digital singles and 4.4 million albums in that time, thanks to a helping hand from their Korean management agency SM Entertainment. Now, with the path having been paved by fellow Korean Psy – whose ‘Gangnam Style’ track became a viral hit this year – Girls’ Generation are looking to take their K-pop success to the English-speaking world. They’ll be hoping that Psy’s novelty tracks has increased awareness of K-pop in the UK and other English speaking countries.

According to The Guardian, the band are expecting that their debut English language album will be released in 2013, through Lady GaGa’s label, Interscope. It’s expected that the album will be a huge success; their electropop music and “brilliantly produced” music videos stand them in good stead when it comes to attracting new fans that are currently unaware of their existence. Mio Scobie of US Weekly Magazine, said “They produce feelgood beats, instantly memorable choruses and, as I'm sure people have already noticed, they're stunning. British listeners are used to genres being full of variety, so in terms of people getting disappointed that other K-pop acts aren't like Psy, I doubt that'll be the case.” 

Continue reading: Has Psy Paved The Way For K-Pop's Girls' Generation?

The American Music Awards were dominated by one thing, the same thing that's dominated everything for the past few months: Gangnam Style. 

Everyone was begging to get an interview with the song's creator, Korean rapper Psy, who doesn't miss an opportunity to flaunt the dance move that's taken the world by storm. In a video uploaded by ET Online, many of the high profile attendees at the awards were either attempting their own version of Gangnam, or watching in awe as Psy performed with MC Hammer. "20 years ago I saw MC Hammer on the TV in Korea, and he said, you can't touch this, and 20 years later, I can touch him right now," Psy said, to a round of laughter, patting MC Hammer on the back. The pair enjoyed a great performance on stage, well and truly raising the roof as everyone stood up and joined in with the unusual moves. 

The news, perhaps, should have been focussed on the late Dick Clark; the creator of the awards 40 years ago as he tried to offer an alternative to The Grammys. But it was Justin Bieber that dominated proceedings, as he picked up award after award and was seen arm in arm with Selena Gomez. The on again off again couple look to have reconciled, but who can be sure with young love?

Justin Bieber arrives for the AMA Awards in Los Angeles

THe 40th anniversary of the American Music Awards brought out all the big names that you'd expect from the US music industry and more, with stars past and present rubbing shoulders at a truly star-spangled gathering at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles yesterday (November 18, 2012). However, despite the presence of Youtube sensation Psy - who closed the evening by being joined by MC Hammer for his huge hit 'Gangnam Style' - the US biggest selling artist of the year Taylor Swift, and pop royalty Usher and Christina Aguilera, there was only name on everybody's lips. Justin Bieber took home the top award of the evening, Artist Of The Year, and his mom Pattie Mallette was there to celebrate it with him. 

Continue reading: PICTURES: Justin Bieber Wins Big At The American Music Awards 40th Anniversary

There was exciting news for fans of people who’ve invented naff dance moves, as none other than the big-trousered one Mc Hammer joined K-pop sensation Psy on stage at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday evening (November 18).

MC Hammer of course, lest we ever, ever forget, was the man behind ‘U Can’t Touch This’, which saw him flap his legs in a goofy manner that captured the public’s imagination back in 1990. Psy has of course viral in 2012 with his moves for massive hit ‘Gangnam Style’, but paid homage to the American performer by wearing his own pair of overly baggy trousers last night, before calling those immortal words “Stop! It’s hammer time!”

Before we knew it, there he was, MC Hammer, resplendent in white and looking in fine shape for his 50 years of age. He joined in the energetic routine to ‘Gangnam Style’ with gusto, the duo gaining huge applause from a star-studded audience as they brought the curtain down on the annual music industry event. For Psy it seems the dream isn’t going to be stopping any time soon, with the Daily Mail reporting that the video for his smash hit has now been viewed a record breaking 760 million times. Remember when we all thought Gotye’s ‘Somebody I Used To Know’ was the pinnacle of the Youtube viral sensation? Think again, that song now languished on a ‘mere’ 347 million plays.

Continue reading: Psy Saves The Last Dance For MC Hammer At American Music Awards (Video)

 ow has this happened? Psy has gone from being a huge hit in Korea, to household name all over the Western world. And talking of household names, a certain Justin Bieber falls into that category, so pair them up, it all makes perfect sense!

The South Korean hitmaker - who took home Best Video for the track at the MTV Europe Music Awards last night - said his next single will feature more English lyrics and a huge guest star. Asked if he would work with Justin, with whom he shares manager Scooter Braun, Psy said: "So, I already have done with the next track already. I cannot tell you about who it's gonna be with but I'm working with someone else right now and it's going to be huge. I'm working on my next album and single, and it has more English so you can get it. I feel happy and sorry because when I perform the song they look so happy, but they don't have any idea what I'm talking about. So we're gonna have some English in it."

Continue reading: Justin Bieber And Psy To Collaborate On New Track?

Video sensation Psy could be set to record with Justin Bieber on his next single following the immense popularity of worldwide hit 'Gangnam Style'.

Having already signed to Bieber's manager Scooter Braun's record label Schoolboy Records, the collaboration doesn't look massively unlikely; particularly since Psy's infamous music video has officially become the most watched video ever - who wouldn't want to work with him? The South Korean star seems to be dead cert on the partnership telling Capital FM, 'Yeah, so we have a plan to do something together later but we doesn't have any details yet. But, sure - we gonna do some work later on.' Whether or not the pair will be on the next single is questionable, though he has suggested that that could be the case. 'So, I already have done with the next track already', he told The Sun. 'I cannot tell you about who it's gonna be with but I'm working with someone else right now and it's going to be huge.' Hmmm! Definitely, looks like a possibility!

Psy has also revealed that this next single is set to have 'more English' in honour of his new fanbase. 'I feel happy and sorry because when I perform the song they look so happy, but they don't have any idea what I'm talking about', he explained. 'So we're gonna have some English in it.'

The U.S election is getting serious now. Weeks of campaigning, fundraising, polling, imploring and debating culminate tonight, as the votes come in. But, in the charismatic style that helped him win his first term, Obama spoke positively of his ability to dance Korean rapper Psy’s Gangnam style. 

During an Election Day interview with New Hampshire radio station WZID-FM, questions on Mitt Romney and his thoughts on a second term were put aside as he was questioned on the Korean’s viral style, which has now amassed a gigantic 660 million hits on YouTube. "I just saw that video for the first time, and I think I can do that move," said Obama, and then when asked if he could replicate the moves, he said "I'm not sure that the inauguration ball is the appropriate time to break that out," but, then playfully suggested an alternative. "You know, maybe do it privately for Michelle."

Continue reading: U.S Election 2012: Will President Obama Gangnam Style Over The Finish Line?