Saturday, September 29, 2012

Psy (Gangnam Style) - Unexpected Asian American Superstar

If you've been living under a rock or some remote island without Internet access, it may be news to you that there's a major new dance sweeping the world by South Korean rapper Psy:

Gangnam Style - Psy

I had read about the song when it was released in July but I never really paid attention.  As much as I like reading things, I'm not the most up to date on the latest pop culture.   I finally gave in and checked the song / video when it had just hit over 100 million views.  I thought it was a bit silly but as a fan of dance music, it had a bit of charm that made me wanted to listen to it.

Initially, I admit that I compared Psy to American Idol's William Hung.   The only reason I noted that was no other Asian-American born individual performed has garnered as much attention as Psy did.   William Hung was liked (sort of) because of geeky nature and not because of he had great musical ability.

Upon further research though, I found that I was incorrect in my comparisons.  Psy is a well known rapper in South Korea and had released six total albums.   In watching some of his other videos lately, he has a bit of swagger about him and at least one of his other songs is pretty good.

What was most surprising to me was that Psy went to college in the United States.   Thus, his English is very good and he gives great interviews.   He is down to earth but has a great sense of humor and doesn't mind making fun of himself.

There has been a push by South Koreans to push K-POP into the United States but most of the efforts have been only mildly successful.  Psy probably doesn't fit the traditional mold of K-POP but that may be exactly the reason why he has broken through.  Gangnam Style has a charm that has obviously caught on.  But like Yao Ming in the NBA, Psy's ability to express himself in English will endear him greatly to the world.  For many Asian born performers, their lack of English skills hinder them a bit as something always gets lost in the translation.  Psy will not have that problem.

Psy doesn't quite realize it yet, but he has given Asian-Americans a face in the entertainment industry that has been sorely lacking.  The Far East Movement had succeeded previously but I don't think they have garnered world wide attention as Psy did in the past few months.

To be fair, Psy is Korean born and I doubt he will be speaking on Asian-American issues anytime soon.  But an Asian face hitting the top of the charts around the English speaking world is definitely note worthy.   Let's hope that Psy is not a one-hit wonder and he can continue to be in the public eye for years to come.

0 comments: