Psy | |
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PSY at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards in Frankfurt, Germany
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Background information | |
Birth name | Park Jae-sang (박재상, 朴載相) |
Born |
Gangnam District, South Korea |
December 31, 1977
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 1999–present |
Labels |
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Associated acts | |
Website | www |
Birth name | |
Hangul | |
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Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Bak Jae-sang |
McCune–Reischauer | Pak Chae-sang |
Stage name | |
Hangul | |
Revised Romanization | Ssai |
McCune–Reischauer | Ssai |
Park Jae-sang (Hangul: 박재상; Hanja: 朴載相; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (싸이, IPA: [s͈ai]; /ˈsaɪ/ SY), stylized PSY, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage performances, and internationally for his hit single "Gangnam Style". The song's refrain "Oppan Gangnam Style" (translated as "Big brother is Gangnam style", with Psy referring to himself) was entered into The Yale Book of Quotations as one of the most famous quotations of 2012.
On October 23, 2012, Psy met United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN Headquarters where Ban expressed his desire to work with the singer because of his "unlimited global reach". On December 21, 2012, his music video for "Gangnam Style" exceeded one billion views on YouTube, becoming the first video to do so in the website's history. Psy was subsequently recognized by the media as the "King of YouTube". On May 31, 2014, the video for Psy's Gangnam Style hit two billion views. As of December 2016, it is still the most viewed video on YouTube, with over 2.7 billion views.
In December 2012, MTV noted Psy's rise from litte known outside South Korea to an international superstar, and, for being first in the YouTube-era to secure a place in pop-culture history, hailed the singer as the "Viral Star of 2012". On December 31, 2012, Psy performed in a globally televised New Year's Eve celebration with American rapper MC Hammer on-stage in front of a live audience of over a million people in Times Square, New York City.