When we come to most popular video of 2012, I guess every one on earth will be reminded of A Korean Guy and his song Gangnam Style.
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I was hit by this song when it becomes popular at the first place until I realize everyone was talking about this song and the dance steps in the video. I am curious about why it is so popular in a sudden.And Following is the answers I found.
---Reference : 9gag.com
FreakThe term above is from this article by Jonah Sachs and PSY is under this category.
Korean stars conjures the image of handsome guys and pretty girls singing and dancing to hot music. Being 34 and few would describe him as good looking, PSY is not the norm of what people perceive about Korean music or even stars in general. Apart from his age and appearance, the way he shot his MV also contribute to this factor. The outlandish dance moves and behaviors in public spaces coupled with the way he dresses completes the freak package. You don’t get to see amiddle-aged man in his mid 30’s dancing like that in a MV everyday.
Korean stars conjures the image of handsome guys and pretty girls singing and dancing to hot music. Being 34 and few would describe him as good looking, PSY is not the norm of what people perceive about Korean music or even stars in general. Apart from his age and appearance, the way he shot his MV also contribute to this factor. The outlandish dance moves and behaviors in public spaces coupled with the way he dresses completes the freak package. You don’t get to see amiddle-aged man in his mid 30’s dancing like that in a MV everyday.
Humor
Most people if not all who watches his MV will laugh at some point of watching his MV. All of the freaky moments in his MV mentioned above contributed in a good way because they are all funny. If you take the funny element out of his MV, it would alienate most people just like most alternative music do. The term Familiar fromarticle by Jonah Sachs also applies here.
Most people if not all who watches his MV will laugh at some point of watching his MV. All of the freaky moments in his MV mentioned above contributed in a good way because they are all funny. If you take the funny element out of his MV, it would alienate most people just like most alternative music do. The term Familiar fromarticle by Jonah Sachs also applies here.
Easy Dance Steps
Apart of being hilarious, the dance steps created by PSY is quite easy learn. It’s so easy that mani_pap was able to create a 4 step guide above that encapsulate the essence of his dance moves. This is a very important as it contributes to Community Participation. According to Kevin Alloca’s TED Talk of Why Vidoes Go Viral, this is one of the three factors why videos go viral. Kevin is YouTube Trends Manager and if anyone knows about viral videos, it has to be him. Don’t believe me? Go ahead, go search “Gangnam Style Parody” in youtube. You can find tons of videos of varying production quality from USA to Malaysia and the numbers kept increasing.
Apart of being hilarious, the dance steps created by PSY is quite easy learn. It’s so easy that mani_pap was able to create a 4 step guide above that encapsulate the essence of his dance moves. This is a very important as it contributes to Community Participation. According to Kevin Alloca’s TED Talk of Why Vidoes Go Viral, this is one of the three factors why videos go viral. Kevin is YouTube Trends Manager and if anyone knows about viral videos, it has to be him. Don’t believe me? Go ahead, go search “Gangnam Style Parody” in youtube. You can find tons of videos of varying production quality from USA to Malaysia and the numbers kept increasing.
MusicIndustry watchers praised PSY for composing a electro house because this enhances his music’s acceptability in foreign countries such as US as electro music is quite popular there. A lot of people find that Gangnam Style sticks yet a lot of people aren’t aware that it is a genre that is acceptable to them. Just watch this video of teens react to see how fast the tune catches these teens. Due to its familiarity to the west, it Gangnam Style’s audience. No matter how catchy a piece of music is, unless it is accepted, it won’t stick.
Celebrity Endorsement
This is also known as tastemakers in Kevin Alloca’s term. According to Max Fisher’s article, a tweet by American Rapper, T-Pain was retweeted 2,400 times. It doesn’t hurt too when the label that PSY belongs to YG Entertainment promoted his video on their social medias such as Facebook and Youtube. Oh, did I tell you that they happen to have popular bands like Big Bang and 2NE1 under their umbrella? A little celebrity endorsement goes a long way, this is why corporations spent so much on them in advertisements. >
This is also known as tastemakers in Kevin Alloca’s term. According to Max Fisher’s article, a tweet by American Rapper, T-Pain was retweeted 2,400 times. It doesn’t hurt too when the label that PSY belongs to YG Entertainment promoted his video on their social medias such as Facebook and Youtube. Oh, did I tell you that they happen to have popular bands like Big Bang and 2NE1 under their umbrella? A little celebrity endorsement goes a long way, this is why corporations spent so much on them in advertisements. >
Time and Technology
Should PSY’s video be released 7 years ago, he might not have achieved the astronomical success that he enjoyed today. This is because either the technology or the social adoption of the market is not ready. Without the technology to “connect” him to his audiences to the other end of the world, he might only enjoy being a local success.
Should PSY’s video be released 7 years ago, he might not have achieved the astronomical success that he enjoyed today. This is because either the technology or the social adoption of the market is not ready. Without the technology to “connect” him to his audiences to the other end of the world, he might only enjoy being a local success.
Conclusion
It is always easier to look back as we can see the dots. I’m sure PSY himself didn’t foresee his success that he is enjoying now when he was making his MV so just try your best to express yourself or your brand in this ever changing world and have fun while doing so.
It is always easier to look back as we can see the dots. I’m sure PSY himself didn’t foresee his success that he is enjoying now when he was making his MV so just try your best to express yourself or your brand in this ever changing world and have fun while doing so.
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