‘Gangnam Style’ Loses Its Top Spot on the Youtube Charts

by Elan Zohar, Brentwood School senior(Korea Times Student Intern Reporter)

The international hit and global sensation “Gangnam Style” by South Korean artist Psy has finally been dethroned as the most watched video on Youtube. The song that caught its seemingly insurmountable viewer count was “See You Again” by American talents Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. “See You Again” has amassed upwards of 2.9 billion views, while “Gangnam Style” currently sits at 2.895 billion.

Although most who have listened to it over the years did not even know the meaning of its words, “Gangnam Style” has become one of the most recognizable recordings in modern history. Its artist, Psy, has risen to global fame and has become a symbol in the thriving K-Pop business and Korean culture as a whole. The flamboyant and over-the-top music video, released in 2012, was the first Youtube video to hit one billion views. Later on, the video reached so many views that Youtube had to update its view counter to a more advanced 64-bit system that is now capable of counting views in the quintillions.

“See You Again,” on the other hand, is a song from the movie “Furious 7,” part of the multi-film series of car racing movies. The song, released in 2015, is dedicated to one of the movie‘s star actors, Paul Walker, after he was involved in a car crash that took his life. Its music video features an emotional tribute and striking imagery in reference to Walker.

Both videos have broken boundaries and influenced viewers around the world. More than 21,700 years of total video time has been watched between the two monumental videos. However, Spanish song “Despacito” by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi is on the way up to topple both of them with a view count that has never been seen before – 2.5 billion in only six months.

Elan Zohar, Brentwood School senior(Korea Times Student Intern Reporter)

2 Comments

1. HA Wertheimco

   July 23, 2017 at 6:36 AM

   Excellent reporting of Korean and other Pop Cultures. Bravo!

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