When “Gangnam Style” was released in 2012, its popularity was simply astonishing.
The hit by YG artist PSY shattered the belief that Asian stars couldn’t amass global appeal. It also sent record executives from major Korean labels, who’ve been desperate to break into the American market, scurrying back to the drawing board.
The song got popular—Fast. Its music video amassed hundreds of millions of views in a matter of weeks. Months after it debuted on YouTube, “Gangnam Style” trampled Justin Bieber’s “Baby” underfoot to become the first music video in history to hit 1 billion views on YouTube.
PSY’s follow-up effort actually seems like it didn’t catch on in the same manner (even though it currently stands at close to 700 million views…), leading some to feel that the YG rapper would be buried and forgotten.
Apparently this wasn’t the case.
Over the past year and a half, the view count continued to tick upward. Then late Friday evening…it happened. Again!
Psy's 'Gangnam Style' MV surpasses 2 billion views on YouTube! http://t.co/qUeN1z1y7h pic.twitter.com/kMj2GOWYjJ
— allkpop (@allkpop) May 31, 2014
PSY’s “Gangnam Style” has officially been viewed over 2 billion times. It also has more than 5 million comments and 8 million likes!
Some blame this continued rise in views on desperate trolls determined to spam views for the sake of making the video’s view count as massive as possible.
The people who think like this tend to be basement dwellers who feel everyone has that kind of time and lack of a social life.
very honorable and burdensome numbers. With the appreciation,I'll come back soon with more joyful one! #THX pic.twitter.com/Jay0pqeEZy
— PSY (@psy_oppa) May 31, 2014
The truth is, as unfathomable as it may be for some, is that this is just one heck of a popular song.
“Gangnam Style” features a rather goofy fun dance and a catchy hook and appeals to people of all ages and backgrounds.
The Kpop video also contains one of the funniest and most bizarre moments of any music video that has been released to date.
I mean, does ANYONE understand what was going on in that elevator?
In any case, congratulations to PSY and all of his fans in South Korea and around the world.
No doubt they’re thrilled at the enduring popularity of this music video and song.
How @psy_oppa’s #GangnamStyle spread across the globe → http://t.co/bLJJ6FHryF
— YouTube (@YouTube) May 31, 2014
If you somehow managed to miss out on this highly popular song and video over the past couple of years, you can check it out below:
Image via YouTube