PSY's 'Gangham Style' Has Already Earned the Singer $8.1 Million and Counting

South Korean pop sensation PSY -- born Park Jae-sang -- has shattered YouTube records with his earworm hit "Gangnam Style," a song that managed to eclipse even Carly Rae-Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" to become the definitive, Internet-launched smash single of 2012.


But what is that kind of runaway success worth, in dollars?
According to the Associated Press, the amount is $8.1 million in 2012 alone -- not too shabby for a virtual unknown whose personal mantra for success is "dress classy and dance cheesy."
The YouTube views -- now hovering at 880 million, 70 million more than second-place Justin Bieber's "Baby" -- account for $870,000 in ad-supported revenue for the singer.
Then there are downloads and CD sales: The single has been downloaded 2.9 million times in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, at a price of $1.29 per iTunes download. Apple keeps 30 percent of that. Total take for PSY: $2.6 million.
Finally, there are the endorsements and ad campaigns. In his home country, PSY's song has been popping up in commercials for Samsung and LG, while PSY himself has been hired to pitch a Samsung refrigerator and a leading noodle company.
The AP quotes an analyst who estimates the value of these various deals to be worth about $4.6 million. 
What do you think? Is "Gangnam Style" worth $8.1 million?

PSY's 'Gangnam Style' Now Most-Watched YouTube Video of All Time

The South Korean star's hit topples Justin Bieber's "Baby" by earning around 803,761,000 views since being posted in July.

PSY's "Gangnam Style" is now the most-watched YouTube video of all time. The 4:13 clip from the South Korean rapper has earned approximately 803,761,000 views since it was posted on July 15, 2012. Early on Saturday, that total passed the longtime YouTube champ -- the music video for Justin Bieber's "Baby," which has garnered 803,732,000 views since its February 2010 release.

"Gangnam Style" already set YouTube's record for the Most Liked video ever posted to the site, with its total now standing at 5.3 million Likes and 323,000 Dislikes. Bieber's "Baby" clip has 1.4 million Likes and 3.1 million Dislikes.

VIDEO: Top 10 'Gangnam Style' Parodies
Bieber's "Baby" clip enjoyed an impressive run at the top of the YouTube heap, becoming the most-watched video on the site in July 2010. At that time, the clip had collected more than 246 million views to leapfrog over Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance.

"#GangnamStyle just became the most watched video @YouTube!! #History," PSY posted to Twitter on Saturday morning in celebration of the achievement.

Over the four months since the "Gangnam Style" video was posted on YouTube, PSY and his electro-pop anthem has inspired nothing short a pop culture phenomenon. The veteran K-pop artist has performed the "Gangnam Style" dance alongside Britney Spears, Madonna and most recently MC Hammer at the 2012 American Music Awards. In early September, the 34-year-old signed to Scooter Braun's Schoolboy Records, to become label mates with Bieber.

VIDEO: From The Twist to Gangnam Style: 5 Pop Culture Dances
 "Gangnam Style" peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Hot 100, spending seven weeks in the runner-up spot behind Maroon 5's "One More Night."

PSY was able to climb to the top spot of Billboard's Social 50 tally in late August thanks to the viral success of "Gangnam." Although Bieber no longer owns the top YouTube video, the teen star can take solace in the fact that his personal Twitter account ( @justinbieber) has 30.6 million followers, dwarfing PSY's Twitter following of 1.3 million.

Korean PSY Gangnam Style in Singapore Saturday NIGHT FEVER FREE Showcase

Singapore, are you ready to Horse Dance=Gangnam Style?

Singapore is set to go Gangnam crazy this weekend. 
 
Singaporeans, are you ready to Gangnam Style?

Korean superstar Psy, whose real name is Park Jai-sang, will be in town this Saturday, 1 December, for a free one-hour public showcase at Marina Bay Sands' Event Plaza.

Wanna-bes will be able to learn from the 34-year-old master of the "horse dance" himself as he performs his smash hit together with kids from O School, a performing arts centre for youth that is the integrated resort's designated charity.

The first 4,000 fans can register for a free ticket by going to this Facebook page.

 Performance will start at 8pm on Saturday.

"Gangnam Style" recently surpassed Justin Bieber's "Baby" as the most-watched YouTube video ever with over 800 million views and counting.

Question is, what will Psy be doing for the rest of the 55-minute showcase?

Entertainment News:

Wacky Korean singer makes YouTube history , CLICK FOR GANGNAM STYLE YOUTUBES MOST VIEWED  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0  2.  PARODY VERSION

3. Singaporean Style (Gangnam Style Parody)

4. Psy-Oppa Gangnam Style [Chipmunk]

5. Mr Bean Dances Gangnam Style

WATCH EMPOWER NETWORK VIDEO .

6. Gangnam Style Dancing Baby

Singapore Actress Jacelyn Tay : Gangnam Style almost cost me my life.
GANGNAM Style by Psy has proven to be a killer hit. No thanks to the catchy K-pop song. http://theinnozablog.blogspot.sg/2012/11/singapore-actress-jacelyn-tay-gangnam.html

Related stories:
1.South Korean rapper Psy arrives at the 40th American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, November 18, 2012.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - South Korean rap star Psy's music video "Gangnam Style" on Saturday became the most watched item ever posted to YouTube with more than 800 million views, edging past Canadian teen star Justin Bieber's 2-year-old video for his song "Baby."

The milestone was the latest pop culture victory for Psy, 34, a portly rap singer known for his slicked-back hair and comic dance style who has become one of the most unlikely global stars of 2012.

Psy succeeded with a video that generated countless parodies and became a media sensation. He gained more fame outside his native country than the more polished singers in South Korea's so-called K-Pop style who have sought to win international audiences.

YouTube, in a post on its Trends blog, said "Gangnam Style" on Saturday surpassed the site's previous record holder, Bieber's 2010 music video "Baby," and by mid-day "Gangnam Style" had reached 805 million views, compared to 803 million for "Baby." Within a few hours, "Gangnam Style" had gone up to more than 809 million views.

"Gangnam Style" was first posted to YouTube in July, and by the following month it began to show huge popularity on YouTube with audiences outside of South Korea.

"It's been a massive hit at a global level unlike anything we've ever seen before," said the YouTube blog.

The blog also said the "velocity" of the video's popularity has been unprecedented for YouTube.

In his "Gangnam Style" video the outlandishly dressed, sunglass-wearing Psy raps in Korean and dances in the style of an upper-crust person riding an invisible horse.

The song is named after the affluent Gangnam District of Seoul and it mocks the rampant consumerism of that suburb. Psy, whose real name is Park Jai-sang, is no stranger to wealth as his father is chairman of a South Korean semiconductor company.

His parents sent him to business school in the United States but he confesses that he bought musical instruments with his tuition money. He later graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and won fame in South Korea with his 2001 debut album.

The viral success of "Gangnam Style" on YouTube also has translated into strong record sales. In late September, the song jumped to the top of the British pop charts and it also has sold well in other countries.

Popular parodies of the "Gangnam Style" video included one featuring the University of Oregon's duck mascot, and another done in the "Star Trek" language Klingon.

The official YouTube view count for Gangnam Style represents only the figure for the original video posted to the site, but copycat versions, parodies and videos by people commenting on the song have been posted to the site and elsewhere on the Web.

Counting all those different versions, "Gangnam Style" and its related videos have more than 2.2 billion views across the Internet, said Matt Fiorentino, spokesman for the online video tracking firm Visible Measures.

"Without the dance, I don't think it would have been as big as it is," Fiorentino said. "And the other thing is, Psy has a unique sense of humor which comes through in the video. He doesn't take himself too seriously."

SEOUL: Psy made his quirky debut in South Korea's K-pop industry back in 2001 but it wasn't until July that he began shooting to global fame with "Gangnam Style" -- now the most-watched video of all time on YouTube.

A rare sense of humour and irony distinguished the chubby rapper, now 34, from his peers in the manufactured world of K-pop and made him an unlikely worldwide success.As of Sunday "Gangnam Style" -- whose wacky music and dance moves mock the hedonistic lifestyle of the upmarket southern Seoul neighbourhood -- had registered almost 814 million views in four months.

The video has inspired thousands of online imitations of Psy's famous horse-ride dance, and flash mobs of tens of thousands in Paris, Rome and Milan.The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard's pop chart for seven weeks in a row after sweeping the charts in countries including Australia and Britain.
World figures swept up in the fever include UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama, who either tried out the dance or marvelled at its popularity.
Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-Sang, gained the ultimate showbiz accolade by teaming up with Madonna in the pop diva's concert and performing a special version of "Gangnam Style" with MC Hammer in the American Music Awards.

YouTube called the music video -- which Saturday overtook Justin Bieber's "Baby" in number of views -- "a massive hit at a global level unlike anything we've ever seen before".Billboard.com noted it racked up the YouTube milestone in about four months compared to more than two years for "Baby", calling it "nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon".

Psy's dramatic rise has been viewed with a mixture of pride and surprise in his home country, whose music industry has long been dominated by prettified, highly-manufactured girl and boy bands.

Having taken Asia by storm over the past decade with bubblegum hooks and dance moves staged with military precision, K-pop in recent years has garnered a small but growing fan base among teenagers in parts of Europe and America.
But none has come close to the worldwide popularity of the homely Psy.

"Psy is right at the opposite of our typical K-pop stars who are extremely preened and whose every single move is strictly dictated by their agent," prominent music critic Kang Hun told AFP.

Humour, especially satire, is rare in the mainstream Korean music scene and that, coupled with Psy's embrace of his anti-pop idol looks, has set him apart.

The singer, well known at home for his humorous and explosive stage performances, has long been a somewhat provocative figure in Korea.

He was once convicted in Seoul of smoking marijuana. Several of his earlier songs and music videos were banned for those aged under 18 because of what state censors deemed to be overly sexual lyrics or bad language.

In 2007 Psy was forced to serve a second period of compulsory military service after it was revealed that he had continued with his showbiz interests during his first two-year stint.

"Psy has long had very freewheeling, humorous and even provocative elements in his songs which are utterly lacking in most young K-pop idols," Kang said.

"I think 'Gangnam Style' is a pinnacle of such a humourous, non-serious bad-boy style of his. And apparently people around the world can relate to his self-deprecating sense of humour."Psy himself says he invites laughter and not ridicule.

"My motto is to be funny, but not stupid," he once said in an interview with Yonhap news agency.

It remains to be seen if "Gangnam Style" will prove anything more than a one-hit wonder. Psy is set to release a new album in English and Korean early next year which will be distributed globally.

But even if it takes off, it will be hard to replicate the success of "Gangnam Style", said Han Koo-Hyun, the head of the Korean Wave Research Institute.

"His next song will be able to rack up at least hundreds of millions of views due to the popularity of 'Gangnam Style' but will never be more popular than 'Gangnam Style', said Han.

"This is too huge a success to accomplish twice."

 K-pop sensation Psy (C) performs the "Gangnam Style" dance with 
Mark Webber (L) and Sebastian Vettel before the start of the Korean Grand Prix on October 14. 
Psy admitted that he was staggered by his new-found global fame
 as he brought his signature horse dance to his home grand prix on Sunday.