Girls' Generation tops 3 Oricon chartsPopular K-pop group Girls' Generation on Tuesday topped three Japanese Oricon weekly charts, including Singles, for the first time both as female artists and as a foreign group, the group's management agency said. The girl group placed first on Oricon's weekly Singles chart with its fifth Japanese single album "Oh!" released on Sept. 26, S.M. Entertainment said. In addition, the "Girls' Generation Complete Video Collection" DVD and Blu-ray, which were released on the same day, also topped the weekly charts of their respective divisions, the company said. The nine-member group is scheduled to release its sixth Japanese single album "Flower Power" on Nov. 14. (Yonhap)Oct 2, 2012
'Gangnam Style' tops British single chartK-pop viral phenomenon Psy's hit "Gangnam Style" topped the formal British music chart on Sunday (local time) for the first time for a Korean singer, a company in charge of compiling the chart said. According to the Official Chart Company, Psy jumped to No. 1 on the British Official Singles Chart with his popular track and famous horse-riding dance, after the song debuted on the chart six weeks ago. "He's done it! Gangnam Style fever has swept the globe this month and today officially conquers the U.K., galloping all the way to Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart," the company said on its Web site. Sales of the tune soared by 73 percent over the course of the week to defeat last week's top single "Hall of Fame" by The Script, the company said. Psy plans to celebrate conquering the chart by visiting Britain, according to the company. "Thanks to all the U.K. fans out there for supporting me and 'Gangnam Style.' Guess what? I am coming!" the company quoted the 35-year-old singer as saying. The catchy song along with peppy horse-riding moves earned second place on Oct 1, 2012
'Enough is not enough'By Rachel Lee Today is the fourth day in a row that The Korea Times has given Psy front page treatment. Even in the newsroom, some may complain about overexposure or worry about readers’ reactions. We in the business know some news keeps coming, making us feel as if it has a life of its own. Psy and his hit song, “Gangnam Style,” are like that. In the Friday edition, for example, the decision was made to place news about his song rising to No. 2 on the Billboard Chart inside, but just before the deadline, photos of Psy jamming Gangnam Style with Eric Schmidt, chief of Google, which operates YouTube, where the song has gone viral, were made available. With little hesitation, we decided to go for the Psy-Schmidt photo in spite of our plan to make the chubby singer the subject of our weekend photo essay. Today’s photo lives up to the Psy spirit of defying conventional wisdom _ him hanging upside down and looking at us with a broad smile on his face. Maybe, he is happy to prove all others wrong by becoming a global star with a “class-B” act or is trying to conceal bewildSep 28, 2012
Psy's 'Gangnam Style' ranks 2nd in BillboardWASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- "Gangnam Style," a song by South Korean rapper and YouTube sensation Psy, jumped to second place on Billboard's Hot 100 chart Wednesday. The song entered the chart two weeks ago, ranking 64th, and soared the 11th last week. Psy's "Gangnam Style" has been "powered by buzz generated by its video in which the Korean rapper shows off his horse-imitating moves," read a note on the website Billboard.biz. It has only one step to go for the summit in the chart, with Maroon 5's "One More Night" spending a second week at the top. "Gangnam Style" refers to the lavish and trendy lifestyle associated with the Gangnam district of Seoul. Returning from a two-week trip to the U.S., Psy said he would take his shirt off and dance to "Gangnam Style" in front of crowds if he reaches the top of the Billboard chart. He has already topped the iTunes Chart in 30 countries with his the song, according to his management agency, YG Entertainment.Sep 27, 2012
How far are you going Psy?As far as I can ... By Rachel Lee As much as Koreans are wondering who will become the next president in December, they are also guessing just how far Psy will go with his song “Gangnam Style.” Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, had no idea his music video would go so viral within a couple of months of its release. But relatively fluent in English and full of chutzpah, he is having no problems touring through different countries and appearing on leading American television shows. He is also setting some unprecedented records, both pleasantly surprising and alarming the K-pop industry. The song recently broke a Guinness World Record to become the most “liked” video on YouTube and has accumulated over 260 million views. It has also topped the iTunes Chart in 30 countries and climbed to 11 on the United States’ Billboard Chart and became the United Kingdom’s the Official Charts Company’s No. 3. It is a first for a Korean song to ever make it that high on American and British charts. “It’s huge here. I really like it,” Harry McKinley, art director at PositiveLuxurySep 25, 2012
Psy's 'Gangnam Style' tops 250 million YouTube viewsKorean rapper-singer Psy topped 250 million views on YouTube with the music video of his hit single "Gangnam Style" on Monday. According to YouTube, the music video has attracted 260.62 million views on the 72nd day since its release on July 15. "Gangnam Style" quickly became a global sensation after the music video spawned a series of copycat videos on the Internet. The music video, highlighted by Psy's horse-riding dance moves, topped the 100 million mark on Sept. 4, 150 million mark on Sept. 12 and 200 million mark on Sept. 18, the 66th day since its release. Psy also jumped to No. 11 on U.S. Billboard's coveted Hot 100 chart last Wednesday, a week after making his chart debut at No. 64 with the new song. He is now facing entry to the top 10 list. He has remained at No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes Chart since he became the first Korean artist to reach the top spot on Sept. 15. With his popularity spreading from the U.S., where the single first caught on fire, to Europe and Latin America, Psy remained at No. 1 on the iTunes worldwide chart as he topped the iTunes Chart in Sep 24, 2012
‘Gangnam Style’ breaks Guinness RecordBy Rachel Lee There seems to be no stopping Psy as he continues to horse-ride throughout the world and break records. Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video has broken a Guinness World Record to become the most-“liked” video on YouTube video of all time. According to Guinness World Records on Sept. 20, the video of the 34-year-old rapper racked up 2,141,758 likes since it was first uploaded on July 15. It added that the video quickly overshadowed the previous records by LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” (1,574,963 likes), Justin’s Bieber’s “Baby” (1,327,147 likes) and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” (1,245,641 likes). Dan Barrett, Guinness World Records Community Manager, commented, “Having been the ‘Have you seen this?!’ video of the last two months across the web, it’s great to be able to award a record for this tremendously popular video. In years past it was unthinkable that something would be viewed a hundred million times, and now ‘Gangnam Style’ has achieved more than twice this figure in just three months on YouTube.” Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, appeared on theSep 23, 2012
Psy tops iTunes chart in 30 countriesKorean rapper-singer Psy topped the iTunes Chart in 30 countries with his single "Gangnam Style," YG Entertainment said Friday. Psy's management agency in Seoul said "Gangnam Style" ranked as the top single on Britain iTunes after enrapturing fans in such countries as the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Argentina and Brazil. Sep 22, 2012
TVXQ to start first world tour in NovemberPopular Korean boy band TVXQ will kick off its first world tour in November, the group's management agency said Thursday. The tour titled "Catch Me" will begin in Seoul on Nov. 17-18 and will take the group to China, Thailand and other countries around the world until next year, S.M. Entertainment said. The countries to be part of the world tour have not yet been decided, except for China and Thailand, the company added. "Catch Me" is also the title of TVXQ's long-awaited sixth regular album scheduled for release on Monday. The group will perform various songs from their newest album, the agency said. The Seoul performance will be the group's first solo concert to be held in Korea since February 2009. The group is scheduled to resume its domestic activities after its album release on Monday. (Yonhap)Sep 20, 2012
IU on Billboard's top 21 list for underage musiciansKorean singer IU claimed the 15th spot on the U.S. Billboard's "21 Under 21: Music's Hottest Minors 2012" list, according to the magazine. Billboard, an international newsweekly magazine devoted to the music industry, said the 19-year-old singer "affectionately known as the nation's 'little sister,'" became a bona fide superstar this year for her "unique charm and undeniable hits." It said the singer's reign began with the release of her comeback single "You and I," the No. 1 song of Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100 chart of the past year, which was released in August. "While IU hasn't hit the same level of global viral awareness as Psy, her popularity has led to success in Japan, where she celebrated Hot 100 hits with Japanese versions of 'You and I' and her single 'Good Day'," the magazine said. The list was populated by artists such as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and One Direction.(Yonhap) Sep 19, 2012