Reaction shot videos, lip-synch response clips and countless GIFs are the markers of a viral video success. Many US music videos garner some of this attention, but PSY's video for "Gangnam Style" has penetrated the English speaking world like no other K-Pop song/video. Check the Wall Street Journal for their interview with the star and director, Park Jae-Sang - aka PSY.
PSY is a Berklee College trained musician with a history of cross-dressing, releasing albums that get banned in his homeland of Korea and generally 'taking the piss' out of the hyper-serious K-Pop scene. PSY's amazing pony dance and Keaton-esque deadpanning poke fun at the idea of showing off with material goods and glamorous locations, and that is always fun. Speaking of glamorous locations - DUCK BOATS!
The song is imppssibly catchy, but what 'Gangnam Style' does so effectively is take all the conventions of Korean Pop music (and all pop, really) and turn them up past 11. PSY's 'love interest' in the second half of the clip is K-Pop star Hyun-a from the group 4Minute and check out how deadly, super, ultra-serious her group can be. It's no wonder she seems to be having so much fun goofing off in the behind the scenes video - relieved at not having to be the hyper sexy vixen for a day.
A sense of humor seems to be the key to the success of all these viral music video explosions (think OK Go) - using jokes aimed at the artists themselves to punch holes in the self-serious conventions of star-making. K-Pop certainly isn't any more up it's own ass than US popular music (Hi, Creed) but PSY may have created the final word in making fun of what we all do for a living.
Try and not do the dance down the hallway at work now, I dare you, you subverted of the mainstream, you.
Doug Stern writes things, especially treatments for commercial and music videos.
