PSY’S PROVES HIS GLOBAL STARDOM: ‘GENTLEMAN’ REACHES 100M VIEWS MOST QUICKLY ON YOUTUBE – #1 ON BILLBOARD SOON?

Psy’s new music video ‘Gentleman’ is not only viral, but it scored 100 million views in the shortest period of time in Youtube’s history.

His new MV was unveiled for the first time on April 13 at 9p.m., and on Psy’s official Youtube channel alone it raked in 114 million clicks so far on the 17th at 5p.m. The video accumulated 50 million in just 40 hours and 100 million in 80, and this is a record-breaking time frame in Youtube’s history. This means that there were 1.26 million views on average in a single hour, amounting to 30 million per day.

This proves again that Psy is a global star, and is more significant as it would mean that he is not too distant from ranking the top in the American Billboard Single Chart for the first time.

Psy’s previous music video, ‘Gangnam Style’ was absolutely viral, and thanks to the horse-ride dance he was able rise to global stardom. But this gave him more pressure for his next song because if the following song did not lead to another success, that would mean that he will only be remembered as comical South Korean singer of a one-hit wonder.

Psy is known for his easy-going personality, but he was not exempt from the pressure that rose from global expectations. At a press conference just before his concert on April 13, he said, “people tell me to take it easy but it was easier said than done.” But Psy was determined to show the world what he has got and loved for his whole life.

‘Gentleman’ is another addictive video with repetitive lines and an electronic beat to it, and again, is a funny one.

His video is an epitome of irony. He cries out loud that he is a ‘gentleman’ but what he does in the video is nothing like one. He has recreated the choreography of Brown Eyed Girls’ ‘Abracadabra’ in his own style, which now became an ‘arrogant dance’, and it makes any viewers giggle. The members from MBC’s entertainment show Infinite Challenge and Ga In from Brown Eyed Girls appear as cameos, which adds another level of excitement to the video.

Some have expressed concerns about Psy’s strategy for the new video, but he has proven them wrong.

The comical new video gained popularity instantly after its release, and now has pulled in 100 million views in the shortest period of time in Youtube’s history. The song was released before the video on April 12 at zero hour in 119 different countries, and on 17th it has swept across iTunes Top Singles Songs Chart in 30 countries.

The almost-intimidating popularity of ‘Gentleman’ is a testament to Psy’s stardom, and that he is not a one-hit wonder. Billboard, looking at the viewer number skyrocket in such a short period of time, wrote, “PSY is proving he’s more than a one-hit wonder.” Such comment from a major international music website adds more meaning to Psy’s already enormous success.

Psy’s soaring popularity is building up even higher expectations: all eyes are on him now to see whether he can become the very top on Billboard’s Hot 100, a main Single Chart, for the first time.

Until now Billboard created its chart by considering different factors such using Nielson SoundScan, such as number of singles sold and the frequency of digital music download and streaming. But since February this year, the number of Youtube views and frequency of UCC creation has been counted in as well.

This makes it even easier for Psy to become number one on Billboard with ‘Gentleman.’ Looking at the trend of his growing popularity up to the point where he raked in 100 million views, ‘Gentleman’ will be watched in a similar trend for a while. Thus the soaring viewer number on Youtube will be a great contributor to Psy becoming number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first time.

In fact Psy climbed up to the second on Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks with ‘Gangnam Style’ until last November. On February 22, he went up 22 ranks on Hot 100 to become the 26th (the rank was officially published on March 2). This is because the way Billboard evaluate rankings have changed. Some say that if the same method was used at a time when Psy was ranked number two on Hot 100, which includes the number of viewers on Youtube, then Psy would have been on the top.

But Psy’s future ranking is looking positive. Thanks to Billboard, now Psy’s best strength will be counted into the evaluation for Hot 100. And it is great timing that Psy gained 100 million views in the shortest period of time in history. Everything combined, they will bring Psy to a new level of stardom.