Gangnam Style Facts for Kids

"Gangnam Style" is a famous K-pop song by South Korean singer Psy. It came out on July 15, 2012. The song was the main single from his album, Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1.

The phrase "Gangnam Style" talks about the fancy and rich way of life in the Gangnam area of Seoul, South Korea. The song became very popular very quickly. It was loved for its catchy beat and Psy's funny dance moves.

The song and its music video became a huge viral hit in August 2012. They influenced popular culture all over the world. In the United States, "Gangnam Style" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was the highest a South Korean artist had ever charted at that time.

By the end of 2012, "Gangnam Style" was number one in over 30 countries. These included Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Psy's dance in the music video became a global sensation. People everywhere tried to copy it.

The song won "Best Video" at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2012. Many people and groups made their own funny versions of the video. On December 21, 2012, "Gangnam Style" made history. It was the first YouTube video to reach one billion views.

The music video was the most watched video on YouTube for a long time. It held this record from November 24, 2012, until July 10, 2017. Famous leaders like British Prime Minister David Cameron and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon even tried the dance. Ban Ki-moon called it "a force for world peace." In 2013, US President Barack Obama mentioned "Gangnam Style" as an example of the Korean Wave of culture.

Amazing Achievements and Records
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Amazing Achievements and Records

"Gangnam Style" achieved many impressive things. It won several awards and broke major records.

Top Awards and Recognition

The song received many awards for its music and video.

In 2012, it won "Best Video" at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards.
It also won "Song of the Year" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards and the 2012 Melon Music Awards.
In 2013, it won the "Digital Daesang" (Grand Prize) at the Golden Disk Awards.
It was named "International Song of the Year" and "Music Video of the Year" at the NRJ Music Awards.
The song also won "Song of the Year" at the Korean Music Awards.
In 2014, it won "World's Best Song" at the World Music Awards.

Breaking YouTube Records

"Gangnam Style" set many new records, especially on YouTube.

Most viewed K-pop video on YouTube: On September 1, 2012, it became the most watched K-pop video. It passed "Gee" by Girls' Generation.
Most liked video on YouTube: On September 13, 2012, it became the most liked video. It received over 1.57 million "likes." This earned it a Guinness World Record.
First K-pop song to top the UK Singles Chart: On October 6, 2012, Psy became the first South Korean artist to reach number one in the UK.
Most viewed video on YouTube: On November 24, 2012, it became the most watched video on YouTube. It passed "Baby" by Justin Bieber.
First video in Internet history to be viewed more than a billion times: On December 21, 2012, it reached one billion views. This was a first for any video online.
First video in Internet history to be viewed more than two billion times: On May 31, 2014, it reached two billion views.

Media Highlights

Many important music magazines and critics praised "Gangnam Style."

Rolling Stone magazine put it on their list of the 50 best songs of 2012.
Time magazine chose it as the second best song of 2012. They called it a "good-natured, mind-bendingly catchy lampoon."
The music video was also chosen as the best music video of 2012 by Time magazine. They said it "sparked an International dance craze."
Rolling Stone also ranked the video number one on their "Best Music Videos of 2012" list.

Interesting Facts

In 2012, "Gangnam Style" was the most popular song played on New Year's Eve in the UK. It was also the most sung song on online karaoke services.
On December 1, 2014, YouTube announced something amazing. "Gangnam Style" had so many views that it broke their old view counter! YouTube had to upgrade its system to count even higher numbers. A YouTube spokesperson said, "We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer, but that was before we met Psy."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the song was briefly not allowed in gyms in South Korea. This was because its fast beat (132 beats per minute) might make people breathe too heavily or sweat too much.

Images for kids

Gangnam District in Seoul
Search volume for K-pop since 2008 according to Google Trends
Dancers performing "Gangnam Style" at the Gimje Horizon Festival
Psy with the "Gangnam Style" logo in September 2012
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Clayton Anderson, flight engineer of the International Space Station's 15th expedition dances "Gangnam Style" in a parody uploaded by the space agency NASA
GCF Songdo Style
"Gangnam Style" as parodied in a comic strip published by Dyess AFB, an airbase of the U.S. Air Force
Psy performing "Gangnam Style" during Future Music Festival Asia 2013 at Sepang.
Psy performs Gangnam Style at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball concert in Los Angeles

Gangnam Style facts for kids

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