YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk did not hold back his praise for singer PSY who has now become a world star, saying, ““Gangnam Style” is not a hit K-Pop song, but rather, it is a major incident that marks a turning point for Korean music.”
PSY’s “Gangnam Style” has currently risen to #4 on the US iTunes chart, and continues to rank high on the iTunes Chart for 15 different countries.
In regards to this, CEO Yang remarked, “The fact that a Korean song sung by a Korean artist who did not release an album in America rose to #4 on the US iTunes and still continues to rise, in addition to the fact that “Gangnam Style” is #1 on the iTunes Charts of countries PSY has never even been to, is a phenomenon that cannot be explained with words.”
“This is the greatest success reaped on an overseas stage in the history of Korean music, and I think it may be a record that will be hard to break for the time being,” Papa YG continued. “Simply put, I am astonished beyond belief (laughs).”
However, it’s only now that “Gangnam Style” will really begin to shock the world. This is because PSY has very simply and effortlessly accomplished great feats that no Korean artist before him has been able to, during the brief trips to America he managed to take in between handling his work in Korea.
“The amazing thing is that this is only the beginning of PSY’s attack on the US market,” YG continued. “As soon as “Gangnam Style” reached 100 million views on YouTube, the numbers began to increase even more rapidly. This can be seen as proof that PSY’s influence has spread not only throughout Korea and Asia, but all across the world as well.”
YG displayed confidence as he added, “A reality that seems more like a dream than a dream itself will unfold before PSY’s eyes. No goal seems impossible at this point, whether it be #1 on the US iTunes or breaking the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart.”
The truth is, PSY being able to take the world by storm without officially debuting in the States is all thanks to Papa YG who for years used Social Networking Services to thoroughly prepare for an overseas attack. Different from other agencies who focused on television music programs and variety show appearances, YG had chosen to largely reduce the number of television appearances for his artists.
Instead, YG created an independent YouTube channel and launched a YG Blog so that anyone across the world could very easily get their hands on the songs and MVs of the YG Entertainment artists.
Even during an interview with OSEN that took place long before PSY’s international success, CEO Yang had remarked, “The reason why we spend a large amount of money on a single MV and film MVs for not only the title track but also a number of other subtracks is because we would like fans and anyone else to be able to enjoy YG content.”
The business strategy of Yang Hyun Suk who only focuses on content and easily adjusts to new media environments is drawing major attention from the public who are curious to know how much further he can raise the bar for K-Pop in the global market.
Source & Image: OSEN via Nate
