South Korean rapper-singer Psy’s hit-single “Gangnam Style” rose to a record Billboard ranking in the local music history on Thursday, driven by the viral success of the wacky music video on the Internet.
“Gangnam Style” ranked 64th on Billboard’s weekly “Hot 100” chart, the U.S. music publication’s main chart for hit singles, according to Billboard’s Web site.
The feat comes less than two weeks after Psy topped Billboard’s “Social 50” chart, which ranks the most popular artists on social media by measuring weekly additions of friends, fans and followers with page views and song plays.
Previously, the “Hot 100” record was held by the Wonder Girls who ranked 76th on the “Hot 100” chart in October 2009 with its hit single “Nobody.” While “Nobody” was performed in English, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” is the first Korean-language song to make it on the “Hot 100” list.
Psy, whose Korean name is Park Jae-sang, was a no-name singer in the international scene until he rose to stardom on YouTube with “Gangnam Style.”
In the music video, Psy shows off his signature horse-riding dance, poking fun at Gangnam, the up-scale business and residential district in southern Seoul. (Yonhap News)
