‘Horseriding’ to fame

Music has been a part of our lives down the generations. As music has no boundaries, likewise, language too is never a barrier for music lovers. For example, the foot-thumping beats of today make everyone dance their hearts out. When ‘Kolaveri di’ went on air, many people did not understand it as a major portion was in Tamil with a few English words sprinkled in between. However, it became extremely popular.

In the same way, Hip-hop, rock, trance and dubstep have taken their places in the playlists of many, only for their beats. And, now, the latest is a new style that has everyone’s music system belting it out in the maximum decibels that their system can bear. It is ‘Gangnam Style’ that is making music charts go northwards all over the world.

‘Gangnam Style’ by the South Korean rapper, Park Jae-Sang, popularly known as PSY, is his first major ‘hit’. He is a singer, dancer, song-writer and music producer. He is well-known for his comedy videos and stage performances and has been seen in various television programmes such as Good Sunday: X-man, The Today Show, Sunrise and X-Factor.

In ‘Gangnam Style’ he talks about the place where he came from and the life of the people in Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea.‘Gangnam Style’ made its debut on YouTube on July 15 and has gone viral since then. This video has set a new Guinness World Record for the most-liked and viewed video on YouTube.

 It has recorded 531 million views and 4.5 million ‘likes’ and the figures are still mounting. It has surpassed the record of LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’ and Justin Beiber’s ‘Baby’.

‘Gangnam Style’ has definitely revived interest in pop culture. This Korean song with its catchy beats and unique dance steps has become popular the world wide even where the language is not understood. 

It is true that in an era of violence and instability, music is the best way to reach out to the people. Oopa! Looks like PSY is spreading that thought with his signature ‘horse dance’ in his own style, the ‘Gangnam Style’ and, who knows, his ‘horse-riding’ may create an aura of peace and harmony throughout the world. At least, we hope so!