"Gangnam Style" (Korean:강남스타일,IPA:[kaŋ.namsɯ.tʰa.il]) is aK-pop song by South Korean singerPsy, released on July 15, 2012, byYG Entertainment as thelead single of his sixth studio album,Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1 (Ssai Yukgap Part 1). The term "Gangnam Style" is aneologism that refers to thenouveau riche lifestyles associated with theGangnam region ofSeoul.

"Gangnam Style"
Single byPsy
from the EPPsy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1
Language	Korean
Released	July 15, 2012
Recorded	2011–2012
Genre	K-pop[1][2] hip hop[1][2] dance-pop[3][4] EDM[5]
Length	3:39
Label	YG Universal Republic School Boy
Songwriter(s)	Park Jae-sang[6]
Producer(s)	Park Jae-sang Yoo Gun-hyung Yang Hyun-suk
Psy singles chronology
"Korea" (2012) "Gangnam Style" (2012) "Gentleman" (2013)
Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1 Disc artwork
Audio sample
"Gangnam Style" file help
Music video
"Gangnam Style" onYouTube

On July 15, 2012, "Gangnam Style" was released on toPsy'sYouTube channel and debuted at number one on South Korea'sGaon Chart, receiving generally positive reviews, with praise for its catchy beat and Psy's amusing dancing during live performances and in various locations around the world in itsmusic video. The song and itsmusic video wentviral in August 2012 and haveinfluenced popular culture worldwide. In the United States, "Gangnam Style" peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100, which at the time, was the highest charting song by a South Korean artist. By the end of 2012, "Gangnam Style" had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Psy's dance in themusic video itself became a cultural phenomenon.

It subsequently wonBest Video at theMTV Europe Music Awards held that year. It became a source ofparodies and reaction videos by many different individuals, groups, and organizations. On December 21, 2012, "Gangnam Style" became the firstYouTube video to reach a billion views.^[7] Thesong's music video wasthe most viewed video on YouTube from November 24, 2012, when it surpassed the music video for "Baby" byJustin Bieber featuringLudacris,^[8] to July 10, 2017, when it was itself surpassed by the music video for "See You Again" byWiz Khalifa featuringCharlie Puth.^[9]

Its dance was attempted by political leaders such as British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron andUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon, who hailed it as "a force for world peace".^[10] On May 7, 2013, at a bilateral meeting with South Korea's PresidentPark Geun-hye at theWhite House, US PresidentBarack Obama cited the success of "Gangnam Style" as an example of how people around the world are being "swept up" by theKorean Wave of culture.^[11]

"Gangnam Style" is a South Koreanneologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with theGangnam region ofSeoul,^[12][13] where people are trendy and hip, and exude a certain supposed class. The term was defined inTime's weekly vocabulary list as "a manner associated with lavish lifestyles in Seoul's Gangnam district".^[14] Psy likened Gangnam toBeverly Hills, California, and said in an interview that he intended the title as a joke, claiming that he has "Gangnam Style" when everything about the song, dance, looks, and music video is far from high class:^[15]

People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are—it's only theposers andwannabes that put on these airs and say that they are "Gangnam Style"—so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying very hard to be something that they're not.^[16]

The song talks about "the perfect girlfriend who knows when to be refined and when to get wild."^[17] The song's refrain "오빤 강남 스타일 (Oppan Gangnam style)" has been translated as "Big brother is Gangnam style," with Psy referring to himself.^[18][19] During an interview withThe New York Times, Psy revealed that South Korean fans have high expectations about his dancing, so he felt a lot of pressure. In order to keep up with those expectations, he studied hard to find something new and stayed up late for about 30 nights to come up with the "Gangnam Style" dance.^[20] Along the way, he had tested various "cheesy" animal-inspired dance moves with his choreographerLee Ju-sun,^[21] including panda and kangaroo moves,^[22] before settling for thehorse trot, which involves pretending to ride a horse, alternately holding the reins and spinning a lasso, and moving into a legs-shuffling side gallop.^[23]

During an interview withReuters, Psy said that "Gangnam Style" was originally produced only for local K-pop fans.^[24] On July 11, 2012, Psy and his music labelYG Entertainment started releasing several promotional teasers for "Gangnam Style" to their subscribers on YouTube.^{[25][unreliable source?][26][27]} On July 15, 2012, the full music video of "Gangnam Style" was uploaded onto YouTube and was immediately a sensation, receiving about 500,000 views on its first day.^[28] However, at the time of its release in Germany, a dispute between YouTube and theGEMA (the country'sperformance rights organization) regarding copyright issues led to thousands of music videos including "Gangnam Style"^[29] beingblocked in the country.^[30] The music video, along with other music videos from GEMA-protected artists released on YouTube, were unblocked in Germany on October 31, 2016, after YouTube reached an agreement with GEMA on copyrights and royalties.^[31]

According to the news agencyAgence France-Presse, the success of "Gangnam Style" could be considered as part of theKorean Wave,^[32] a term coined by Chinese journalists to refer to the significant increase in the popularity of South Korean entertainment and culture since the late 1990s.^[33]

Korean popular music (K-pop), considered by some to be the most important aspect of the Korean Wave,^[34] is amusic genre that relies oncultural technology to adapt to the tastes of foreign audiences and has now grown into a popularsubculture among teenagers and young adults in many places around the world.^[35] Although it has spread to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and parts of South America,^[36] its reception in the Western world was initially lukewarm.^[37] However, booming social media networks such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter made it easier for K-pop musicians to reach a wider audience in the West, and the song and video soon became a global phenomenon.^[38]

The song has received mixed to positive ratings from music critics. Music journalist Bill Lamb fromAbout.com praised the song for "spreading smiles and pure fun around the world in record time." He then writes, "take one partLMFAO's synth-based party music, another partRicky Martin'sLatin dance party and the rest a powerfully charismatic South Korean showman and you have the first worldwide K-Pop smash hit."Billboard K-Town columnist Jeff Benjamin became one of the first music critics to review the song when he published an article and reported that "Gangnam Style" has gone viral on the Internet. In his article, Benjamin introduced the reader to a couple of popular K-pop songs and wrote that "'Gangnam Style' in particular, plays all the right moves sonically while "borrowing from LMFAO along the way."^[13]

Hallie Sekoff ofThe Huffington Post quoted from the video's official YouTube video description that the song is characterized by its "strongly addictive beats," and wrote that this is not too far-fetched, considering "how obsessed we've found ourselves."^[39] Then London's mayorBoris Johnson considered the song to be the greatest cultural masterpiece of 2012.^[40]

Despite its popularity, a few music critics including Robert Copsey fromDigital Spy criticized the song for being monotonous. Cospey wrote that "you could slap an LMFAO tag on the cover and few would know the difference",^[41] and Paul Lester ofThe Guardian similarly labeled it as "generic ravey Euro dance with guitars." Lester described the song as "Pump Up the Jam meets theMacarena with a dash ofCotton Eye Joe,"^[42] while Robert Myers ofThe Village Voice dismissed "Gangnam Style" as an "inspired piece of silliness."^[43]

Cha Woo-jin, a South Korean music critic, toldThe Chosun Ilbo that "Gangnam Style"'s sophisticated rendering and arrangement has made it very appealing to the general public.^[44] Choe Kwang-shik, the South KoreanMinister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told reporters that "Gangnam Style" had played an important role in introducing the Korean culture, language, and lifestyle to the rest of the world.^[45] However, some have criticized the song for failing to accurately represent South Korean culture. Oh Young-Jin, managing editor ofThe Korea Times, wrote that the dance has more to do with Americans than Koreans.^[46]

In Japan, the song was met with considerable criticism. When "Gangnam Style" first appeared in Japanese TV shows in July, the reaction from viewers was negative. As a result, Psy's Japanese record labelYGEX canceled a previously plannedJapanese-language re-release of "Gangnam Style."^[47] According toThe Dong-A Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, the song's lukewarm reception in Japan could have been caused by a diplomatic conflict between the two countries,^[48] and the newspaper accused the Japanese media of keeping its people "in the dark."^[48] However, Jun Takaku of the Japanese daily newspaperAsahi Shimbun explained that "Gangnam Style" had caused "barely a ripple in Japan" because Psy does not conform to the image of other "traditionally polished"K-pop acts popular in Japan such asGirls' Generation andTVXQ.^[49] Erica Ho fromTime magazine similarly noted that, despite the K-pop musical genre being very popular in Japan, the country seemed to be "immune to PSY Mania", and she advised her readers who dislike the song to "pack your bags for Japan."^[50]

Immediately after its release, "Gangnam Style" was mentioned by various English-language websites providing coverage of Korean pop culture for international fans, includingAllkpop^{[51][unreliable source?]} andSoompi.^{[52][unreliable source?]}Simon and Martina Stawski, a Canadian couple living inSeoul who were among the first to parody "Gangnam Style" in late July, wrote that the song has the potential to become "one of the biggest songs of the year."^[53] However, during an interview withAl Jazeera a few weeks later, Martina Stawski claimed that the worldwide popularity of "Gangnam Style" has been viewed negatively by some K-pop fans, because "they [the fans] didn't want K-pop being liked by other people who don't understand K-Pop."^[54][55]

The music video of "Gangnam Style" has been met with positive responses and praises from the music industry and the commentators, who drew attention to its tone and dance moves, though some found them vulgar.^[56] Another notable aspect that helped popularise the video was its comical dance moves that can be easily copied, such as thepelvic thrust during the elevator scene.^[57] The United Nations hailedPsy as an "international sensation" because of the popularity of his "satirical" video clip and its "horse-riding-like dance moves."^[58] As such, the music video has spawned a dance craze unseen since the Macarena of the mid-1990s.^[59][60]

TheWorld Bank's lead economistDavid McKenzie remarked that some of Psy's dance moves "kind of look like aregression discontinuity,"^[61] while the space agencyNASA called "Gangnam Style" a dance-filled music video that has forever entered the hearts and minds of millions of people.^[62] Melissa Locker ofTime noted that "it's hard not to watch again ... and again ... and again,"^[63] while CNN reporterShanon Cook told the audience that she had watched "Gangnam Style" about 15 times.^[64]

The German news magazineDer Spiegel attributed the popularity of "Gangnam Style" to its daring dance moves,^[65] a sentiment similarly voiced by Maura Judkis ofThe Washington Post, who wrote, "'Gangnam Style' has made an extraordinarily stupid-looking dance move suddenly cool."^[66] The video was also positively reviewed by Steve Knopper fromRolling Stone, who called "Gangnam Style" an astoundingly great K-pop video that has all the best elements of hypnotically weird one-hit wonders and hopes that "PSY gets filthy rich from this."^[67]

Mesfin Fekadu of theAssociated Press wrote that Psy's dance moves are "somewhat bizarre" but the music video is full of colorful, lively outfits.^[68] Matt Buchanan and Scott Ellis ofThe Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the video "makes no sense at all to most Western eyes" and it "makes you wonder if you have accidentally taken someone else's medication"^[69] whereas Deborah Netburn of theLos Angeles Times called it "one of the greatest videos ever to be uploaded to YouTube." Kim Alessi fromCommon Sense Media considered the music video for "Gangnam Style" worth seeing for its caricature of contemporary Asian and American urban lifestyles, but also warned that "Gangnam Style" contains sexually suggestive images and "degrading messages" which could beinappropriate for children and teenagers.^[70]

The video begins with Psy, who is lounging at what looks like a sandy beach, under a sun umbrella and holding a cold drink, but the camera zooms out to reveal he is actually at a playground.^[71] The video then alternates between the playground, where a boy (Hwang Min-woo) dances next to him; and a row of horses, who are in stalls, where Psy performs his signature "invisible horse dance."^[72] As Psy (and two women) walk through a parking garage, they are pelted by pieces of newspaper, trash, and snow.^[73] At a sauna, he rests his head on a man's shoulder, dressed in blue, while another man covered in tattoos is stretching. He then sings in front of two men (then labelmates under YG Entertainment,Big Bang'sDaesung andSeungri, dressed as older men) playingJanggi (Korean chess), dances with a woman at a tennis court, and bounces around on a tour bus of seniors. The scenes alternate quickly until there is an explosion near the chess players, causing them to dive off the bench. Psy immediately walks toward the camera, pointing and shouting "Oppa Gangnam Style." The chorus starts as he and some dancers perform at a horse stable. He dances as two women walk backwards. He dances at the tennis court, a carousel, and the tour bus. He shuffles into an outdoor yoga session and on a boat. The camera zooms in on a woman's butt, then shows Psy "yelling" at it.^[73][74]

The chorus ends and he is seen in a parking garage, where Psy is approached by a man (Yoo Jae-suk) in a yellow suit who steps out of a redMercedes-Benz SLK 200; they have a dance duel. Psy then appears in an elevator underneath a man (Noh Hong-Chul) who is straddling him and thrusting his pelvis. The man in the yellow suit then gets in his car and leaves. The camera pans and it shows Psy in the subway station, where he boards the train and noticesHyuna (who would have her own version of the song) dancing. At one of the train stops, he approaches the girl in slow motion, and she approaches him. They start to embrace. He then tells the girl "Oppa Gangnam Style," and they horse dance along with some other dancers at the train stop, commencing the second chorus. He also surfaces from a spa hot tub.^[73] In theRolling Stone interview, Psy says he copied the spa surfacing scene fromLady Gaga's video ("Poker Face").^[74]

Psy sings to the girl at a night club as people in various costumes walk behind them. He raps in a serious tone in an enclosed space, but when he says "You know what I'm saying" the camera zooms out, and it is revealed that he is actually sitting on a toilet with his pants down.^[73]

The music video is directed by Cho Soo-hyun, who later directed the video for Psy's follow-up single "Gentleman" and the video for "This Love" byShinhwa.^[75] It shows Psy performing a comical horse-riding dance and appearing in unexpected locations around the Gangnam District, such as an outdooryoga session and a hot tub. He wears several distinctive suits and black sunglasses with a mindset of "dress classy and dance cheesy."^[76] It features a "skewering [of] the Gangnam image" by the "non-Gangnam Psy"; this parody would be recognizable to viewers familiar with Korean culture.^[77][78] Although there are more than ten different locations featured, only two of the scenes are filmed in the Gangnam district proper. The sauna scene, elevator scene, and bathroom scene were filmedelsewhere in the greater Seoul region,^{[79][unreliable source?]} and some shots were filmed inWorld Trade Center Seoul and theSongdo International Business District, which includesSongdo Central Park andInternational Business District Station.^[80] The video was shot over 48 hours in July 2012.^[73][74]

In K-pop, it is routine to havecameos by celebrities in a music video, such as in the dance scenes in the elevator and the parking garage.^[71] Guest appearances in the music video include:

• 4Minute memberHyuna, who dances in the subway car and attracts Psy's attention.^[74][78]
• Hwang Min-woo, a 7-year-old boy who dances at the beginning of the video. During an interview withCNN, Psy stated that "the night before the music video shoot, I was watchingKorea's Got Talent and saw him dance toMichael Jackson. His moves were ridiculous. So we called him up and asked him to be in the music video, which was shooting the very next day, and he came and it all worked out."^[16][74] He has been praised for his eye-catching dance moves that have received a lot of attention from viewers.^{[81][unreliable source?][82]}
• Comedian/television personality Korea's NationMCYoo Jae-suk, who engages in a dance duel with Psy.^[74][78]
• Comedian/television personalityNoh Hongchul, who does his trademark pelvis-thrusting dance in an elevator while Psy raps underneath him.^[74][78]

Following its July 15 release, "Gangnam Style" overtookCarly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" to reach the number one position on the YouTube Top 100 Music Videos during the week of August 28, 2012.^[94][95] On September 1, 2012, it overtookGirls' Generation's "Gee" to become the most viewedK-pop video on YouTube.^{[96][unreliable source?]} Although "Call Me Maybe" had unusually strong staying power, averaging over 1.5 million views each day, "Gangnam Style" increased to an average of over nine million views per day within just two months. This was mainly because "Call Me Maybe" remained largely a North American trend, whereas the popularity of "Gangnam Style" was not confined to the United States.^[97] 61.6 percent of viewers were male, and those aged between 13 and 17 represented the biggest group.^[98]

According toThe Wall Street Journal,T-Pain was among the first to have "sent [the video] to the stratosphere" when he tweeted about it on July 29, 2012.^[84][99] It was then picked up by Neetzan Zimmerman from the social blogGawker, who asked "Did this underground Hip Hop artist from South Korea just release the Best Music Video of the Year?"^[89] on July 30. This was soon followed byRobbie Williams,^{[85][unreliable source?]}Britney Spears,^[100]Katy Perry,^[42]Tom Cruise,^[101]Joseph Gordon-Levitt,^[102] andWilliam Gibson.^[103]

The earliest video to catch the attention of media networks outside South Korea was "Psy Gangnam Style MV Reaction," which was uploaded by Katie and Mindy Anderson on July 18, 2012. The Andersons were subsequently interviewed by Evan Ramstad fromThe Wall Street Journal a few weeks later.^[83] In his article published on August 6, 2012, Ramstad also included "Kpop Music Mondays : PSY Gangnam Style," a review and parody of "Gangnam Style" uploaded on July 23 by K-pop video bloggersSimon and Martina Stawski, a Canadian couple living inSeoul. This makes the Stawskis' video the earliest parody featured in an American newspaper.^[84] On August 8, 2012, Ramstad appeared onWSJ Live, and he mentioned the Andersons and the Stawskis again, before claiming that "a lot of Koreans are also making their own parodies of 'Gangnam Style.'"^[104]

On September 3, 2012, the number of daily views generated by "Gangnam Style" went past the 5-million mark.^[105] By the end of September, it had topped the iTunes charts in 31 countries.^[106]

"Gangnam Style" reached the unprecedented milestone of 1 billion YouTube views on December 21, 2012.^[107] YouTube specially marked the video's accomplishments with a cartoon dancing Psy animated icon, added first by the site logo,^[108] and later next to the video's view counter when it exceeded 1 billion views.^[109] On April 6, 2013, the video on YouTube reached 1.5 billion views.^[110]

After the release of "Gangnam Style," the American talent managerScooter Braun, who discoveredJustin Bieber on YouTube, asked on Twitter "How did I not sign this guy [Psy]?"^[111] Soon afterward, it was reported that Psy had left for Los Angeles to meet with representatives of Justin Bieber, to explore collaboration opportunities.^[94] On September 3, 2012, Braun made a public announcement that was later uploaded onto YouTube, saying that he and Psy have decided to "make some history together. [To] be the first Korean artist to break a big record in the United States." On September 4, it was confirmed that Psy was signed to Braun'sSchool Boy Records.^[112]

The music video for the song went viral and became anInternet meme.^[113] Although Psy attributed the song's popularity to YouTube and his fans while at the same time insisted that he is not responsible for the song's success,^[114] the South KoreanMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the singer for "increasing the world's interest in Korea" and announced its decision to award Psy with a4th Class Order of Cultural Merit.^[115] The phrase "Oppan Gangnam Style" was entered intoThe Yale Book of Quotations as one of the most famous quotes of 2012.^[116]

As the song's popularity continued to rise, it caused the share price of the song's music labelYG Entertainment to gain as much as 50% on theKorea Exchange.DI Corporation, whose executive chairman Park Won-ho is Psy's father, saw its share price increase by 568.8% within a few months of the song's release despite making a year-over-year loss.^[117][118] Soon, "Gangnam Style" began to attract the attention of several business and political leaders, including UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon who recognized the song as a "force for world peace."^[10] During his meeting with Psy at theUnited Nations Headquarters, he commented, "We have tough negotiations in the United Nations. In such a case I was also thinking of playing Gangnam Style-dance so that everybody would stop and dance. Maybe you can bring UN style."^[119][120]

Through social networks like Facebook, many small, unofficial fan-organizedflash mobs have been held in universities and colleges throughout the world. The earliest flash mobs were held inPasadena, California,^[121] and Sydney, Australia.^[122] On September 12, 2012,Times Square inManhattan was filled with a dance mob dancing to the music of "Gangnam Style" duringABC'sGood Morning America.^[123] Major flash mobs (those with more than 1,000 participants) were also held in Seoul (South Korea),^[124] South Sulawesi (Indonesia),^[125] Palermo (Italy), Milan (Italy),^{[126][127][unreliable source?]} and Paris (France).^[128]

The song has been mentioned in tweets by the United Nations,^[130] theUnited Nations Children's Fund,^[131] and the American space agencyNASA;^[132] by a reporter during aU.S. State Department briefing;^[133] and referenced by the president of theInternational Criminal CourtSong Sang-Hyun during his speech in front of theUN Security Council.^{[134][135][136]} On October 9, the mayor of LondonBoris Johnson held a speech at the 2012Conservative Party Conference where he told the audience that he and the British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron have danced "Gangnam Style."^[137] During a GoogleEarnings call,Larry Page, the CEO and co-founder ofGoogle, hailed the song as a glimpse of the future of worldwide distribution through YouTube.^[138]

The American Council on Exercise estimated that dancing "Gangnam Style" will burn 150–200 calories per half-hour.^[139]Swype, aninput method forAndroid operating systems, included "Gangnam Style" in its list of recognized words and phrases.^[140] U.S. PresidentBarack Obama revealed possible plans to privately perform "Gangnam Style" for his spouseMichelle Obama.^{[141][142][143][144]} In November 2012, aMāori cultural group fromRotorua performed a version of the Gangnam Style dance mixed with a traditional Māori haka in Seoul, celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between South Korea and New Zealand.^[145]

InThailand, officials from theDan Sai municipality inLoei Province shot a video of people wearing masks and performing "Gangnam Style" during thePhi Ta Khon "ghost" festival. According to the Thai newspaperThe Nation, villagers and spiritual leaders from Loei province felt "uneasy" and also "greatly offended" about this "Gangnam Style" performance which tarnishes the image of a 400-year-old tradition.^[146] Another controversial incident was sparked by a "Gangnam Style" parody by officers from theRoyal Thai Navy, which was not well received by some high-ranking commanders. Although Vice Admiral Tharathorn Kajitsuwan from theThird Naval Area Command insisted that "we had no intention to insult or make fun of navy officers in uniform," some senior officers called it "improper." Kajitsuwan claimed that his subordinates had the right to upload the video to YouTube, although he did not expect them to do so. On October 1, 2012, he issued an apology to his colleagues. Commander Surasak Rounroengrom believed an investigation was unnecessary because the video caused no damage to the navy, but he admitted that there was some impropriety about military officers doing their "fancy stepping in uniform."^[147]

On September 18, 2012, theNorth Korean government became the first to use "Gangnam Style" forpolitical activism when it uploaded a parody with the title "I'm Yushin style!" onto the government websiteUriminzokkiri.^[148] The parody mocks the South Korean ruling conservative party president-electPark Geun-hye. It shows a Photoshopped image of the presidential candidate performing the dance moves of "Gangnam Style" and labels her as a devoted admirer of theYushin system of autocratic rule set up by her father,Park Chung Hee.^[149][150] A few weeks later, "草泥马 style" (literally, "Grass Mud Horse Style"; the Chinese characters are a homonym for a vulgar slur) was uploaded onto YouTube and other Chinese websites by the political activist anddissidentAi Weiwei.^[151] In his parody, Ai Weiwei dances "Gangnam Style" with a pair of handcuffs as a symbol of his arrest by Chinese authorities in 2011. According to theAssociated Press, government authorities had removed the video from almost all Chinese websites the next day.^[151]

South Korean President Park Geun-hye took office on February 15, 2013. At her inauguration, Psy performed "Gangnam Style" and "Champion", one of his first hits in his native country.^[152] In order to show his solidarity with Ai Weiwei and to advocatefreedom of expression, the British sculptorAnish Kapoor produced the videoGangnam for Freedom, which features other prominent British artists as well as human rights activists from various international organisations includingIndex on Censorship andAmnesty International.^[153] A few days prior, the global grassroots networkStudents for a Free Tibet had uploaded a parody of "Gangnam Style" to show its support for theTibetan independence movement. According to Max Fisher fromThe Washington Post, this parody of "Gangnam Style" was likely filmed inDharamshala, the home ofTibet's government-in-exile in the northern Indian state ofHimachal Pradesh.^[154]

Greenpeace announced that it was "Going Gangnam, Greenpeace Style" in order to raise public awareness about illegal and unsustainable fishing practices off the coast ofMozambique. Activists from Greenpeace had parodied "Gangnam Style" on board the organization's excursion yachtRainbow Warrior.^[155]

Songdo, aubiquitous city 40 miles (65 km) west of Gangnam, was among five cities vying for the right to host theGreen Climate Fund (GCF), a project developed by theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to channel $100 billion a year from developed countries to help developing countriescombat climate change.^[156] During its campaign to win the right to host the GCF, the country's Presidential Committee on Green Growth produced a promotional video entitled "GCF Songdo Style by Psy" in which Psy recommends Songdo as the host city for the GCF. He announces that a "newparadigm" will begin at Songdo with the GCF and the video heralds "The beginning of Songdo Style" while "Gangnam Style" plays in the background.^[157][158] On October 20, 2012, the board of the GCF announced that Songdo had won the right to host the fund.^[159]

In December 2012, theDepartment of Health in the Philippines launched a "Gangnam Style" dance campaign against the use offirecrackers to celebrate the New Year.^[160]Janine Tugonon, 2012Miss Universe first runner-up, joined and danced in one of their campaigns atPandacan, Manila.^[161] According to the department's assistant secretary, Dr. Eric Tayag, the popularity of the song will attract people especially children to use safer means of celebration such as dancing to "Gangnam Style".^[160] In contrast, thePhilippine National Police was confirming intelligence reports about a firecracker named "Gangnam bomb," which supposedly produced by illegal firecracker makers inBocaue, Bulacan and apparently riding on the popularity of the song.^[162] According to Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, director of the Firearms and Explosives Office of the Philippine National Police, he did not know what the possibly dangerous^[163] "Gangnam bomb" looks like.^[162]

Muhammad Rahim al Afghani, a close associate ofOsama bin Laden currently held at theGuantanamo Bay detention camp, had also used the song to demonstrate his ability to gain access to popular cultural trends despite being confined within a top secret prison. In a letter to his lawyer, Muhammad wrote, "I like this new song Gangnam Style. I want to do the dance for you but cannot because of my shackles."^[164]

Reaction videos andparodies have been made for or with the music respectively. Some of theseuser generated videos have received international media recognition. "Gangnam Style"-related videos have also been uploaded by theCPDRC Dancing Inmates,^[166][167]Cody Simpson,^[168]Seungri,^[169]Latino,^[170]Fine Brothers,^[171] WAVEYA Dance Group,^[172]Barely Political,^[173] and theTampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders.^[174]

Numerous parodies have been spawned on college campuses. TheMassachusetts Institute of Technology's version ("MIT Gangnam Style") featuredDonald Sadoway, recognized inTime magazine as one of 2012 "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World";Eric Lander, who is co-chairman of President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; andlinguistics pioneerNoam Chomsky.^[175][176]The Maccabeats, an a cappella group fromYeshiva University, parodied the song as "What's Next? Sukkos Style?" with group members waving thefour species.^[177] In addition, there have been parodies fromThe Ohio University Marching 110,^[178]York University,^[179]McMaster University,^[180]University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign,^[181]Boston University,^[182]Dartmouth College,^[182]Stanford University^[183]Eton College,^[135] and theUniversity of Michigan.^[184]

The American space agencyNASA uploaded an educational parody shot by its students at itsMission Control Center in Houston, Texas. The video features cameo appearances by astronautsTracy Caldwell Dyson,Mike Massimino,Michael Coats,Ellen Ochoa, and the International Space Station'sExpedition 15 flight engineerClayton Anderson, who dances "Gangnam Style" halfway through the video.^[185][186] Shortly after its upload, the parody was retweeted by theEuropean Space Agency^[187] and theSETI Institute.^[188]

The song was also parodied by cadets from theUnited States Military Academy,^[189][190]United States Merchant Marine Academy,^[191]United States Naval Academy,^[192][193]United States Air Force Academy,^[194] and theRoyal Military College of Canada;^[195] soldiers from the210th Fires Brigade, the2nd Infantry Division, service members from an undisclosed unit and location in Afghanistan,^[196] and service members from theChina Coast Guard'sJiangsu division,^[197] as well as high-ranking officers from theRoyal Thai Navy.^[198]CollegeHumor uploaded "Mitt Romney Style," whileWhat's Trending uploaded "Obama Style."^[199] During the two weeks before August 7, 2012, nearly 1,000 videos with the word "Gangnam" in the title were uploaded onto YouTube.^[28]

ThePortuguese public broadcasterRTP1 spoofed the song in its late-night show5 Para A Meia-Noite asGamar com Style, sung by the comedian Pedro "Pacheco" Fernandes, criticizing the Prime MinisterPedro Passos Coelho, theEuropean Union, theIMF, and the2010–13 Portuguese financial crisis.^[200] There are many "Gangnam Style" parodies used foreducation. One such parody includes "Conjugation Style," a parody used to teach students about theconjugation of-er verbs in theFrench language.^[201] YouTube comedian cs188 uploaded aYouTube poop of the song's iconic video, called "[PSYTP] Oppa Goddamn Style." The video has received more than 15 million views since its upload on October 11, 2012.^[202]

Following the release of "Gangnam Style," Psy made several performances on television and at concerts in Korea. Early performances included his appearance on the weekly South Korean music program,The Music Trend.^[13] Psy also performed at several concerts prior to his departure to the United States, including during "The Heumbbeok Show"^{[203][unreliable source?]} and the Summer Stand Concert in Seoul.^{[204][unreliable source?]} After returning to South Korea, Psy performed "Gangnam Style" during a free concert that he held outside theSeoul City Hall. More than 80,000 fans attended the event, leading to the closure of part of the city center and an increase in subway operations.^[205][206] While Psy was in the US, it was announced that he, as ambassador of theFormula OneKorean Grand Prix, would perform "Gangnam Style" at the event during the 2012 edition.^[207] At the event Psy taught Formula One driversMark Webber andSebastian Vettel how to perform the dance.^[208]

On November 28, 2012, Psy visitedThailand and held his concert "Gangnam Style Thailand Extra Live" at theSCG Stadium inMuang Thong Thani,Bangkok. At the show, a part of celebration for the 85th birthday of Thai's KingBhumibol Adulyadej, he performed the song along with his other hits.^[209][210] During the2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Hong Kong on November 30, he performed the song on stage, joined by the video's co-star Hyuna and Yoo Jae-Seok look-alikes in yellow suits.^[211] The track was one of three-song setlist on Psy's free showcase, held at theMarina Bay Sands inSingapore on December 1, 2012.^[212]

On February 11, 2013, Psy arrived at the Malaysian state ofPenang and performed "Gangnam Style" at a concert in front of more than 100,000 guests.^[213]

In early October 2012, Psy travelled to Sydney, Australia, and performed "Gangnam Style" onThe X Factor, a reality TV music competition, whereMelanie Brown joined him in performing the "horse dance" on stage.^[214] The following day, he performed on breakfast TV showSunrise inMartin Place, Sydney.^[215]

Psy's first public performance in Europe was on November 5, 2012, in France, where he and 20,000 fans danced "Gangnam Style" in front of theEiffel Tower in Paris during a flashmob organized byNRJ Radio.^[216] Then, he traveled toOxford and performed a short rendition of "Gangnam Style" with students from theOxford Union, before moving on to theYalding House in London where he danced "Gangnam Style" with theBBC's radio DJScott Mills.^[217] Shortly afterward, Psy left forCologne and met up with the German comedian and television hostStefan Raab during the popular late-night showTV total, where Psy gave an interview and performed "Gangnam Style" for Raab.^[218] During the2012 MTV Europe Music Awards held inFrankfurt on November 11, Psy delivered a performance of "Gangnam Style" which featured aDavid Hasselhoff appearance and backup dancing of Psy look-alikes.^[219]

In early 2013, Psy returned to France for the2013 NRJ Music Awards at thePalais des Festivals et des Congrès inCannes, where he began performing "Gangnam Style" on thered carpet before finishing the rest of the choreography on stage and leaving the ceremony with three awards.^[220]

Following the viral success of his music video, Psy left for the United States and performed "Gangnam Style" in various locations. On August 29 2012, Psy posted on Twitter "Bringing #GangnamStyle to theDodgers–Giants game this evening."Dodger Stadium presented a segment called "Psy Dance Cam" where they showed clips of the music video, followed by live shots of baseball fans dancing, and then Psy, who waves and does the dance.^[221] Two days later, Psy appeared onVH1'sBig Morning Buzz Live show, and taught television hostsCarrie Keagan andJason Dundas how to dance "Gangnam Style."^[93][222]

On September 26, Psy appeared at the2012 MTV Video Music Awards performing his "Gangnam Style" dance alongside comedianKevin Hart.^[223] After the event, he made several more appearances on US TV programs. On September 20, he appeared onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show inBurbank, California, introducing himself as "Psy from Korea" before teachingBritney Spears the dance. He described the dance as "pretending to bounce like riding on an invisible horse"^{[76][224][225]} and when DeGeneres told Spears she would have to remove her high-heeled shoes to perform the dance, Psy protested that no, the point was "to dress classy, and dance cheesy." On September 24, he appeared onNBC's morning programToday in New York City for its Toyota Concert Series, where he performed the song and also taught the anchors the dance.^[226][227] The September 29 2012, season premiere episode ofSaturday Night Live featured a sketch based on the song and its video.Bobby Moynihan portrayed Psy, but was joined mid-sketch by Psy himself.^[228] He also made his second appearance onThe Ellen Show's September 24 episode to perform the song along with his backup dancers.^[229] On September 28, Psy made an appearance at theiHeartRadio Music Festival to perform "Gangnam Style."^{[230][unreliable source?]}

On November 14, he joinedMadonna on stage during herconcert atMadison Square Garden in New York, where they performed a mashup of the song and her 2008 hit "Give It 2 Me"; Psy later told reporters that his gig with Madonna had "topped his list of accomplishments."^[231][232] On November 19, Psy, who rocked out in traditionalHammer pants, closed outthe 40th American Music Awards show with a performance of "Gangnam Style" joined by surprise guestMC Hammer, who brought in his own moves and Psy's horse-riding dance as the song mashed into his 1990s hit "2 Legit 2 Quit."^[233] Jason Lipshutz ofBillboard wrote that "Psy's feverish rendition of 'Gangnam Style' accomplished what so few award show performances can: a palpable sense of excitement. The combination of the K-pop star and MC Hammer ... was a stroke of genius that very few could have seen coming," and chose it as the best performance of the night.^[234]The Tonight Show with Jay Leno did a special Thanksgiving broadcast with an all-military audience on November 26, and Psy appeared as the musical guest. The singer sang the song and danced alongside the soldiers, going into the crowd for part of his performance.^[235]

Psy performed "Gangnam Style" during the second night ofKIIS-FM Jingle Ball concert atNokia Theatre L.A. Live on December 3, 2012.^[236] Wearing an all-red outfit including a sparkling, sequined top, he sang the song atTNT'sChristmas in Washington special, attended by the US President Barack Obama and his family, and held at theNational Building Museum On December 13^[237] On December 18, he performed the song at the halftime show of the NFL game between theBuffalo Bills andSeattle Seahawks in Toronto.^[238] During theDick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve event atTimes Square inManhattan on December 31, 2012, more than a million people witnessed a live "Gangnam Style" performance by Psy as he was joined on stage by characters (Yoo Jae-Seok, Noh Hong-chul) from the song's video for the first part of the performance, before MC Hammer appeared to perform a mash-up of the song and too legit to quit".^{[239][240][241]}

During the five-dayCarnival in Rio attended by more than five million people, Psy performed "Gangnam Style" with singersClaudia Leitte andGilberto Gil to mark the 50th anniversary of the start ofKorean immigration to Brazil.^[242]

The success of "Gangnam Style" was a result of the build-up of South Korea's music industry that had been in the works for more than 20 years,^[243] and it led to otherK-pop artists positioning themselves for similar breakthroughs in the U.S. music industry.^[244] Frances Moore, chief executive of theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry, brought up "Gangnam Style" as an example of how South Korea became one of the "most successful exporters of repertoire".^[245]

According to the news agencyAgence France-Presse, the success of "Gangnam Style" has led to the further rise and spread of theKorean Wave to other countries.^[32] As the song continued to attract worldwide media attention, it also led to various broadcasting networks and national newspapers focusing its attention on K-pop and other aspects of Korean culture. For example,The Daily Telegraph published an article recommending its readers to try out everything from K-Pop to "K-Cars", "K-Phones" and "K-Cuisine".^[246] Kim Byoung-gi, the Korean Ambassador toLebanon, wrote that "Gangnam Style" had helped bridge Lebanese and Korean cultures.^[247] The French-born political commentatorTim Soutphommasane, aresearch fellow atMonash University, agreed that the "Gangnam phenomenon" was "something worth studying". According to Soutphommasane, the world was only beginning to appreciate Gangnam Style as "part of a broaderhallyu cultural wave coming out of the country [South Korea]".^[248]

In 2012, the South Korean government announced that "Gangnam Style" had brought in $13.4 million to the country's audio sector, and it subsequently launched a campaign to further expand theK-Pop music industry overseas.^[249] According to theBank of Korea, the country's services account recorded a surplus of US$2.3 billion in the first nine months of this year, compared to a deficit of US$4.5 billion last year. This was mainly due to the growing influence and popularity of K-pop songs such as "Gangnam Style."^[250] However, American journalistJohn Seabrook noted that by "satirizing standard K-pop tropes in Gangnam Style", Psy may have subverted the music genre's chances of making it big in the West.^[251]

Record executives in themusic industry believe that music charts will increasingly be filled withYouTube-driven globalised acts from foreign countries. Sean Carey, a research fellow in the School of Social Sciences at theUniversity of Roehampton, wrote that the flow of popular music will no longer be a single traffic route from North America and Europe to other parts of the globe, but will also move the other way as well.^[252] According to Adam Sherwin fromThe Independent, the global web demand for Gangnam Style had short-circuited the "traditional reluctance" of radio stations to play foreign-language songs.^[253] The song is also underlining a shift in how money is being made in the music business.^[254] Although Psy earned more than US$60,000 from music sales of "Gangnam Style" in South Korea alone, he and his music labelYG Entertainment have raked in almost US$1 million from advertisements which appear on YouTube videos identified for using "Gangnam Style" in its content. TheHarvard Business Review published an article written by Kevin Evers, who explained how "Gangnam Style" had changedBillboard's ranking methodology of its music charts. Instead of relying solely on radio plays and paid purchases,Billboard started to place a heavier emphasis on digital sales and YouTube views.^[255] As a result of the change, "Gangnam Style" moved up to the top position ofBillboard'sHot Rap Songs music chart.^[256] According to theBritish Phonographic Industry's report based on Official Charts Company sales data, thanks to "Gangnam Style" andCarly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe", pop had become the UK's favourite musical genre of the year, taking the lion's share of the singles market (38.5%) in 2012.^[257]

In 2015, a statue was placed in the Gangnam District in honor of the song.^[258]

The song and its accompanying music video currently hold, or have attained, the following records:

• Most viewedK-pop video on YouTube^[287] – On September 1, 2012, it overtook "Gee" by the 9-memberK-Pop idol-groupGirls' Generation with 89 million views.
• Most liked video on YouTube – On September 13, 2012, it overtook "Party Rock Anthem" by the American electro recording duoLMFAO upon receiving 1.57 million "likes", and subsequently won its firstGuinness World Record one week later.^{[287][288][unreliable source?]}
• First K-pop song to top theUK Singles Chart – On October 6, 2012, the song reached number one of the UK singles chart and Psy became the first South Korean musician to achieve that feat.^[289][290]
• Most viewed video on YouTube – On November 24, 2012, it overtook "Baby" by the Canadian singer-songwriterJustin Bieber after receiving more than 803 million views.^[291]
• First video in Internet history to be viewed more than a billion times^[7] – On December 21, 2012, it acquired its billionth view at around 15:50UTC.^[292]
• First video in Internet history to be viewed more than two billion times^[293] – On May 31, 2014, it acquired its 2 billionth view.^[293] A second dance animation was added next to the view counter.^[294] They were removed in July 2014.^[295]

"Gangnam Style" was ranked No. 25 on theRolling Stone's 50 best songs of 2012 list^[296] and No. 8 onSPIN's 40 best songs of the year.^[297] The song also took the No. 8 spot on the 2012Billboard 20 best K-Pop songs list by Jeff Benjamin and Jessica Oak, who commented "[the song] stands out not only for its slick, electronic production but also for its deeper critique on high-class society."^[298] According toMTV's list of the 2012 best songs, the song was ranked No. 8 with MTV news staff James Montgomery's comment: "'Gangnam' is either the track we, as a culture needed right now, or the track we, as a culture, deserved."^[299]Time magazine chose it as the second best song of 2012 afterUsher's "Climax," writing "The YouTube meme, a good-natured, mind-bendingly catchy lampoon [...] turned into a global obsession."^[300][301] The song was one of the best songs of the year onThe New York Times pop critics' list^[302] andE! Online's No. 1 pick on the top 10 pop songs of 2012 list.^[303] Digital Spy ranked the song No. 20 among the 20 best singles of the year.^[304] It was voted the 12th best single of 2012 byThe Village Voice's 40th annualPazz & Jop critics' poll.^[305] Music criticRobert Christgau placed "Gangnam Style" as the No. 2 single on his 2012 Dean's List.^[306]

The music video for "Gangnam Style" was chosen as the best music video of 2012 byTime. Melissa Locker of the magazine wrote "The catchy song paired with social satire and tongue-in-cheek vibe has spread so quickly it reminds us why videos are called viral. The video has sparked an International dance craze and catapulted Psy to international super stardom."^[307]Rolling Stone also ranked the video No. 1 on its "The Best Music Videos of 2012" list, saying "The Korean auteur [Psy] conquered the world with his 'dress classy, dance cheesy' aesthetic, blurring the line between parody and celebration."^[308] The video took No. 4 position on the Digital Spy's list of 10 top pop music videos of the year.^[309]

The music video came in first with 21% rating in the 2012 Billboard.com's readers poll, beating "Where Have You Been" by Rihanna (19%) and "Beauty and a Beat" by Justin Bieber featuring Nicki Minaj (11%).^[310] The song was the most popular song played onNew Year's Eve and the most sung song on the day, leaving "Auld Lang Syne" in second place for the first time since 2005, onkaraoke company Lucky Voice's online service in the United Kingdom.^[311][312]CNN readers picked "Gangnam Style" as the eighth best song of 2012.^[313]The Week (US edition) ranked the song's global popularity at No. 6 with the strapline "'Gangnam Style' takes over the world" on the 13 biggest pop culture moments of the year list.^[314] The phenomenon of the song and the video was also picked as one of the 2012's most viral moments in music by Wendy Geller ofYahoo! Music,^[315] and No. 2 on the 2012 top 20 music moments list afterWhitney Houston's death byBillboard, being written "If there's one meme, song and face that has been truly inescapable in the second half of 2012, it's South Korean rapper Psy and his outrageous 'Gangnam Style'."^[316]

On December 1, 2014, YouTube announced that "Gangnam Style" had exceeded the number of views that are possible to store using a 32-bitsigned integer, that being2,147,483,647 (2³¹−1, or twobillion). As a result, YouTube was forced to upgrade to using 64-bit integers to store view numbers, with a maximum value of9,223,372,036,854,775,807 (2⁶³−1, or ninequintillion). "We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer, but that was before we met Psy," stated a YouTube spokesperson.^[317][318]

With 132 beats per minute, the song was momentarily forbidden in gyms in South Korea during theCOVID-19 pandemic. The country restricted music faster than 120 BPM to avoid Koreans feeling energized by the tempo of music, breathing more heavily or sweating more intensely.^[319]

Upon its release, "Gangnam Style" was an enormous hit. The song went straight to number one on theGaon Singles Chart on the fourth week of July 2012, with 816,868 digital downloads,^[320][321] and spent five consecutive weeks at the top position of the chart, tying it withIU's "Good Day" forthe most weeks at number one single in the chart's history.^[322] In addition, the song became the first-place winner on various weekly chart shows such asM Countdown (three straight weeks)^[323] andMusic Bank (a total of 16 weeks including a record 10-consecutive-week).^[324] According to the Korea Music Content Industry Association, "Gangnam Style" became the best selling song of 2012 in South Korea with 3,842,109 download sales.^[325]

The song debuted at number six on theBillboardKorea K-Pop Hot 100 for the week of July 28, 2012.^[326] It then topped the chart the week after and remained at the summit for five consecutive weeks, tyingIU's record with "You and I" for the longest running number one song on the chart. The record, however, was broken byLee Seung-gi's "Return" earned six weeks at the top spot from December 2012 to January 2013.^{[327][328][329]} "Gangnam Style" took number one spot on the 2012Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 year-end chart.^[330]

In Oceania, "Gangnam Style" was a huge success. The single made its chart debut on theNew Zealand Singles Chart at number 21 on September 3, 2012.^[331] After two weeks, the song reached in the top ten and the following week topped the chart, becoming the first K-pop song and the first foreign language song in three decades to achieve that feat since German bandNena's "99 Luftballons" hit the top spot in March 1982.^[332] The song remained atop the chart for two consecutive weeks before being deposed from the top spot byOne Direction's "Live While We're Young." After one week of the band's reign, "Gangnam Style" regained its number one position and stayed at the top spot for a further four weeks, tallying a total of six nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart. The track was ranked in the top ten of the chart for 17 consecutive weeks before it fell to number 11 on the January 14, 2013, chart.^[331] The song has been certified 4× Platinum with sales exceeding 60,000 by theRecording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).^[333] "Gangnam Style" was the second biggest-selling single of 2012 in the country behindCarly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."^[334]

In Australia, the song debuted at number seven on theARIA Singles Chart on September 17, 2012, becoming the highest debut for the week. It reached number one on the chart just three weeks after its release, overtaking "Battle Scars" byGuy Sebastian featuringLupe Fiasco, and spent six consecutive weeks at the summit, making it the second-longest running chart-topper for 2012 behindFlo Rida's "Whistle," which remained at the pole position for seven weeks.^[335][336] As a result, Psy became the first artist to reach number one on the chart with a foreign-language song sinceLas Ketchup topped the chart with "The Ketchup Song" in September 2002, and the eighth overall. In addition, "Gangnam Style" was the first Korean song to enter the chart and to climb to the top spot in Australian chart history.^[337] After the single spent the first 14 weeks in the top ten of the chart since its chart debut, it dropped to number 11 in its 15th week. The song, however, rebounded from the position to number three on the issue date of December 31, 2012. It descended to number 14 in its 18th week, ending a 16-week in the top ten, and out of the top 20 the following week, placed at number 23.^[335] It has been certified 10× Platinum by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), with sales exceeding 700,000 copies.^[338] "Gangnam Style" was placed at number two on the 2012 ARIA Singles year-end chart behind Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."^[339]

In Europe, the song was successful as well, topping the charts in almost all countries. "Gangnam Style" made its first European chart appearance, entering theDanish Singles Chart at number 40 on August 3, 2012. It reached the top ten in its fifth week, and climbed to number four in its sixth.^[340] For the issue dated September 14, 2012, the song became Psy's first number one on the chart, ending the one-week reign of the Danish rock bandNephew's "Hjertestarter."^[340] The song remained at the top position for seven consecutive weeks, tying it with "Somebody That I Used to Know" performed byGotye featuringKimbra forthe longest running number one single on the chart for 2012. In its 24th week, it climbed back to the top, giving it its 8th week in that position. The single spent 22 straight weeks in the top ten of the chart.^[340] In January 2013, theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI Denmark) certified the single 2× Platinum, denoting sales of 60,000 copies.^[341]

The song entered theUK Singles Chart at number 196 on September 1, 2012, and in its fourth week broke into the top 40 at number 37.^[342][343] In its fifth week, the song reached the top five on the chart and eventually peaked at number one on the week of October 6, becoming the first-ever K-pop song to achieve that feat. While the track only remained atop the chart for one week before being overtaken by Rihanna's "Diamonds", it spent a further 17 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the chart before it fell to number twelve on the January 26, 2013, chart. The song was the sixth biggest selling single of 2012 with 878,000 sales,^[344] and ranked at number 24 among the top 40 most streamed tracks of the year in the United Kingdom.^[345] According toOfficial Charts Company sales data, "Gangnam Style" has become not only the 129th track to sell more than 1 million copies in the history of the UK's Official Singles Chart, but also the first million seller by an Asian music star.^[346] On April 9, 2013, the song became 13th most downloaded single ever in the UK.^[347]

Elsewhere in Europe, the song also peaked at number one on theGerman Singles Chart for two non-consecutive weeks in 2012. For the week of January 11, 2013, it returned to the summit, ending the ten-consecutive-week reign of "Diamonds" by Rihanna, and spent a week at the top. Psy's song remained in the top ten on the chart for a 19th straight week including 15 in the top three position since October 2012.^[348] It has been certified 5× Gold by theBundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI), denoting sales of 750,000 copies.^[349] In addition, the single remained number one in Austria for four nonconsecutive weeks,^[350] Belgium (Flanders) for five consecutive weeks,^[351] Belgium (Wallonia) for seven straight weeks,^[352] Czech Republic for one week,^[353] Finland for four consecutive weeks,^[354] France for six non-consecutive weeks,^[355] Italy for a week,^[356] the Netherlands for two consecutive weeks,^[357] Norway for four straight weeks,^[358] Scotland for a week,^[359] Spain for 12 consecutive weeks,^[360] and Switzerland for three nonconsecutive weeks.^[361] It additionally placed top five positions in Iceland, Ireland, and Sweden,^[362][363] and top ten in Hungary and Slovakia.^[364][365]

In the United States, "Gangnam Style" debuted at number 64 theBillboard Hot 100 in the week of September 22, 2012, with 61,000 downloads sold, more than the total number of previous weeks (57,000), becoming the second K-pop song to enter the chart behind theWonder Girls' "Nobody," which spent a week at number 76 on the October 31, 2009 chart.^[366] The following week, the song rocketed to number 11 on the chart with 188,000 downloads, seeing a sales increase of 210% after Psy appeared on various TV shows such asThe Ellen DeGeneres Show and NBC'sToday.^[367] In its third week, it rose to number two on the chart, topping theHot Digital Songs chart with a 60% increase to 301,000 downloads sold and climbing to number nine on On-Demand Songs chart.^[368] After that, the song peaked at the runner-up spot for seven consecutive weeks behindMaroon 5's "One More Night," failing to gain in enough radio audience to ascend to the summit, although it ruled Hot Digital Songs for a fourth week and On-Demand Songs for a fifth week during that period.^[369] While "One More Night" dominated theRadio Songs chart for eight weeks, "Gangnam Style" peaked at just number 12 on the chart.^[370]

For the week of November 24, the song dropped to number five on the Hot 100, despite leading in sales with 188,000 downloads.^[371] In its 12th week, the single rebounded from number seven to number five with top Digital Gainer accolades, spurred by Psy's show-closing performance of the song with MC Hammer at the AMA. The track returned for a sixth week atop Hot Digital Songs with 229,000 downloads sold including 41,000 stemmed from the duet version, which mixed in Hammer's 1992 No. 5 Hot 100 hit "2 Legit 2 Quit."^[372] It was the first song to spend six weeks at number one on the Digital Songs chart without reaching the top spot on the Hot 100 sinceMiley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." in 2009.^[373] After the song stayed in the top ten of the Hot 100 for 11 consecutive weeks, it dropped out of the top ten on the December 22, 2012, chart, falling from number 10 to number 11.^[374] The following week, "Gangnam Style" descended to number 18 on the chart but achieved the milestone of 3 million downloads sold in the country, becoming the first and only K-pop song to reach the mark.^[375] For the week of January 12, 2013, powered by consumers purchasing some of 2012's most buzzworthy hits and radio airplay recounting the same in year-end retrospectives, the song resurged from number 19 to number six with its best weekly total 400,000 downloads sold, returning to the Hot 100's top ten after three weeks out of the top ten.^[376] The track dropped to number 14 in its 18th week, ending a 12-week in the top 10, and number 22 in its 19th week, despite staying in the top ten of Digital Songs chart with 192,000 and 105,000 copies sold, respectively.^[377][378] On February 20, 2013,Billboard and Nielsen announced the addition of U.S. YouTube video streaming data to its platforms, which includes an update to the methodology for theBillboard Hot 100 chart. Thanks to the change to reflect online video activity, "Gangnam Style" rebounded from number 48 to number 26 on the Hot 100 for the week of March 2, 2013.^[379][380]

On October 11, 2012,Billboard unveiled new methodology for theHot Rap Songs chart, including digital download sales and streaming data for the first time, along with radio airplay audience impressions as measured byNielsen BDS. Due to this, "Gangnam Style" soared from number 20 to number one on the October 20, 2012, chart.^[381] The song spent eight consecutive weeks atop the chart before being overtaken by Flo Rida's "I Cry." After four weeks of his reign, "Gangnam Style" regained its number one position in the week of January 12, 2013.^[382] The track also peaked at number three on theHot Dance/Club Play Songs chart in the week of November 17, 2012.^[383] The song was certified 4× Platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 19, 2013, denoting digital download sales of 4,000,000.^[384] According toNielsen SoundScan, "Gangnam Style" became the 9th best selling song of 2012 in the United States with 3,592,000 download sales.^[385] In late January 2013, the song topped the 4 million mark in digital sales, becoming the third comic/novelty song to reach the mark, followingLMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" andCee Lo Green's "Fuck You!."^[386]

In Canada, "Gangnam Style" was a big hit just like the rest of the world. The song entered theCanadian Hot 100 chart at number 71 on the week of September 8, 2012.^[387] In its fourth week, it reached in the top ten of the chart, climbing to number three, and the following week hit the pole position.^[388] The single spent seven consecutive weeks atop the chart, making itthe second longest running number one song of 2012 behind Maroon 5's "Payphone" remained at the top for eight straight weeks.^[389] On the week of September 12, 2012, the song debuted at number seven on theTop 20 Digital Tracks chart, based on Nielsen SoundScan data.^[390] The following week it topped the chart and spent four weeks at the top spot before giving the summit to "I Knew You Were Trouble" byTaylor Swift.^[390] "Gangnam Style," however, was back on top of the chart for the week of October 24, and grabbed the number one position for another four straight weeks, tallying a total of eight nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart.^[390] On November 16, 2012, the track was certified 4× Platinum byMusic Canada, and as of January 2013 had sold more than 476,000 copies in the country.^[391]

On August 21, 2012, "Gangnam Style" charted number one on the iTunes Music Video Charts, overtaking Justin Bieber's "As Long as You Love Me" andKaty Perry's "Wide Awake"; this feat was the first for any South Korean artist.^[392] From September 8, 2012, to February 23, 2013, the song has also peaked and stayed at number one onBillboard's YouTube Chart for 22 weeks, until being surpassed by "Stay" byRihanna for one week; as of April 2013, it had reclaimed its top position for a 30th week.^[393]

"Gangnam Style" was officially re-released on August 14, 2012, as "Oppa Is Just My Style" (Korean:오빤 딱 내 스타일), featuring additional vocals provided by Korean singer and4Minute memberHyuna. Mallika Rao ofThe Huffington Post wrote that the video was "apparently retrofitted here to work from a woman's point of view, but the main difference we're spotting is less invisible horse riding and more sultry side-eyeing."^[517] As of January 2021^[update], the accompanying music video had received more than 838 million views, 3.1 million likes, and 598,000 dislikes on YouTube.^[518]

• Gangnam Style in popular culture
• List of best-selling singles
• List of best-selling singles in Australia
• List of best-selling singles in Brazil
• List of best-selling singles in South Korea
• List of best-selling singles in the United States
• List of million-selling singles in the United Kingdom
• List of top hit singles (Youtube 100)
• World Digital Song Sales