Psy’s highly anticipated follow-up single “Gentleman” was first unveiled around the world in 119 countries on midnight on Friday and immediately topped all the local charts upon its release. In the new single, the rapper speaks of being a self-proclaimed “gentleman” attempting to woo women at a party with his charms.
The international superstar Psy attended a press conference in Seoul decked out in his signature suit and sunglasses along with his global music manager Scooter Braun hours before his “Happening” concert is scheduled to begin.
“It’s the second day since my single has been revealed,” said Psy the press conference held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. “I saw a lot of online comments about this single just being a club song, and that is true…I did my best with the song and I am very happy with the result.”
“So what I wanted to say is, Psy and I have become friends throughout this entire adventure,” said manager Braun, who is best known for discovering the talents of Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen.
“The reason I came here is because the concert here tonight may be one of the biggest productions that we have ever seen,” he said. “He’s making the whole world happy and thanks to him, he was able to do something to help the Korean people.”
Braun expressed his pride in Psy and what he was able to accomplish globally with “Gangnam Style” and admitted that even though he did not speak the language of the song, when he first heard it, it still spoke to him.
“What happened here (with “Gangnam Style”) was bigger than music,” said Braun. “It was history.”
While the digital single for “Gentleman” has been released, the music video is scheduled to be unveiled worldwide tonight on YouTube after the concert at 9 p.m. Korean standard time.
Psy has announced that the choreography for “Gentleman” was inspired by the popular dance movements of the K-pop girl group Brown Eyed Girls that may be unfamiliar to non-Koreans, but well known to the Korean population.
“I have a different body shape, so the moves are going to be different,” Psy said laughing as he dubbed the name of his new moves as the “arrogant dance.”
“It’s all about happiness, it’s all about fun,” said the rapper. “I want be sincere about my job, and my job is to entertain people.”
Psy will perform “Gentleman” live tonight in front of a streaming worldwide audience on YouTube and Naver, starting at 6:30 p.m. local time tonight. The rapper’s solo “Happening” concert – which is expected to draw in around 50,000 fans – will take place at the Seoul’s World Cup Stadium and will also feature guest performances by Big Bang leader G-Dragon as well as the up and coming rookie singer Lee Hi.
By Julie Jackson
(juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)