Five years have passed since Psy released the viral single that took the world by storm, but the K-pop singer said he still doesn’t know what was behind his breakout success.

The artist recently talked with Billboard about how his life and career has changed since “Gangnam Style” propelled him to become a world star, adding that he still didn’t understand why the song was so special. 

“I was a Korean singer and whenever I released an album, the purpose of it was just to make good songs in Korean, and hopefully to make a hit song that people in Korea could enjoy. That was everything,” said Psy when asked about why “Gangnam Style” become YouTube’s first video to hit over 2 billion views.

“I still don’t know why it was so special. If I knew why, I could make it again and again,” he added.

But there was one thing he realized during those five years. Psy has been making music like “Gangnam Style” since his debut in 2001, but having no expectations and working with no intentions was a key contributor to the track’s explosive popularity.

Psy said, “If I did it intentionally, it wouldn’t work as strongly. ... These days when I make music or music videos, I try my best to focus and to become (like) me from before ‘Gangnam Style.’”

While he expressed that he now feels it’s time to move on from “Gangnam Style,” Psy said he greatly appreciates people all around the world who support him every time he releases new songs and music videos.

“As a 40-year-old artist, my concert is the hottest of my career right now. So I’m really happy with that. Maybe there won’t be another ‘Gangnam Style,’ but hopefully, I will be able to get a chance to show people in other countries my concert,” Psy said.

For the first time since 2012, Psy has recently been unseated on YouTube, as Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” became the most watched video of all time, with over 2.9 billion views. 

By Hong Dam-young (lotus@heraldcorp.com)