Park Jae-sang; born December 31, 1977, better known by his stage name PSY is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and record producer. PSY is best known for his humorous videos and stage performances, and for his international hit single "Gangnam Style", whose refrain "Oppan Gangnam Style" was entered into The Yale Book of Quotations as one of the most famous quotes of 2012.
PSY was born to Park Jae Sang on December 31, 1977 in Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea into a prosperous family. As a young teenager, PSY was less interested in studying at school and more inclined to make his peers laugh. During an interview with South Korea's Seoul Broadcasting System, a former teacher of PSY remarked "I remember PSY making a lot of sexual jokes during class. He had such a big influence that he would drive the entire class to his jokes. I disliked him at the time, but looking back, he added a great energy to the class."
Although he wasn't the studious type, PSY aimed at studying business administration at Boston University to eventually take over his father's company, DI Corporation. Once arriving in the U.S., however, PSY quickly abandoned his plans and applied to Berklee College of Music, where he studied contemporary writing, music synthesis and ear training. He soon returned home to further pursue his music career without obtaining a single degree.
PSY told CNN that when he was 15 years old, he witnessed a concert held by the British rock band Queen while they were performing their 1975 hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Wembley Stadium. PSY revealed that the footage of this concert had sparked off his love for music.
In January 2001, PSY released his debut album PSY from the PSYcho World! and was immediately dubbed "The Bizarre Singer" in the Korean pop scene for his explicit lyrics, unusual dance style and atypical appearance. He released another controversial second album Sa 2 in 2002, which sparked complaints from concerned civil groups due to the potentially negative influence his album would have on children and teenagers. Since then, Psy has been thought of as a controversial artist, and Sa 2 was banned in 2002 from being sold to those under the age of 19. Later in September the same year, Psy released his third album 3 PSY. The album's title song, "Champion", saw great success partly due to the hype from the World Cup games held in Seoul. Despite the significant amount of controversy surrounding his music, PSY was awarded with songwriting accolades at the annually held Seoul Music Awards, which marked his breakthrough in the music industry of South Korea.
Third album Sa Jib (Sa House) followed in 2006, along with more honors from the SBS Music Awards and M.net KM Music Festival. Aside from his regular recording and performing duties, PSY became a familiar face with appearances on Korean game shows like X-Man and talk shows like Golden Fishery, bringing his flashy style and offbeat charm to the masses.
PSY went for two years of mandatory military service between 2003 and 2005. However, because he did not properly serve his full-term service, he was redrafted in 2007, being released in 2009.
On October 14, 2006, PSY married his girlfriend of more than 3 years, Yoo Hye-yeon, and later had twin daughters.
Owing to financial difficulties, PSY could no longer release his own songs. This prompted his wife to encourage him to join the South Korean music label YG Entertainment.
PSY released his 5th album PSY Five in 2010, but its lead single "Right Now" was banned by South Korea's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for its "obscene" lyrics. Despite his lead single being banned, PSY received awards during the 2011 Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards. Prior to the release of "Gangnam Style", PSY had topped domestic music charts half a dozen times throughout his 12-year career, according to Billboard.
PSY reached stardom in July 2012 with his sixth album PSY's Best 6th Part 1 and his overnight hit sensation "Gangnam Style." On August 14, "Gangnam Style" was ranked no. 1 on YouTube's "Most Viewed Videos" chart with over 600 million hits. Later that month, the hit single reached #1 on the iTunes Music Video Charts. The music video became a YouTube phenomenon, with fans around the world and even celebrities, parodying the video and PSY's distinctive dance moves.
Riding high on the success of Gangnam Style, PSY was signed by Scooter Braun to Braun's Schoolboy Records, a label distributed by Republic Records. In early September, the Gangnam district awarded Psy with a plaque and named him an honorary ambassador. On October 24, 2012, PSY was recognized by the United Nations as an "International sensation." According to Reuters, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon scheduled a meeting with PSY in the belief that music has great power to overcome intolerance.
On November 30, PSY won four awards at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong. He met actor and stunt performer Jackie Chan, who called him a role model that proved that "dreams do come true".
PSY was born to Park Jae Sang on December 31, 1977 in Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea into a prosperous family. As a young teenager, PSY was less interested in studying at school and more inclined to make his peers laugh. During an interview with South Korea's Seoul Broadcasting System, a former teacher of PSY remarked "I remember PSY making a lot of sexual jokes during class. He had such a big influence that he would drive the entire class to his jokes. I disliked him at the time, but looking back, he added a great energy to the class."
Although he wasn't the studious type, PSY aimed at studying business administration at Boston University to eventually take over his father's company, DI Corporation. Once arriving in the U.S., however, PSY quickly abandoned his plans and applied to Berklee College of Music, where he studied contemporary writing, music synthesis and ear training. He soon returned home to further pursue his music career without obtaining a single degree.
PSY told CNN that when he was 15 years old, he witnessed a concert held by the British rock band Queen while they were performing their 1975 hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Wembley Stadium. PSY revealed that the footage of this concert had sparked off his love for music.
In January 2001, PSY released his debut album PSY from the PSYcho World! and was immediately dubbed "The Bizarre Singer" in the Korean pop scene for his explicit lyrics, unusual dance style and atypical appearance. He released another controversial second album Sa 2 in 2002, which sparked complaints from concerned civil groups due to the potentially negative influence his album would have on children and teenagers. Since then, Psy has been thought of as a controversial artist, and Sa 2 was banned in 2002 from being sold to those under the age of 19. Later in September the same year, Psy released his third album 3 PSY. The album's title song, "Champion", saw great success partly due to the hype from the World Cup games held in Seoul. Despite the significant amount of controversy surrounding his music, PSY was awarded with songwriting accolades at the annually held Seoul Music Awards, which marked his breakthrough in the music industry of South Korea.
Third album Sa Jib (Sa House) followed in 2006, along with more honors from the SBS Music Awards and M.net KM Music Festival. Aside from his regular recording and performing duties, PSY became a familiar face with appearances on Korean game shows like X-Man and talk shows like Golden Fishery, bringing his flashy style and offbeat charm to the masses.
PSY went for two years of mandatory military service between 2003 and 2005. However, because he did not properly serve his full-term service, he was redrafted in 2007, being released in 2009.
On October 14, 2006, PSY married his girlfriend of more than 3 years, Yoo Hye-yeon, and later had twin daughters.
Owing to financial difficulties, PSY could no longer release his own songs. This prompted his wife to encourage him to join the South Korean music label YG Entertainment.
PSY released his 5th album PSY Five in 2010, but its lead single "Right Now" was banned by South Korea's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for its "obscene" lyrics. Despite his lead single being banned, PSY received awards during the 2011 Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards. Prior to the release of "Gangnam Style", PSY had topped domestic music charts half a dozen times throughout his 12-year career, according to Billboard.
PSY reached stardom in July 2012 with his sixth album PSY's Best 6th Part 1 and his overnight hit sensation "Gangnam Style." On August 14, "Gangnam Style" was ranked no. 1 on YouTube's "Most Viewed Videos" chart with over 600 million hits. Later that month, the hit single reached #1 on the iTunes Music Video Charts. The music video became a YouTube phenomenon, with fans around the world and even celebrities, parodying the video and PSY's distinctive dance moves.
Riding high on the success of Gangnam Style, PSY was signed by Scooter Braun to Braun's Schoolboy Records, a label distributed by Republic Records. In early September, the Gangnam district awarded Psy with a plaque and named him an honorary ambassador. On October 24, 2012, PSY was recognized by the United Nations as an "International sensation." According to Reuters, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon scheduled a meeting with PSY in the belief that music has great power to overcome intolerance.
On November 30, PSY won four awards at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong. He met actor and stunt performer Jackie Chan, who called him a role model that proved that "dreams do come true".
PSY Arrested
In 2001, PSY was arrested for the possession of marijuana and as a result, was unable to attend his grandfather's funeral. During an interview, PSY remarked "I was very close to him. I was not there at the funeral. I will regret this [being arrested] for the rest of my life, because my grandpa loved me so much and I couldn't be there for him when he was on his deathbed."
Anti - American Controversy
In 2002, PSY participated in an anti-American concert after a U.S. military convoy struck and killed two 14-year-old South Korean schoolgirls during the Yangju highway incident. The soldiers involved in the incident were acquitted by U.S. military courts, which fueled a significant amount of anti-American sentiment in South Korea. During his performance, PSY lifted up a model of an M2 Bradley IFV and smashed it against the stage. In 2004, the South Korean translator and Christian missionary Kim Sun-il was kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq after the South Korean government refused to reconsider sending its armed forces to support the Iraq War. Although initial protests were only directed towards the South Korean government and towards extremists in Iraq, anti-U.S. military protesters decided to seize the moment to trigger a much larger wave of anti-Americanism. During a concert, PSY admonished the Iraqi kidnappers, condemned South Korea's former president Roh Mu-hyun, and also sang along to lyrics of the song "Dear American" by South Korean rock band N.EX.T, who composed it to condemn the United States and its military for its role in the Iraq war.
Although PSY's actions did not receive any significant international media coverage at that time, this changed after the media reported about it in early December 2012. On December 7, 2012, PSY issued an apology directed towards members of the U.S. military and to the American people for his "inflammatory and inappropriate" language, and expressed hope that the American public will accept his apology.
Although PSY's actions did not receive any significant international media coverage at that time, this changed after the media reported about it in early December 2012. On December 7, 2012, PSY issued an apology directed towards members of the U.S. military and to the American people for his "inflammatory and inappropriate" language, and expressed hope that the American public will accept his apology.
“While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted. I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused anyone by those words.…I have learned that though music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology.”
References: Wikipedia; Time; MTV; Hollyscoop
Photots Courtesy: Google Images
Photots Courtesy: Google Images
