SEOUL, South Korea — Psy, the South Korean rapper behind the “Gangnam Style” worldwide smash hit that featured his unique pony dance moves, released his new single Friday to 119 countries.
Nine months after Gangnam was unveiled and became the most- watched YouTube video of all time with more than 1.5 billion views, the new “Gentleman” single was previewed first in New Zealand. The dance pop song was scheduled for release at midnight local times in the different countries.
Similar to Gangnam, the new song matches a throbbing electronic beat with catchy Korean lyrics, climaxing in a chorus of “I’m a mother father gentleman.” The single is so far only available as a digital download, and a music video will be released some time after Saturday’s concert, according to Hwang Min-hee, a spokeswoman for Psy’s agency, YG Entertainment Inc.
“We don’t have a specific viewership goal for the new video at the moment,” Hwang said. “The audience will decide.”
Psy, a 35-year-old singer whose real name is Park Jae Sang, revealed a teaser of his dance moves for the new song on his Twitter account, showing swiveling hips.
The singer will perform the song live for the first time in Seoul tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. local time in a concert for 50,000 fans that will be streamed on YouTube. Psy will tour in the U.S. in April, Europe in May and Asia in June to promote the new single, Hwang said.
Gangnam Style, which featured satirical lyrics about the habits of wealthy South Koreans, propelled Psy to global fame, earning him appearances on U.S. television programs including “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and NBC’s “Today Show,” and a nomination for Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
Advertising revenue from Psy’s YouTube clips is estimated at 200 million won ($177,000) a month, including the licensing fee that goes to Google, owner of YouTube, said Han Youp-lee, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co.
Psy also appears in TV commercials in South Korea for companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. and mobile carrier LG Uplus Corp.
