Gangnam Style

"Gangnam Style" (Korean: 강남스타일, IPA: [kaŋnam sɯtʰail]) is a single by South Korean rapper Psy. The song was released on July 15, 2012, as the lead single of his sixth studio album PSY's Best 6th Part 1. "Gangnam Style" debuted at number one on the Gaon Chart, the national record chart of South Korea. The music video has been viewed over 357 million times on YouTube as of October 3, 2012, making it the site's most watched K-pop video.

The video has been shared on the Internet by numerous celebrities including T-Pain, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and Tom Cruise, covered by music artists Nelly Furtado and Maroon 5,  and featured in international media outlets such as CNN International, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Harvard Business Review, and the global politics magazine Foreign Policy. "Gangnam Style" flash mobs have appeared in cities around the world. The video has become a source of parodies and reaction videos by many different groups including The Oregon Duck, midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy, and the North Korean government.  Psy has brought the "Gangnam Style" dance to various locations including The Today Show, Saturday Night Live, Dodger Stadium, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Samsung commercials.
"Gangnam Style" has been highly praised for its catchy beat and Psy's humorous dance moves in the music video and live performances. On September 17, the song was nominated for Best Video at the upcoming 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards to be held in Frankfurt, Germany. On September 20, 2012, "Gangnam Style" was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most "liked" video in YouTube history".
  
Background

"Gangnam Style" is a Korean neologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam district of Seoul, where people are trendy, hip and exude a certain supposed "class". The term was listed in Time's weekly vocabulary list as a manner associated with lavish lifestyles in Seoul’s Gangnam district. Psy likened the Gangnam District to Beverly Hills, California, USA, and said in an interview that he intended a twisted sense of humor by claiming himself to be "Gangnam Style" when everything about the song, dance, looks, and the music video is far from being such a high class. In another interview with CNN, Psy added that:
People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are — it’s only the posers and wannabes 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 so hard to be something that they’re not.
The song talks about "the perfect girlfriend who knows when to be refined and when to get wild." The song's refrain "오빤 강남 스타일 (Oppan Gangnam style)" has been translated as "Big brother is Gangnam style", with Psy referring to himself; "Oppa" is a Korean expression used by females to refer to an older male friend or older brother.

The music was composed by Psy and Yoo Gun-hyung, a producer in South Korea who also collaborated with Psy in the past. Yoo also arranged the song while Psy was responsible for the lyrics.