“Gangnam Style” star Psy Friday unveiled the highly-anticipated follow-up to his global hit with another catchy dance tune infused with his signature self-mocking humour.
Even Kim Jong-Un's threats of nuclear war couldn't divert world attention from the main event on the Korean peninsula this week as “Gentleman” hit online music stores in a midnight rolling release across 119 nations.
With fans and critics waiting to see whether the “Gangnam Style” star and his invisible horse-riding dance are more than just a one-hit wonder, the new electro-dance song offers an equally simple and catchy melody.
The song - a satire of a self-proclaimed “gentleman” trying to woe women at a party - contains more English lyrics than “Gangnam Style” in an apparent effort to appeal to the singer's newfound global fans.
“Let me tell you about myself. I'm such a charmer with guts, vigour and humour,” Psy sings in Korean before bursting out in English repeatedly, “I'm a mother father gentleman.”
“Gonna make you sweat. Gonna make you wet. You know who I am? Wet Psy!” he sings in English.
The crucial music video has not been released yet and is expected to be unveiled around a promotional concert in Seoul on Saturday featuring the new song and accompanying dance routines which will be streamed live on YouTube.
The 35-year-old rapper also offered a possible glimpse of what might be the next dance craze in a teasing video message showing off some new moves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?vxQZTZHashKg&listPLEC422D53B7588DC7& index1).
It was the video of “Gangnam Style”, and in particular Psy's signature horse-riding dance, that pushed him to global stardom last year after it was posted on YouTube and turned into a viral sensation.
A satire on the luxury lifestyle of Seoul's upscale Gangnam district, it has become the most-watched YouTube video of all time, registering more than 1.5 billion views since it debuted last July.
The song topped charts around the world, and inspired a horde of online tributes and parodies, as well as flash mobs of thousands of dancing fans in cities like Paris and Milan.
Psy has promised a “Psy style” take on a traditional Korean dance for the new “Gentleman” video.
“This is another very rousing song... The dance is one known to all Koreans but new to foreigners. This will be presented in Psy style,” he told a South Korean TV news programme earlier this month.
First reactions to the new song were mixed, with some fans hailing it as another pop sensation while others were reserving judgment until the video is unveiled.
“'Gangnam Style' was pretty awesome but this new song is equally cool... the repeated phrase is very addictive,” said an online commentator in Seoul.
“This is too similar to 'Gangnam Style' but only far less fun... I think I'll wait until I see how good the music video is,” tweeted (at)dark_serika.
The big release comes at a delicate time, with military tensions soaring on the Korean peninsula, and North Korea expected to carry out a provocative missile launch at any moment.
The North has even advised foreigners living in South Korea to consider leaving the country, to avoid being caught in a “thermo-nuclear war”.
South Koreans who have lived with the North's hostile rhetoric for decades have remained largely unfazed by the crisis, and discussion of Psy's new single completely overshadowed Pyongyang's threats on news portals and chat rooms.
“Gangnam Style” was always going to be a hard act to follow, and many have forecast that the new single will inevitably fall flat.
But Psy is no novice, and Seoul music critic Gu Ja-Hyoung said the singer was capable of sustaining his global appeal.
Already an established artist in South Korea with six albums under his belt, Psy has been building and polishing his own style of quirky, explosive music and flamboyant stage persona since his debut in 2001.
“He wasn't just some lucky guy who happened to win accidental stardom. It's just that the world belatedly got to know about him thanks to YouTube,” Gu said.
“It will be hard to match the kind of success achieved by 'Gangnam Style' but the new song will let the world know again that he remains the brilliant showman he always was and always will be,” he added. - Sapa-AFP