Review by Christa Settle
After seeing this viral hit by Psy hit the #1 spot on Spotify and #3 on iTunes currently, I felt the need to blog about it. I believe that this is one of the first times that an Asian pop single has reached so high up on the Top Lists in America. It may just be due to the viral dance craze that Psy’s music video of Gangman Style has taken on, but I see much more in this.
One of the reason why I love music so much is because it unites all of us. Not just in one country, but all over the world. I witnessed this when I homestayed in Japan back in 2008. With language barriers and cultural differences, it can be hard to communicate and bond with someone from another country. But the solution to this is music. Even though language barriers and cultural differences weren’t much of an issue between my host sister and I, I felt that I was really able to bond with my host sister and her classmates and friends through music. They knew the songs that were hits in America and knew a lot about our hottest musicians and bands, and they introduced me to theirs. Even if you don’t speak a language fluently or at all, music in another language still speaks to you. You can still feel the pain, love, happiness, etc. in a voice and in music. Music is an amazing tool. Japan has a lot of American artists that dominate their citizen’s iPods along with their own, and now I’m happy to see that music from another country is topping the charts in America.
My Japanese host sister posted this status on her Facebook the other day: “its funny watching my news feed, every one of my SILS friends(who literally are scattered around the world) mentions/likes a video of/put a picture of dancing ‘gangnam stylle’. guess you are the greatest, oppa PSY!! :D”. SILS stands for the School of International Liberal Studies at her Japanese university, Waseda University. The students in their sophomore year have to spend the year abroad and as she says, they are all scattered around the world. Yet the one thing that they all have in common right now in all the different countries is this song! That status once again reminded me of the power of music.
So what I have to say about this single is, thank you Psy, for making such an awesome viral song that is a worldwide hit!
I want to know, has anyone looked up a translation for this song in their language? I looked it up in English, and it is about a type of girl from a certain part of Korea. Here they are for your reference, courtesy of kpoplyrics.net
“Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style
A girl who is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist
I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensable girl like that
I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
You know what I’m saying
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
Oppa is Gangnam style ah”
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