Gangnam Style is No.1

It is Youtube’s most-watched video now

Psy’s viral hit beats Bieber to become most-viewed YouTube video ever.

SEOUL: South Korean pop sensation Psy’s (pic) Gangnam Style has become YouTube’s most-watched video of all time, registering more than 805 million views to overtake Baby by Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber.

The 34-year-old rapper has rocketed to fame since Gangnam Style – in which he performs his famous horse-riding dance – became a worldwide hit following its release in July.

As of Saturday, the music video had racked up well over 805 million views against more than 803 million for Bieber’s Baby.

YouTube said the video has “been a massive hit at a global level unlike anything we’ve ever seen before”.

“Each day, Gangnam Style is still being watched between seven and 10 million times,” Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, wrote in a blog post, compared to 350 thousand to 500 thousand for Baby.

And where Baby took more than two years to register its 800 million-plus views, Gangnam Style reached that milestone in just over four months.

Psy’s song, which refers to an upmarket neighbourhood in Seoul, has topped charts from Britain to Australia and has been name-checked by global notables like US President Barack Obama and UN chief Ban Ki-momoon.

It has spawned numerous tribute videos, been imitated by an impressive roster of big names, including Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, and helped the singer land a contract with Bieber’s management agency. And the public hahas joined in, with tens of thousands turning out for giant flashmob performances of Psy’s horseriding dance in cities like Paris and Rome.

The quirky star, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, has won adulation in his homeland for the global hit and was this month awarded one of South Korea’s highest cultural honours, the Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit. — AFP