‘Gangnam Style’ reaches 1 billion views

The South Korean music video becomes the first to hit that Youtube milestone.

Psy is short for “psycho,” but maybe now it should be short for “psyched.”

On Thursday, the singer’s “Gangnam Style” hit 1 billion views on YouTube, becoming the first video ever to reach that milestone.

To celebrate, YouTube has a little dancing Psy doing horsy moves next to his view count.

The trend watchers at YouTube thought “Gang- nam Style” might hit the 1-billion mark late Friday or early Saturday. But the power of “Gangnam Style” has surprised everyone — including Psy — each step of the way.

“Honestly, when I made this video I didn’t even expect 1 million views, because this is off my sixth album in Korea, so I just hoped it would be huge there,” the singer told MTV.

Psy’s video took off in South Korea as soon as he uploaded it to YouTube in July

few weeks later, it started to zoom around the world as celebrities such as hip-hop singer T-Pain and Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber’s manager, tweeted about it to their millions of Twitter followers.

Part of the video’s success is its international appeal — you don’t need to understand the words to enjoy Psy’s eccentric dance moves and his goofy sense of humor. Also, it’s the kind of video that lots of people want to watch over and over. One man in London plays it when he feeds his baby so that the child will eat.

Then, of course, came the avalanche of parodies, some of which have been viewed tens of millions of times.

YouTube trend manager Kevin Allocca wrote that tributes to “Gangnam Style” are now being viewed 20 million times every day.

Here are some favorites in case you’ve missed them:

A Psy look-alike gallops around NASA’s Johnson Space Center in “NASA Johnson Style.”

Noam Chomsky makes an appearance in “MIT Gangnam Style.”

The a cappella group Pentatonix, winner of the third season of “The Sing Off,” delivers a surreal cover of the song.

The Oregon Duck mascot goes on a dance-filled tour of the University of Oregon.

A dancer and his mother show. off their moves in “Gangnam A Style Mom by Mike Song.” He writes, “My mom will battle your mom.”