Dubbed the ‘King of Youtube’ Psy has gained international fame for his outlandish stage performances and hit single ‘Gangnam Style’. Psy was born Park Jae-sang on New Year's Eve 1977 in the Gangnam area of Seoul in South Korea. When he was 15, Queen’s hit single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was broadcast to Korean TV. Psy says that this experience inspired his love for music.
In 1996 Psy travelled to America to study but soon returned to Korea after dropping out of a business administration course at Boston University and a music course at the Burklee College of Music. In 2000 and 2001 Psy released two albums, ‘PSY From the Psycho World!’ and ‘Sa 2'. Both records received a negative backlash from South Korean authorities who banned ‘Sa 2’ from being sold to under 19s. He went on to release three more albums which turned him into a chart-topping artist in South Korea.
Psy married the cellist Yoo Hye-yeon in 2006; the couple have twin daughters together.
In 2012 sixth studio album, ‘PSY 6 (Six Rules): Part 1’ hit the charts. The album contained the single ‘Gangnam Style’ which was played on networks outside of Asia. By August 21 2012 the single was number one on the iTunes Music Video Charts and was the most-viewed video on YouTube. In December 2012 it became the first video to receive 1 billion views on the website. The famous ‘Gangnam Style’ dance has since been parodied by a number of celebrities and Psy himself has appeared on Saturday Night Live during a skit of the video.
Following the viral success of ‘Gangnam Style’, Psy has been made an honorary ambassador of the Gangnam district, spoken at Oxford University and has met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
