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=== Reception ===
=== Reception ===
16 hours after its release, "Gentleman" surpassed 10 million hits on the video sharing platform YouTube.<ref>{{cite web|title=Over 10 mn YouTube hits for Psy's 'Gentleman'|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcNttEmgmTlep_qxIu07qszeJSGA?docId=CNG.ce749d51ba4f04d815b9c26df9ae1a48.351|publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]]|accessdate=14 April 2013}}</ref> The audio-only version of the song had more than 1.2 million YouTube hits prior to the concert.<ref name=PuGdv/> 160,000 viewed the debut concert online.<ref name=PuGdv/> The song racked up over 20 million views in 24 hours, obliterating the record for most views in a single day on the video-sharing website.<ref name="YouTube record Yonhapnews">{{cite web|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2013/04/14/90/0701000000AEN20130414003051315F.HTML|title=(LEAD) Psy's 'Gentleman' video smashes YouTube record for single-day views|accessdate=2013-04-11|date=2013-04-15|publisher=Yonhap News Agency}}</ref> The video set the record for most view on Youtube in under 24 hours, beating [[Justin Bieber]]'s "[[Beauty and a Beat]]", which was viewed 10.6 million times in the first day<ref name="yonhapnews1"/> and by April 16, 2013 it has been viewed more than 110.8 million times.
16 hours after its release, "Gentleman" surpassed 10 million hits on the video sharing platform YouTube.<ref>{{cite web|title=Over 10 mn YouTube hits for Psy's 'Gentleman'|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcNttEmgmTlep_qxIu07qszeJSGA?docId=CNG.ce749d51ba4f04d815b9c26df9ae1a48.351|publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]]|accessdate=14 April 2013}}</ref> The audio-only version of the song had more than 1.2 million YouTube hits prior to the concert.<ref name=PuGdv/> 160,000 viewed the debut concert online.<ref name=PuGdv/> The song racked up 22 million views in 24 hours, obliterating the record for most views in a single day on the video-sharing website.<ref name="YouTube record Yonhapnews">{{cite web|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2013/04/14/90/0701000000AEN20130414003051315F.HTML|title=(LEAD) Psy's 'Gentleman' video smashes YouTube record for single-day views|accessdate=2013-04-11|date=2013-04-15|publisher=Yonhap News Agency}}</ref> The video set the record for most view on Youtube in under 24 hours, beating [[Justin Bieber]]'s "[[Beauty and a Beat]]", which was viewed 10.6 million times in the first day<ref name="yonhapnews1"/> and by April 16, 2013 it has been viewed more than 110.8 million times.


==Track listing==
==Track listing==

Revision as of 04:28, 17 April 2013

"Gentleman"
Song

"Gentleman" is the 19th K-pop single by South Korean musician PSY released on April 12, 2013 (KST).[2] It is the follow-up to his international hit single "Gangnam Style", which at the time of "Gentleman"'s release had been viewed on YouTube 1.5 billion times.[3] The first public performance of the song, with its associated dance, was unveiled at 6:30pm on April 13 at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul.[4][2][5] A poster was released containing the main line of the song 'I'm a mother f***** [sic] gentleman',[6] with the term 'f*****' reportedly being a mock-censored form of "father."[citation needed] The song racked up 22 million YouTube hits in 24 hours to set a new record for most views in a single day on the video-sharing website, beating Justin Bieber's "Beauty and a Beat", which was viewed 10.6 million times in 24 hours.[7] As of 16 April 2013, the video has been watched over 110 million times on YouTube.[8]

History

PSY first announced a new single would be forthcoming by Twitter on March 8.[9] He originally intended to follow up "Gangnam Style" with a song called "Assarabia", which is Korean slang for Oh Yeah!, but changed course upon realizing that the title might be offensive to Arab listeners.[3]

For the April 13 debut of the dance, Psy instructed fans to attend in white attire.[2][10] 50,000 people attended the April 13 World Cup Stadium performance, which gave the nation a respite at a time when political tensions are high due to concerns about the intentions of Kim Jong-un.[3] The 6:30 PM Seoul time/ 2:30 AM U.S. ET performance was broadcasted live on YouTube.[4]

Although his previous song's associated widely-imitated horse-riding dance had brought him notoriety, the "Harlem Shake" had recently challenged PSY and "Gangnam Style" for the top position in pop culture. PSY felt a lot of pressure to satisfy his growing fanbase, saying "Of course I feel more burden than before, because lots of people are watching." The new dance is characterized by fast, hip-swinging movements in Stuff.[11]

When the song was being introduced, Jeff Benjamin of The Independent reported that "A trailer posted on Psy’s Twitter links to a thudding beat with a repeated lyric of 'I'm a mother, father, gentleman'. Or 'motherf***er [sic]' depending on the interpretation of Psy's accent."[3] The song features more English than "Gangnam Style".[12] The Huffington Post classifies the song as electro-pop,[12] while Time describes it as K-pop.[1] An English-language translation of the lyrics can be seen here.[13]

Dance

File:BROWNEYEDGIRLS.jpg
The Brown Eyed Girls' 2009 K-pop single "Abracadabra" topped music charts in South Korea and inspired the dance moves for "Gentleman".[14] Band member Ga-In (third from left) also appears in the music video for "Gentleman".[14]

The dance in the chorus originates from girl group Brown Eyed Girls' 2009 hit, "Abracadabra".[14] In describing the dance in advance of the song's debut PSY stated, "I can't tell you about the dance but all Koreans know this dance - but (those in) other countries haven't seen it."[2]

Reception

Critical reception

Initial reactions were mixed as critics acknowledged the catchy tunes of "Gentleman" but also remained skeptical as to whether it will surpass the popularity of "Gangnam Style". CNN's Jake Tapper asserted that Psy's concern about being left behind as a one-hit wonder is "completely founded".[15] Simon Vozick-Levinson, associate editor at Rolling Stone, pointed out that "It's almost impossible to create another hit like "Gangnam Style".[15]

Chart performance

Within 48 hours of its release, "Gentleman" became the most downloaded song on half a dozen music streaming services in South Korea,[16] entered the top 10 songs on iTunes in Finland and Switzerland,[17] and debuted at No. 61 on the UK Singles Chart.[18]

Music video

Production

Psy has stated that filming the video took two days without any sleep.[3] The video is described to have a "sexual twist" in comparison to his previous single and features Psy performing a "fast, hip-swinging dance" and wearing an array of jackets in wide-ranging colors and sunglasses that he has become known for wearing.[11] Before the release of the video, he hinted that the choreography will be a unique take on a classic dance by stating that "All Koreans know this dance. But (those in) other countries haven’t seen it".[19] The dance was later revealed to be the "arrogant dance" from the song "Abracadabra" by South Korean girl group Brown Eyed Girls;[note 1] The music video also features an appearance by Brown Eyed Girls member Ga-In.[14] Psy reportedly paid a royalty to Brown Eyed Girls' choreographers in order to use the routine[20]

Infinite Challenge cast (Yoo Jae-suk, Park Myeong-su, Jeong Jun-ha, Jeong Hyeong-don, Noh Hong-chul, HaHa, and Gil) makes an appearance in the video, with Yoo Jae-suk and Noh Hong-chul making return appearances from Gangnam Style.[citation needed] The video reached 10.7 million views on Youtube within 16 hours of its upload, making it the fastest K-pop video to reach 10 million.[citation needed]

Synopsis

A tuxedo-clad Psy, wearing sunglasses, walks up a paved hill, depicted in slow-motion, while pointing at the viewer and then extending his arms. Psy is followed by an entourage of comparatively older and elderly Korean men holding what are obviously Psy's shopping bags. Psy kicks a traffic cone inscribed with Hangul text, and laughs and points at the viewer. Psy is then seen in a boutique, squatting, with his entourage seated around him, each gesturing to the viewer.

Psy is then shown alone, doing his hip-sway chin-grab dance. Psy is then shown standing up, again surrounded by his entourage, and pointing at the viewer. Psy is then shown walking through a narrow corridor, and, at one point, grabs the breast-contour of a female-shaped mannequin, followed by his entourage. Psy is then shown lounging in a patio chair, while a black-clad female does a suggestive dance behind him. Psy looks at her over his shoulder, laughs and claps once. Then the camera has pulled back to reveal his entourage seated around an elegantly-appointed outdoor breakfast table with Psy. Psy is again shown briefly inside the boutique doing his hip-sway extended-arms dance.

Psy dances at a playground with a guy (HaHa). Psy plays Candy Crush on his smartphone, as a woman jogs on a treadmill, but then Psy adjusts the controls to speed up the treadmill--and the woman, unable to run as fast as the treadmill belt, is propelled backwards onto the floor, while Psy laughs at her.[21] Psy then is shown talking to a girl at a restaurant table--while Noh Hong-chul does his pelvic thrusts shown in a mirror reflection nearby and in the same shot--but Psy then pushes the bottom of her coffee cup to her face.

File:Psy taunts Yoo Jae-suk in an elevator in the music video "Gentle Man".tiff
Psy dances, with ambiguous intent, next to Yoo Jae-suk in an elevator in the music video, having prolonged the duration of the elevator ride by pressing all the floor buttons

Yoo Jae-suk, wearing his now-familiar yellow tuxedo and sunglasses as in "Gangnam Style", rushes into an elevator, obviously urgently needing to reach a bathroom in order to evacuate his bowels, but Psy arrives and stalls the trip by pushing all the elevator floor buttons, Psy taunting or celebrating the doubled-over Yoo with his hip-sway chin-grab dance.[22]

At a library, Psy extends his hand down the back of his pants, and farts in his hand--cupping it to contain and concentrate the effluence--and then delivers it in front of a horrified girl's nostrils for maximum and momentarily-unavoidable olfactory effect. The sequence is depicted in slow-motion.[note 2][21][22]

In a seeming act of self-glorification of his conduct, Psy does his hip-swaying dance while putting his hand to his chin. The other guys do the same while the girls in ponytails sway and face the other way. He crashes a kids' soccer game,[22] and gets sprayed by a lawn sprinkler. He applies lotion to the back of a bikini-clad girl, but then undoes her top. He lies on his belly on the floor while two guys (Park Myeong-su and Jeong Jun-ha) sway on top of him. He takes a girl to be seated at a restaurant, but pulls the chair away, causing her to fall. Another guy (Jeong Hyeong-don) offers his hand to help her up, but yanks her down again.

Psy sees a girl (Ga-In) who wears a shirt with the red letter 'G', and who is working out at the weights. He takes off his jacket and flings it at her while he does a pull up. As he leaves, Ga-in follows him. They go to a tented market cafe where Ga-in abruptly pulls the seat from under Psy. While Psy plays around with and eats hand pulled noodles, she eats oden fishcake on a stick.

Psy and the dancers do the sway again. He parties with the people at the tent. He starts saying "Wet Psy!" He sits with two bikini-clad girls. As he sings "Wet PSY!" over and over, he and the two girls are catapulted into the swimming pool.[22] He and the dancers sway at the pool, an indoor field, and outdoors.

The after-song footage has an outtake from the tent cafe. The girl dances around the pole of a street sign while PSY does the same with a wider traffic light pole. A girl is about to make a photocopy when Psy rushes in and photocopies his...face. The copier prints the stylized promotional intertitle of the song and music video.

Thus, the video features Psy performing ungentlemanly pranks on various people until he sees who pulls unmannerly pranks on him.[14] Todd Gilchrist of MTV described the video to have "effectively parod(ied) a rich heel, subjecting ladies within his celebrity orbit to 'Billy Madison'-style gags like pulling chairs out from beneath them and speeding up treadmills until they fall off."[22]

Release

The "Gentleman" music video was posted on YouTube on Saturday, April 13, 2013, shortly following a live premiere and performance from PSY's live concert, which was streamed online. The song was released at midnight on April 12 in each time zone.[23] Many people seeking access to the song early online were blocked by Psy’s record company, Universal,[5] but Time reports that others were able to access the song prematurely.[4] When asked why he released the song a day before his "Happening" concert, he stated via Twitter "cause We Gotta Sing Along".[24]

Reception

16 hours after its release, "Gentleman" surpassed 10 million hits on the video sharing platform YouTube.[25] The audio-only version of the song had more than 1.2 million YouTube hits prior to the concert.[11] 160,000 viewed the debut concert online.[11] The song racked up 22 million views in 24 hours, obliterating the record for most views in a single day on the video-sharing website.[26] The video set the record for most view on Youtube in under 24 hours, beating Justin Bieber's "Beauty and a Beat", which was viewed 10.6 million times in the first day[7] and by April 16, 2013 it has been viewed more than 110.8 million times.

Track listing

Digital download
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gentleman"Park Jae-sang, Yoo Gun-hyung3:14

Charts and certifications