Psy signs with Island Records, gets mashed-up with Khia, flawlessness ensues

Two good things have happened to Korean rapper Psy today. Firstly, thanks to the success of his viral anthem “Gangnam Style”, he’s landed a global management deal with Island Records, and secondly, the song has just received the magic “My Neck My Back” mash-up treatment.
Is there anything that Khia‘s “My Neck My Back” can’t be mashed-up with? Seriously. Kween Khia drowns HyunA’s version of Psy’s smash in orange Kool-Aid, outshining the 4minute rapstress with her crude rhymes to stand alone as the definitive female version of “Gangnam Style”.
Now onto Psy’s new deal with Island Records. Here’s the exact tea courtesy of AllKPop.
Psy’s representative revealed on September 4th, “Psy has signed on with Island Records for his management worldwide with the exception of Korea.”
Along with the news, it has also been announced that Psy will be attending the MTV VMA (Video Music Awards) coming up. The representative revealed, “Psy will be leaving Korea to stand on stage at the MTV VMA on the 6th, and will also be discussing future plans with Island Records during the trip.”
The success of “Gangnam Style” has been pretty phenomenal –the likes of Katy Perry and Britney Spears have co-signed it, it’s been performed at Dodgers Stadium, featured on every major media outlet from ABC to CNN, and the Youtube clip has almost crossed the 100 million mark– but I’m still surprised to see the interest from Island.
“Gangnam Style” has been selling well on iTunes and is starting to garner some airplay (pretty much considering it’s not even in English), and considering how long it takes the general popular to really catch onto something, “Gangnam Style” definitely has the potential to be a real Hot 100 hit and not just a one-week-wonder like Wonder Girls’ “Nobody”. But even with all the success, “Gangnam Style” is still nothing more than a novelty hit in the same vein as “The Ketchup Song” or “Macarena”. It doesn’t mean that either K-Pop or Psy have truly broken the American market. The chance of Psy following “Gangnam Style” up with another hit single are slim (but not impossible), but there’s no harm in milking the “Gangnam Style” craze for all it’s worth. It’s definitely further solidifying K-Pop as a viable niche market in the music world, and should help open the door further for other Korean artists hoping to crossover and achieve some success outside of their own country.
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