Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Pyongyang Style? South Korea ‘push’ for Psy to perform in North

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Seoul is pushing for Gangnam Style star Psy to perform in next week’s historic concerts by South Korean artists in the North’s capital, reports said.

A team of at least nine South Korean pop acts are set to visit North Korea next week for two concerts in Pyongyang, the first of their kind for more than a decade.

The shows -- part of reconcilia­tory moves ahead of a planned inter-Korean summit in April -- feature many top stars including K-pop girlband Red Velvet.

But Seoul is also seeking to include Psy in the lineup, South Korean media reports said, citing sources in the government.

The 40-year-old rapper/ singer became an internatio­nal sensation in 2012 when his wacky but catchy Gangnam Style music video went

SEOUL:

viral on Youtube, pushing him into global stardom.

The song satirised the lifestyle of the wealthy denizens of Gangnam in Seoul, the South’s richest district, and the video has been viewed more than three billion times.

“We have formally proposed to the North to add Psy to the lineup,” Seoul’s MBC TV station on Sunday quoted a Seoul government official as saying.

But Pyongyang opposed the idea, it said, adding the conservati­ve North was apparently concerned about the singer’s provocativ­e performanc­e style. Psy has in the past stripped topless on stage and his lyrics include swear words. AFP

 ?? GETTY IMAGES ?? Psy performs in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.
GETTY IMAGES Psy performs in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.

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