Rap star Psy, who is continuing to make his way around the world promoting his newest single “Gentleman,” made his first trip to Russia to perform at the MUZ-TV music awards show in Moscow on Friday.

“This is the first time ever, in my career and in my life, to be in Russia,” Psy said during the awards ceremony after receiving an award for the world’s breakout artist of the year.

“Now I can see a lot of Russian people really like me and I think I’m kind of popular in this country,” he said with a smile as the crowd cheered. 

The popular MUZ-TV Russian awards show, which was held at the Olympiisky Sport Complex in Moscow, acknowledges the achievements in both local and world music. The 11th annual awards ceremony featured some of the country’s most popular stars, with approximately 25,000 spectators filling the seats.

Psy took the stage and had the audience swaying their hips during the performance of his latest single “Gentleman.” After accepting his award, Psy thanked the audience in Russian and took the stage once again with “Gangnam Style.”

The day before the awards ceremony, Psy was greeted by thousands of local fans in a flash mob performing “Gangnam Style” in front of the Olympiisky Sport Complex. The flash mob was reportedly organized in part by the star’s Russian fan club, consisting of around 15,000 fans.

The “Gentleman” music video recently topped another feat by surpassing the 400 million viewer mark and inching closer to entering YouTube’s Top 10 most watched list, while the video that started it all, “Gangnam Style,” continues to make its climb, surpassing 1.6 billion YouTube views.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)