Psy showcases his popular “horseback riding” dance in the music video to his hit single “Gangnam Style.” (YG Entertainment)
South Korean singer Psy will be meeting American pop star Justin Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, during a trip to the U.S., according to a representative of Psy’s agency.
“It will be an informal affair,” the YG Entertainment representative said over the phone, explaining that Psy had originally planned to visit America for some downtime and added the meeting to his itinerary approximately a week ago. Psy is slated to depart for the U.S. on Wednesday.
There has been much talk about why Braun, a high-profile talent manager and record label mogul, and the singer would arrange a personal get-together.
Potential outcomes presented by the Korean press run the gamut from a collaboration between Psy and Justin Bieber to Braun purchasing the rights to produce a remake of Psy’s latest hit single, “Gangnam Style.”
No doubt, a tweet from Braun on July 31 about Psy’s single “Gangnam Style” has added fuel to the fire.
“HOW DID I NOT SIGN THIS GUY!?!??!” Braun posted on his Twitter account along with a YouTube link to the “Gangnam Style” music video.
According to Psy’s agency representative, however, nothing has been set in stone.
“Psy has to meet Braun first,” the representative said.
Braun runs his own label, School Boy Records, and a joint label-and-media company, Raymond Braun Media Group, with pop star Usher, in addition to representing prominent artists like Justin Bieber and Asher Roth.
Psy, who attended Boston University and Berklee College of Music, debuted with his first album in 2001 and signed to music goliath YG Entertainment in 2010. The 34-year-old artist released his sixth album in July, which included the explosively popular single “Gangnam Style.”
Following the single’s release, “Gangnam Style” has racked up over 28 million hits on YouTube thus far.
The music video, with its infectious “horseback riding” choreography, has also attracted coverage from CNN and the Los Angeles Times along with tweeted praises from American artists Josh Groban and T-Pain.
Psy’s concert last weekend in Seoul attracted a crowd of over 30,000. Psy followed up the concert with a guerilla performance of “Gangnam Style” at the Gangnam Subway Station intersection in Seoul on Tuesday. A second music video version of “Gangnam Style” with K-pop artist Hyun-a taking the lead is slated to go viral Wednesday
Psy’s agency representative stated the singer will be staying in the U.S. for a week to 10 days.
By Jean Oh (
oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)