BTS’ Suga Says PSY ‘Paved the Way for K-Pop in the U.S.’: ‘We Were Able to Follow His Footsteps’
Trending on Billboard
K-pop fans everywhere can’t get enough of PSY‘s new collaboration with SUGA of BTS, “That That.” Need proof? The song’s only been out for a week and already has nearly 15 million streams on Spotify, and its music video has had more than 100 million views.
The song is a pivotal moment for both musicians, marking PSY’s first release since 2017 and Suga’s latest sweep as a producer rather than just a performer. The latter is undoubtedly most known for his membership in K-pop phenomenon BTS, a seven-piece boy band that’s achieved six Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s with several millions of albums sold.
But before they were able to do any of that, PSY had to lay the foundation. That’s according to Suga, who gave credit to PSY in an interview on his new collaborator’s YouTube channel. “He was always someone I was grateful for,” Suga says in Korean, his words translated into English in the subtitles. “With ‘Gangnam Style,’ he paved the way for K-pop in the U.S. so that we were able to follow his footsteps with ease.”
It’s definitely true that “Gangnam Style” was a cultural reckoning across the music industry, setting the stage for other K-pop acts to break through in Western countries by scoring the No. 2 spot on the Hot 100, and its music video becoming the first to reach 1 billion views on YouTube. “I was ranking second on Billboard‘s Hot 100 for seven weeks straight,” PSY said. “I thought I would get to first with my next song — but it never came, so I was quite bitter. I wanted someone to reach first place — BTS made my wish come true.”
The pair also spoke about how PSY has served as a mentor for Suga as he’s navigated his new, oftentimes overwhelming, success — something the 44-year-old singer-turned-manager previously talked about with Billboard. “I had no one to ask for advice,” PSY said in the video. “In 2012 and 2013, I was at my happiest, but also the most anxious state — how to take in the massive success, this unrealistic reality.”
“When we started gaining traction in the States in 2017 he was someone I really wanted to meet up with,” SUGA added. “I thought it would be great to get some advice when I was going through a tough time.”
Watch PSY and SUGA’s full interview below, and revisit their “That That” collab:
© 2024 PMC. All rights reserved.