Gangnam video first to hit two billion views on YouTube

The video for Gangnam Style has become the first YouTube video to be watched more than two billion times.

The hit by the South Korean rapper Psy from July 2012 sparked a worldwide dance craze.

Only Justin Bieber’s video for the track Baby, with one billion YouTube hits, comes anywhere near Gangnam Style’s global appeal on the site.

Psy’s horse-dance has led to numerous tributes and parodies by everyone from Ban Ki Moon to prisoners in a Philippine jail.

His follow up song Gentleman also did well on YouTube, so far picking up almost 700 million views.

Gentlemen also holds the record for the most views in a day with 38 million.

After Justin Beiber a video called Charlie bit my finger – again! is a distant third with 711 million views on YouTube.

In total Psy has three of the top 15 videos on the site.

‘The difficulties’

The singer spent much of last year on a world tour taking in the US , Europe and ending with a tour of Asia.

The 36-year-old K-Pop sensation has in the past described the difficulties of attempting to follow-up Gangnam Style.

“The problem is my music video is more popular than I am,” he said. “So I’ve got to overcome my music video first.”

Last year he tweeted a photo of himself with his face covered calling it, “pain of creation”, and said the stardom has taken a toll.

In 2012 Psy was presented one of South Korea’s highest cultural honours the Okgwan Order Of Cultural Merit, he also performed for the new president of South Korea, Park Geun-Hye at her inauguration ceremony.

BBC