Psy's "Gangnam Style" just proved it has no expiration date. The music video crossed 6 billion views on YouTube on the afternoon of Friday, July 17, making it the first K-pop music video in history to reach that mark, according to the Korea Herald. The achievement arrived nearly 14 years to the day after the video's release on July 15, 2012.
Psy's agency, P Nation, called it "a landmark achievement in K-pop history." In a statement, the agency said, "Surpassing 6 billion views is not only a symbolic milestone in the history of K-pop, but it demonstrates the enduring power of content that continues to be enjoyed across countries and generations."
The most recent billion views accumulated in roughly two years and seven months, after the video cleared 5 billion on December 30, 2023. That pace, slow by viral standards but steady across a decade-plus of internet churn, underlines just how deeply the song has embedded itself across cultures.
The horse-riding dance and satirical portrait of Seoul's affluent Gangnam neighborhood once seemed like a novelty. But "Gangnam Style" has since stacked up a set of firsts that track the growth of the entire streaming era.
In December 2012, it became the first video in YouTube's history to reach 1 billion views, and it was the first K-pop video to clear that threshold at all. Its seven-week run at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 is widely credited with helping ignite K-pop's global expansion.
“Gangnam Style” is now the ninth music video to surpass the 6 billion view mark, entering a club that also includes Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” (6.74 billion), Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again (7.01 billion), and Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” (9.06 billion).
Psy was performing at the Gwacheon stop of his Summer Swag 2026 tour when the latest milestone hit, taking the stage in the blue tuxedo from the original video. He told the crowd he would post footage from the night on YouTube as a thank-you to fans for pushing the video to 6 billion. He also posted a celebratory image on his YouTube channel.
