Psy mends rift; U.S. No. 1 proves elusive

Entertainers Kim Jang-hoon (left) and Psy publicly rekindle their friendship at the “Night of the Stars 2012” concert on Wednesday after a recent plagiarism dispute between the two. (Yonhap News)

It has been quite a week for the Korean rapping icon Psy. He and fellow entertainer Kim Jang-hoon appear to have solved their differences and Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family lifted the 19-and-older age restriction on one of Psy’s songs from 2010. However, not all of the news is good as it was also announced that U.S. band Maroon 5 has once again stopped Psy in his tracks in his quest for a U.S. No. 1.

For the third consecutive week Maroon 5 has kept Psy from topping the U.S. Billboard charts, and with “Gangnam Style” beginning to lose ground, it is beginning to look as though Psy will have to keep his shirt on.

Last week Maroon 5 bested Psy by less than 500 overall chart points. This week, however, the gap widened to a 700-point separation between Maroon 5’s “One More Night” and “Gangnam Style.” Although “One More Night” increased by less than one percent in overall points, “Gangnam Style” saw a decline of one percent. On the digital songs chart, “Gangnam Style” also fell 13 percent, slipping from the number two spot to number four.

Friendship reaffirmed
Meanwhile, as Psy was performing at the “Night of the Stars 2012” concert in Seoul, fellow entertainer Kim Jang-hoon made a surprise visit and publicly apologized on the stage for the recent conflict between the two performers.

Kim apologized to Psy for all the misunderstandings saying, “I felt bad that I was getting in the way of my loving brother’s prosperous path.” Psy also apologized for all the worry that he had caused. The two then took a “love shot” of soju and embraced one another in a demonstration of friendship.

The bad blood between the two singers started with accusations of Psy plagiarizing Kim’s stage production technique and performances. Kim had previously posted distressing messages on his me2day page that were later seen as being directed toward Psy, causing tension between the two.

MOGEF ban lifted
After recently updating its music censorship policies, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that it lifted the restrictions on Psy’s 2010 hit song “Right Now.”

The song was originally deemed unfit for minors because of the lyrics which include the line “Life is a strong alcohol.” Under previous MOGEF regulations, all songs featuring words concerning drinking and smoking could not be sold to those under the age of 19 and could not be aired until after a certain hour.

The ministry lifted the restrictions on around 300 songs, including 2pm’s “Hands Up” and Jang Hye-jin’s “Drinking.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)