'Gangnam Style' vs. 'One Pound Fish'
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Muhammad Shahid Nazir’s “One Pound Fish” is shaping into a phenomenon, of the likes of the “Gangnam Style.” The video of “One Pound Fish” already has up to 1.5 million hits on YouTube since Monday. The old “Gangnam Style” has now recorded almost 900 million views. While some blog writers are referring to “One Pound Fish” as the “next” “Gangnam Style,” others find it necessary to disagree.
Both the songs are rather unusual and have given huge breaks to the artists. On one hand, there is a Korean who is older than most new artists and yet has become famous especially among youth, while on the other, there is Nazir, a fish seller whose song talks about cheap seafood and beautiful girls. It can be noticed that both these songs have phrases all set to conquer minds and be mentally on repeat: “Gangnam” with its “Heeey sexy ladies,” while “One Pound Fish” with its “Come on ladies, come on ladies, One pound fish!”
“One Pound Fish” is not expected to match the international popularity and fervor of “Gangnam Style.” For starters, the song sounds and looks more like a parody (“Gangnam” is funny, but not a mockery of itself). Also, the curiosity of another language, such as Korean in “Gangnam,” is missing in “One Pound Fish.” It is definitely catchy but not as unusual. The easy language allows listeners to understand the lyrics; hence, they will most probably find it just silly. “Gangnam” was heavily spread because of its invisible horse dance – the fish dance on the other hand seems far less viral. The look and style that Psy brought on in his song’s video was distinctive. Even though it was ridiculous, it was part of what attracted so many hits.
Although “Gangnam Style” has record-breaking hits on YouTube and quite literally redefined the term “viral,” the song does not seem to have made it on the Vevo year-end Top 10 songs list. It is reported that the record label that originally released “Gangnam Style” does not have a deal with Vevo.