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It’s here! PSY’s latest single ‘Hangover’ featuring none other than Snoop Dogg himself! Given that this single is not actually a Korean release, it would seem that PSY has made the full transition into the American music scene. Whether or not this was the right move remains to be seen, as we take a deeper look at this crazy song, which at time of writing, has already reached a whopping 22.3 million views on YouTube!
Here's the MV:
Concept
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out this one – it’s about having a hangover! The video gives a funnier perspective than the reality though, of course, as it tends to focus on the process of acquiring a hangover rather than suffering with one. The MV, as with most of PSY’s work, is very entertaining and funny. PSY and Snoop Dogg proceed to get incredibly drunk together, which leads to them partying with some ahjummas, playing pool and singing in a noraebang together. It’s great to see that Snoop Dogg is game to be silly and have fun even despite his high rapper status; he seems like he genuinely has fun and enjoys PSY’s company as they mess around. There are a few cartoon-style sets featured, which can sometimes look cheap, but in PSY’s case fit right in with his pre-existing image and the 'cartoonised' version of himself that features in all his merchandise etc. The short cameos made by PSY’s fellow label mates G-Dragon and CL will also undoubtedly please all the YG-stans out there and it adds that extra YG flare to the proceedings.
Song
The hook-line to this song is rather unimaginative: “Hangover, hangover, hangover…” and it sounds very much like the “hustlin’ hustlin’” part from BIGBANG Seungri’s solo single “Gotta Talk to U” (which incidentally, was sampled from Rick Ross’ original track ‘Hustlin’’). It comes across as incredibly lazy song-writing. It’s pretty catchy, but it just lacks the originality I feel it would need in order to be something really worth appreciating. PSY’s voice is also terribly over-auto tuned. Of course, he is not a ballad singer, but his natural voice carries well enough on its own, and when it is over-doctored like this the single sadly loses its signature PSY flavour somewhat. As ever, Snoop Dogg’s rapping is on point. His rather drowsy flow is never my personal favourite, but in this single, he adds some extra comedy and another level to the song. I do feel that he was given a little too much airtime though, the song is much more a Snoop Dogg featuring PSY piece rather than the other way round which is quite perplexing. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that when a company has Snoop, they want to use him, but I don’t think that this should be to the detriment of the other artists. PSY has ended up being the back singer (or is that auto-tuner?) for this one, which is sad.
Choreography
The beautiful female backing dancers twerk ever so slightly and sway their bottoms in a metronome motion to the tick-tock beat, with a lot of hair-flicking on top. All other dancing seems to be the silly drunk-type or PSY’s typical bouncy skipping. The moves are not exactly ground-breaking is what I am trying to say here, however, it fits the overall concept and song really well and definitely makes you smile when watching - perfect for PSY.
HIGHLIGHT
When PSY, Snoop and the two ahjummas are holding hands and skipping down the street together. They look so happy; you can’t deny that you at least smirked at that part, right?
Overall
This single isn’t without its flaws. Personally, I would have liked to hear PSY’s natural voice a lot more, and to hear his voice more in the song full stop, even if it meant that Snoop sacrificed one of his verses to be rapped by PSY instead. Many people are already accusing PSY of ‘selling-out’ to the American market and trying too hard to make his follow up singles too similar to his viral hit ‘Gangnam Style’.
Thank you to Lore Walsh for the image banner!
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