PSY’s New Album, Video Turn Corner from ‘Gangnam Style’

South Korean singer Psy speaks during a press conference to promote his ninth album "PSY 9th," at a hotel in Seoul on April 29, 2022. (AFP)
South Korean singer Psy speaks during a press conference to promote his ninth album "PSY 9th," at a hotel in Seoul on April 29, 2022. (AFP)
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PSY’s New Album, Video Turn Corner from ‘Gangnam Style’

South Korean singer Psy speaks during a press conference to promote his ninth album "PSY 9th," at a hotel in Seoul on April 29, 2022. (AFP)
South Korean singer Psy speaks during a press conference to promote his ninth album "PSY 9th," at a hotel in Seoul on April 29, 2022. (AFP)

South Korean superstar PSY said his new album marks a "farewell to ‘Gangnam Style’" - the hit song that propelled him to superstardom exactly a decade ago.

Indeed, the music video for the lead single - "That That" featuring Suga from BTS - shows PSY in the famous blue suit he wore in the "Gangnam Style" video.

"So, a guy in a blue tuxedo comes out and gets a slap from Suga and goes on his way," alluding to his old self walking away from the past, PSY told The Associated Press during an interview before the album's release. His latest album "PSY 9th," released Friday, has 12 songs, including one featuring Korean-Canadian rapper Tablo.

PSY, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, swept the world with "Gangnam Style" in 2012. The song, with its addictive horse-riding dance and catchy melodies, made a global splash and currently has over 4.4 billion views on YouTube.

In an interview, PSY discussed the long gap in recordings, whether he’s still pressured by the global success of "Gangnam Style," and what he envisions for himself and the Korean pop industry.

Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
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AP: "PSY 9th" took five years. What took so long?

PSY: One can’t satisfy everyone. People’s taste is subjective. But if I let someone listen to my music and even if that person isn’t from the industry, if that person says, "This is not that great," I make a change. There are 40 to 50 people I play my music to when it’s ready. Until they collectively say, "This is the best it can get," I search for the song. So... I also make a lot of changes. Our artists find this difficult when working with me, and I want to change the habit, but it’s hard to correct it. When I make music, I listen to it on a cellphone speaker, on a big speaker, and do my best to try to find a fault... I kill many songs, and I’ve been in that process for a long time.

AP: Who are those 40-50 people?

PSY: Every artist in my company and some of our label employees. There are young and old people including my parents... The most random person is my best friend - someone my age living everyday life who has been continuously monitoring my songs ever since my first album.

AP: It’s been 10 years since "Gangnam Style." Are you still conscious of "Gangnam Style?" Do you feel pressure?

PSY: The hidden theme of this music video is "Farewell to Gangnam Style." So, a guy in a blue tuxedo comes out and gets a slap from Suga and goes on his way. There is a hidden theme in the song of me and Suga in new outfits sending old PSY off. It’s not a serious video but there is such a scene. But personally, and work wise, the success of "Gangnam Style" was a very big event so it’s impossible to not be conscious of it permanently. But at the same time, it’s been a long time, and right now I feel very free and easy. So instead of being conscious of it, I think of it as the biggest trophy on my shelf, nothing more or less. Right now, I’m just mesmerized by doing new music with new friends.

AP: So how long did it take you to get over "Gangnam Style?"

PSY: I couldn’t get over it at all for the 7th album. I was largely over it five years ago when I released my 8th album. Now, I am completely over it.

AP: What’s your favorite song in your music career?

PSY: There is a song called "It’s Art" in my 5th album. Whatever I write, it’d probably be difficult to beat that song.

AP: Why?

PSY: Even though I’ve been doing music for a long time, there are some of my own songs that still make me proud. That’s the song. It’s emotional and has nice beats and messages, and the audience loves the song. I’d never promoted the song, but it went viral and became the song that I sing after "Champion" and "Gangnam Style" during concerts.

AP: If there were to be the biggest change in the Korean pop industry in the near future, what would that be?

PSY: K-pop will continuously level up in terms of the size of budget and efforts going in, and the standard of trainees... I think the next change will be metaverse... Metaverse will bring changes to the K-pop industry by getting rid of boundaries for stage and audience.

AP: Are you preparing any NFT or metaverse-related project?

PSY: It’s my first time revealing this. I am preparing a character of myself that sings and dances. Thankfully, people are used to an illustration of me because I’ve been using it as my album cover ever since my debut... But PSY as a singer should remain active offline for a long time. I am not known for a muscular body or well-trained dance moves. The audience gets thrilled by my vibe and atmosphere on stage, so an audience-free concert won’t be an option for me. But I am working closely with artists in my label to prepare for the metaverse world.



Jennifer Lawrence to Get San Sebastian Festival Award

US actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives for the screening of the film "Die, My Love" at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2025. (AFP)
US actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives for the screening of the film "Die, My Love" at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Jennifer Lawrence to Get San Sebastian Festival Award

US actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives for the screening of the film "Die, My Love" at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2025. (AFP)
US actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives for the screening of the film "Die, My Love" at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2025. (AFP)

Oscar-winning actor and producer Jennifer Lawrence will receive a lifetime achievement award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain next month, organizers said Tuesday.

The 35-year-old will get a special "Donostia" award at the festival, where her latest movie "Die, My Love" will be shown.

The festival described Lawrence as "one of the most influential actors of our time" in announcing the award.

The new movie, which Lawrence also produced, will be shown on September 26, the same day as she receives the award.

The Spanish festival, which runs from September 19 to 27, will also give a lifetime achievement award to Esther Garcia, a producer closely linked to many of the films of Pedro Almodovar and other top Spanish directors.


Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein Dreams Are Alive 

This image released by Netflix shows Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in a scene from "Frankenstein." (Ken Woroner/Netflix via AP)
This image released by Netflix shows Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in a scene from "Frankenstein." (Ken Woroner/Netflix via AP)
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Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein Dreams Are Alive 

This image released by Netflix shows Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in a scene from "Frankenstein." (Ken Woroner/Netflix via AP)
This image released by Netflix shows Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in a scene from "Frankenstein." (Ken Woroner/Netflix via AP)

On the first day of shooting “Frankenstein,” Guillermo del Toro held up a drawing of the creature he had made when he was a teenager.

“He said, ‘This is like Jesus to me,’” recalls Oscar Isaac.

For the Mexican-born filmmaker, Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel and the 1931 film with Boris Karloff are his personal urtexts: the origin of a lifelong affection for the monsters del Toro has ever since, in reams of sketches and in a filmography doted by them, breathed into life. For a misunderstood kid growing up in a devout Catholic family, Frankenstein’s creature, unloved by his maker but graced by Karloff with empathy and fragility, cracked something open.

“I felt I was being born into a world that was unforgiving, where you either have to be a little white lamb or you were doomed,” del Toro says. “The moment Karloff crosses the threshold in the movie, backwards and then turns, I was like St. Paul on the road to Damascus. I said: That’s me. It was just an immediate and absolute soul transference. And I think that’s never gone.

“It was forgiveness for being imperfect,” adds del Toro.

“Frankenstein,” which Netflix will release in theaters Oct. 17 and on its streaming service Nov. 7, may be the culmination of del Toro’s artistic life. It’s his chance to, finally, unleash a movie — a grand saga of creator and creation — that he’s been dreaming of decades.

“It’s the movie that I’ve been in training for 30 years to do,” del Toro said in a recent interview from Toronto, where he was mixing the film.

Del Toro first saw the 1931 film when he was 7. He read Shelley’s book at 11. Ever since, monsters have been less a narrative device to him than an abiding personal belief system. As long as 20 years ago, he was talking about his hopes of making a “Miltonian” adaptation of Shelley's novel. Time, though, he thinks has helped. As a child, he identified with the creature. After becoming a parent, he understood Dr. Frankenstein in a new way.

“It’s one of those books that changes with you,” he says. “So the movie changed. You feel like you’ve been dreaming about it for so long.”

In the film, an epic adorned with massive sets and lavish costumes, Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, with Jacob Elordi as the monster. Isaac initially met with del Toro with no project in mind. Their talk turned toward their fathers.

“By the end of that conversation, he said, ‘I want you to be my Victor,’” Isaac says. “I didn’t really know he was doing Frankenstein. Then he gave me Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and the Tao Te Ching and said, ‘Read these two things.’”

Isaac, 46, had long known del Toro, but it was their first film together. For the actor, the collaborative experience reminded him of his breakthrough role with the Coen brothers.

“It felt like doing ‘Llewyn Davis’ again. And I haven’t had that since,” Isaac says. “It’s the kind of feeling of a family all building this thing together in an incredibly communal way.”

An awards player for Netflix

Netflix, along with producers J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber, are betting “Frankenstein” will be one of the fall’s top films. It’s premiering at the Venice Film Festival before stopping at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Del Toro's last film, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” won the streamer its first best animated film Oscar. In 2018, del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” won best picture. “Frankenstein” is all but sure to be in the Academy Awards mix this fall.

But there have been more than a hundred Frankenstein films over the years. Yet it’s also been a long time (Tim Burton's “Frankenweenie” in 2012?) since one really grabbed audiences. For del Toro, what makes his “Frankenstein” unique might be the depth of feeling he has for it.

“I believe you can cover ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ and be Joe Cocker or not. But the only thing you have is your voice,” says del Toro.

Inspiration from a halftime show

Del Toro's “Frankenstein” was also made with particular fidelity to Shelley, and seeks to avoid some of the more simplistic characterizations that have been done over the years. The conception of Victor Frankenstein was less mad scientist than an artist and showman. Isaac even took inspiration from an R&B icon.

“For one scene, when Victor goes into the tower for the first time, imagining his lab, I even watched a rehearsal of Prince coming to the Super Bowl and the way he looked around the stage, that kind of ownership,” says Isaac.

Del Toro, 60, sees himself in both Frankenstein and his monster, and wanted a “Frankenstein” that reflects the perspectives of both.

“Since ‘Nightmare Alley,’ I tend to think of the protagonist and the antagonist are sometimes the same character,” del Toro says. “That, I guess, happens after turning 50. You start to see the world as a paradox, as opposed to a dichotomy.”

It's tempting to see del Toro, himself, as a kind of Victor Frankenstein. He’s a maker of monsters, a conjurer of fantastical things. But despite having contemplated his Frankenstein movie for many years, he didn't want to make a preordained movie, electrified into life by his genius. He wanted to more gently shepherd it into being.

“Contrary to the doctor, I’ve learned to listen. When you’re a young filmmaker, you talk about the movie you see,” says del Toro. “What you learn with the decades of experience is that the movie is talking. And it tells you what it needs to be. People ask what comes with age as a director. I say, you understand that making films is not a dictation. It’s not a hostage negotiation with reality.”


‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Movie Holds Its Own Atop Music and Movie Charts 

This image released by Netflix shows characters, from left, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey in a scene from "KPop Demon Hunters." (Netflix via AP)
This image released by Netflix shows characters, from left, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey in a scene from "KPop Demon Hunters." (Netflix via AP)
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‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Movie Holds Its Own Atop Music and Movie Charts 

This image released by Netflix shows characters, from left, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey in a scene from "KPop Demon Hunters." (Netflix via AP)
This image released by Netflix shows characters, from left, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey in a scene from "KPop Demon Hunters." (Netflix via AP)

From K-pop trainee to songwriter and now a leading singer in "KPop Demon Hunters," South Korean artist EJAE poured everything she knew about popular Korean music into the Netflix project.

The animated film that has become a cultural phenomenon includes the chart-topping hit "Golden," which EJAE performs.

"I just love how 'Golden' is a very hopeful song, so not just America, but globally, everyone's resonating with it," the singer told Reuters.

"It feels like we're all like connecting together," she added. The 33-year-old was signed by South Korea's SM Entertainment when she was in her teens as a trainee, learning singing, dancing and performing in anticipation of launching a career as a K-pop artist.

Instead of singing, she initially became a songwriter and producer who worked with popular groups such as Aespa, Twice, Red Velvet, Nmixx and others to capture the authentic sound of the genre.

"KPop Demon Hunters" debuted on the streaming platform on June 20, quickly garnering global praise from critics and audiences.

The story follows a trio of demon hunters that perform K-pop music to both impress fans and combat demons. A sing-along version of "KPop Demon Hunters" topped the domestic box office over the weekend, in what appears to be a historic first for streaming giant Netflix.

The movie brought in an estimated $18 million from US and Canada box offices, according to IMDb's Box Office Mojo, surpassing the $15.6 million for horror movie "Weapons."

"KPop Demon Hunters" centers on Rumi, the lead singer of the group, with musical vocals provided by EJAE and a speaking voice from Arden Cho.

Rumi struggles with her identity and fears that her two best friends, Mira, voiced by May Hong, and Zoey, voiced by Ji-young Yoo, won’t accept her for who she really is.

The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation. While the fictional K-pop girl group called HUNTR/X has achieved enormous real-life success, Cho has been surprised by some of the audience reactions to the movie’s music.

"Someone was saying that HUNTR/X voices were A.I. (artificial intelligence) because it's so good," Cho said.

"It's so good that they were like, ‘Oh, those singers must be AI.’ ‘No, we're real. We're here,’" she added.

The movie's soundtrack has dominated the charts this summer, boasting over 3 billion global streams to date, with breakout hit "Golden" hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Netflix reports.

The action-packed movie is also the highest-charting soundtrack of 2025 so far with songs "How It's Done", "What It Sounds Like" and "Free" also ranking with "Golden" in the top 10 most streamed songs for the week ending on August 14, according to Luminate.

To create "Golden," which is getting Grammy Award buzz, EJAE had to hit some high notes.

"Whenever Rumi sings, you know, they (the directors) really wanted her to belt, show off her vocals because that's her role, right?" EJAE said.

"So, yes, I put as many high notes as possible. And like, I honestly found my range while singing 'Golden,'" she added.