Psy's New Single Off to a Roaring Start

Psy's attempt to replicate the success of "Gangnam Style" with his new single is well on course. Since "Gentleman" was first unveiled at a concert in Seoul on Saturday night, the song has racked up some 44 million clicks on Youtube as of Monday, and rising.

This is of course much faster than "Gangnam Style," a sleeper phenomenon that achieved 10 million hits in the 19 days since the release.

The song itself has received mixed reviews, from "as original as 'Gangnam Style'" to "simplistic, trite techno."

But Psy managed to make worldwide headlines again. A concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Saturday where Psy premiered "Gentleman" drew over 40,000 people, while another 150,000 fans worldwide watched it live on YouTube.

AP and Reuters came to cover the concert, and Billboard made Psy's latest release its top news online.

The song is currently ranked 30th in the U.S. on the iTunes' download rankings, higher than Gangnam Style's 64th.

It is either at or near the top of the charts in over 20 countries including Argentina, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand.

Psy plays it safe with the song and video, a mildly amusing collage of ungentlemanly behavior and bouncy dance moves that more or less replicates the format of the "Gangnam Style" clip. But nobody really expected "Gentleman" to surpass "Gangnam Style" in terms of its explosive reception.

Pop critic Park Eun-seok said, '''Gentleman' will be successful thanks to the expectations built on 'Gangnam Style.'"

Some are disappointed that the song seems merely more of the same. One producer from KBS said, "The fact that 'Gentleman' follows the format of 'Gangnam Style' and has some of the same cast reappearing in the video seems to stem from the pressure of the success of 'Gangnam Style.' I don't think we can expect much."

Pop critic Choi Ji-ho said, "It would be too greedy to expect the same result from 'Gentleman' because the popularity of 'Gangnam Style' was so unprecedented. Since it’s like the re-launch of a similar product, there won't be the same ripple effect."

At a press conference before Saturday's concert, Psy said, "The more attention I get, I tried harder to find what's close to real me. So I chose a cheesy song. What the public wants is what I want."