The Winter Olympics 2018 has kicked off in fine style in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Team USA marked the occasion by entering the Parade Of Nations in GANGNAM STYLE.
Teams from across the globe participated in the tournament’s opening ceremony, with many of those nationalities walking out to tracks from the likes of K-Pop big hitters such as BTS, Big Bang and Twice.
But Gangnam Style, the ubiquitous YouTube music video that became an international hit and (at one point) the most viewed YouTube video of all time, was the soundtrack for Team USA’s walk on – to mixed reactions.
According to TIME, South Korean officials were tasked with delegating the soundtrack to the Parade Of Nations, with the US luckily being billed with the popular hit track, performed by Psy.
The track itself racked up millions of YouTube hits in the US alone, so it seemed slightly fitting as the K-Pop genre continued to break out of its home nation as a new international force on the global music stage.
Except not everyone thought it was a good idea to have the Gangnam Style tune pumping out the speakers, as some 242 US athletes took to the opening ceremony – as Vice President Mike Pence waved and smiled at the athletes, with what people assumed was a degree of fake enthusiasm.
Imagine working your whole life to be an Olympian and then being introduced to the world with Gangnam Style as the soundtrack
— nilay patel (@reckless) February 10, 2018
The United States of America are entering to the Olympic Stadium to Gangnam Style as Mike Pence waves to them.
Welcome to 2018. #OpeningCeremony
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) February 9, 2018
I didn’t know I needed to see our nation’s very greatest human specimens and also mike pence set to gangnam style and yet here we are
— Claire McNear (@claire_mcnear) February 9, 2018
More: Winter Olympics
However, some viewers believed that Psy’s multi national hit was not just the right theme for the occasion, but also the original blueprint for the rising pop genre.
bts should stop riding on psy's success. gangnam style didn't become a worldwide hit only for some randoms to claim they're the biggest kpop act of all time when in reality we all know who opened the doors for kpop artists from that point onwa
— Javiera
(@Archejoiyo) February 10, 2018
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