PSY hopes N Korea loves new song

"Gangnam Style" star Psy poses at a press conference before his concert in Seoul. Source: AFP

SOUTH Korean rapper PSY says he hopes North Koreans will enjoy his new single even as tensions remain high.

PSY released his latest single, Gentleman, in 119 countries on Friday, hoping to replicate the success of Gangnam Style, the smash YouTube hit that made him an international star almost overnight last year.

The choreography for Gentleman - including the "arrogant dance," as PSY called it - was unveiled at a concert in Seoul on Saturday before more than 50,000 fans. The music video has been uploaded onto YouTube.

PSY, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, said on Saturday that he regretted the current tensions between the two Koreas. The situation has been grabbing global headlines, with North Korea becoming increasingly belligerent with war rumblings, leaving its neighbors wary of a possible missile test by Pyongyang.

"It's a tragedy. We are the only countries divided right now," PSY said at a news conference ahead of the concert.

North and South Korea, which are divided by heavily fortified borders, are technically still at war, with the 1950-53 Korean War ending with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

PSY said he hoped North Koreans would enjoy his new music. He said his job was to make all people, including North Koreans, laugh.

"Hopefully my 'Gangnam Style,' my 'Gentleman,' my music videos and my choreography ... they might enjoy them too," he said.

When the Gangnam Style video went viral last year, it spun legions of parodies. Even North Korea's government created a parody video of the hit, showing that the secretive country is well-versed in South Korean popular culture. North Korea used its Gangnam Style parody to criticize Park Geun-hye, then the presidential candidate for South Korea's ruling party. Park was inaugurated as South Korea's new president in February.

PSY's Gangnam Style video, featuring his much-mimicked horse-riding dance, made him one of the best-known Koreans in the world. It's the most watched video of all time on YouTube, gathering more than 1.5 billion views since its release in July.

PSY acknowledged that the massive success of Gangnam Style added to the pressure as he worked on his latest single, but he said he tried to remain true to himself and his Korean roots.

"I tried to find Korean words that people from any country can easily sing along," he said of Gentleman, which contains lyrics both in English and Korean. PSY co-composed the music and wrote the lyrics, which poke fun at a self-claimed gentleman who enjoys his time at a dance club.

Audiences have questioned whether PSY will be a one-hit wonder known only for "Gangnam Style." But the South Korean musician, whose humble personality has endeared him to his fans at home since he made his debut more than a decade ago, shrugs off the skepticism.

"Whether or not a couple of my songs become a global hit, I've been doing this job for 12 years," PSY said. "I will bring more Korean dance moves and Korean songs overseas."

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Why teen Aaron hopes to meet Ellen

Talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres has arrived in Sydney to film segments for her daytime program Ellen. Courtesy: Nine News

Join J-Mo and Elle as they practice the dance they hope Ellen DeGeneres will learn before she heads down under.

Aaron Jordan, who is one of only 1000 people worldwide with Ataxia Telangiectasia, with his mum Brenda and sister Chloe hopes a Facebook campaign might get him to see idol Ellen DeGeneres. Picture: Peter Lorimer Source: The Daily Telegraph

A RARE disorder means Aaron Jordan can barely talk but the Newcastle teenager's dream of meeting his idol Ellen DeGeneres may yet come true thanks to more than 57,000 Facebook users who are speaking for him.

The 17-year-old is one of just 1000 people worldwide with Ataxia Telangiectasia, or A-T, an incurable degenerative disorder that has consigned him to a wheelchair, rendering him unable to walk, talk, read or write, and attacking his immune system.

Aaron hopes to raise awareness for the disorder, described as being like a combination of cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, cancer and leukaemia, by meeting Ellen DeGeneres after she arrived in Sydney today.

The teen's heartfelt plea to the talkshow host, posted to Facebook by his mother Brenda and older sister Chloe, has gone viral, being shared and liked more than 57,600 times in the last few weeks.

"When we first set it up and it went viral over that first three days we couldn't believe the responses we got, all the support and the well wishes we got, it was just overwhelming,'' mum Brenda said.

"We just hope that Ellen will see it and consider meeting him and sitting down and talking with us so we can explain the disorder to her.

"We need to have someone who's got a lot of pull and a lot of know-how to spread the awareness and to help with fundraising, and Ellen is that.''

Queensland Royal Children's Hospital neurologist Dr Kate Sinclair, who is head of the only clinic in the southern hemisphere for children with A-T, said the devastating disorder affected between 35 and 50 children in Australia who would likely not make it past their late teens.

"Having a child who you think they're going to grow up to be normal and suddenly, at age two or three you're told their little bit of wobbliness means they have a life threatening condition, they're probably going to get cancer, they're going to end up in a wheelchair at the age of eight and die in their teens, that's just absolutely catastrophic,'' she said.

Dr Sinclair said fundraising was desperately needed for research into A-T, which has implications for other diseases such as breast and prostate cancer.

"This cellular-based research we're doing is really helping other disorders, we are learning so much about cancer, HIV, ageing, we're learning so much from this one condition,'' she said.

Ms Jordan hopes DeGeneres will be able to help give A-T the same profile here as it has in America, where celebrity Hollywood couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are ambassadors for the disorder.

While the family is yet to hear from the comedian or her producers they still have time to meet the talkshow host with DeGeneres tweeting that she was planning something special for her time in Sydney:

"I've got big plans for Sydney on Saturday. Don't miss it."

DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi delayed their weekend visit to Australia after DeGeneres came down with a severe bout of the flu.
 

View the original article here

Why teen Aaron hopes to meet Ellen

Talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres has arrived in Sydney to film segments for her daytime program Ellen. Courtesy: Nine News

Join J-Mo and Elle as they practice the dance they hope Ellen DeGeneres will learn before she heads down under.

Aaron Jordan, who is one of only 1000 people worldwide with Ataxia Telangiectasia, with his mum Brenda and sister Chloe hopes a Facebook campaign might get him to see idol Ellen DeGeneres. Picture: Peter Lorimer Source: The Daily Telegraph

A RARE disorder means Aaron Jordan can barely talk but the Newcastle teenager's dream of meeting his idol Ellen DeGeneres may yet come true thanks to more than 57,000 Facebook users who are speaking for him.

The 17-year-old is one of just 1000 people worldwide with Ataxia Telangiectasia, or A-T, an incurable degenerative disorder that has consigned him to a wheelchair, rendering him unable to walk, talk, read or write, and attacking his immune system.

Aaron hopes to raise awareness for the disorder, described as being like a combination of cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, cancer and leukaemia, by meeting Ellen DeGeneres after she arrived in Sydney today.

The teen's heartfelt plea to the talkshow host, posted to Facebook by his mother Brenda and older sister Chloe, has gone viral, being shared and liked more than 57,600 times in the last few weeks.

"When we first set it up and it went viral over that first three days we couldn't believe the responses we got, all the support and the well wishes we got, it was just overwhelming,'' mum Brenda said.

"We just hope that Ellen will see it and consider meeting him and sitting down and talking with us so we can explain the disorder to her.

"We need to have someone who's got a lot of pull and a lot of know-how to spread the awareness and to help with fundraising, and Ellen is that.''

Queensland Royal Children's Hospital neurologist Dr Kate Sinclair, who is head of the only clinic in the southern hemisphere for children with A-T, said the devastating disorder affected between 35 and 50 children in Australia who would likely not make it past their late teens.

"Having a child who you think they're going to grow up to be normal and suddenly, at age two or three you're told their little bit of wobbliness means they have a life threatening condition, they're probably going to get cancer, they're going to end up in a wheelchair at the age of eight and die in their teens, that's just absolutely catastrophic,'' she said.

Dr Sinclair said fundraising was desperately needed for research into A-T, which has implications for other diseases such as breast and prostate cancer.

"This cellular-based research we're doing is really helping other disorders, we are learning so much about cancer, HIV, ageing, we're learning so much from this one condition,'' she said.

Ms Jordan hopes DeGeneres will be able to help give A-T the same profile here as it has in America, where celebrity Hollywood couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are ambassadors for the disorder.

While the family is yet to hear from the comedian or her producers they still have time to meet the talkshow host with DeGeneres tweeting that she was planning something special for her time in Sydney:

"I've got big plans for Sydney on Saturday. Don't miss it."

DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi delayed their weekend visit to Australia after DeGeneres came down with a severe bout of the flu.
 

View the original article here