Psy Signs With Entertainment Powerhouse WME

K-pop's number one international star Psy is now on the roster of one of the top talent agencies in the world.

William Morris Endeavor (WME) will now represent Psy in all markets outside Korea, according to Deadline Hollywood.

"WME will work to expand [Psy's] musical endeavors and pursue opportunities across all entertainment platforms, including film, television, endorsements, books and digital media," a representative from the agency said on Wednesday.

Headed up by American music industry mogul Marc Geiger, WME's musical roster includes pop superstar acts Rihanna, Lady Gaga and LMFAO.

Psy, who was previously represented by WME competitor Creative Artists Agency or CAA, continues to rack up the YouTube views.

Not only has his breakout hit "Gangnam Style" surpassed the 1.5 billion mark, and remains the most-watched online video clip in history, but the Psy YouTube channel recently passed 3 billion views.

That makes Psy's channel the fifth most popular on YouTube, according to Billboard.

Psy attributed much of his success to his manager Scooter Braun, who met Psy when he was looking to license "Gangnam Style" for his other client Justin Bieber, in a December interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"Me and Scooter [Braun], our job the last couple months was to get people to know the name Psy. Because when I first came to the United States market, they described me as 'the You Tube guy,' then they would say, 'the horse dance guy,' then the 'Gangnam Style' guy and now, just Psy."

Psy also recalled his first meeting with Braun after flying to Los Angeles as being different than he expected and resulting in some bold creative choices.

"When he told me about his adopted brothers [from Africa] and how being Jewish he's like all the immigrants, all the underdogs. That's the reason why he didn't want the lyrics to "Gangnam Style" to be translated [to English]," Psy recalled.

"That was the first comment that he made to me. And I was really touched. I was, like, 'Where the hell did this guy come from?' He's made such a huge difference for my vision...and he has the highest alcohol tolerance of any American. We had a drinking contest and he literally beat the sh*t out of me. And I have a very high tolerance."

And the Oppa's hit follow-up single "Gentleman," which broke a couple records of its own, helped him distinguish himself further as an artist with more to say.

Yet Psy recalled the process of writing a followup to "Gangnam Style," "the heaviest pressure I've ever had in the last twelve years of my career."

But fortunately his previous years in the music world helped prepare him for it.

"What's great is, I'm not a rookie at all," he said. "I've had some huge success in Korea so it felt kind of similar to me."

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Psy
Gangnam Style
WME
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