Rain’s “GANG craze” is extraordinary.
“GANG” is the title track of Rain’s mini-album MY LIFE, which was released in late 2017, the year that he celebrated the 15th anniversary of his debut. Like the lyrics, “For the 15th year, Everyone acknowledges my worth, But I’m not arrogant, Every moment I work hard, Just like the first stage, I’m born with this swag,” the song perfectly melted the singer’s messages such as “passion” and “sincerity.“
Rain made his debut as a member of Fan Club in 1998, and started his solo career in 2002. Soon, he became the first generation K-POP star who rose to become the “world star.” He became the first Asian celebrity to be named “Time 100” in 2006 and was named once again in 2011. In 2017, he married Kim Tae Hee and became a star couple.
At some point, however, Rain’s excessive gestures and expressions have become the mockery among some as they were considered “outdated.” The mockery reached its peak when Race to Freedom: Um Bok Dong, which he starred in, turned out to be a massive failure. The movie, which spent 15 billion KRW (approx. 12,127,200 USD), only attracted 170,000 viewers, sparking up a new culture of using Rain as a ridicule.
Yet, “GANG,” three years after its release, has become the center of the talk.
The explosive reactions to “GANG” began on YouTube. The videos “1 Day 1 GANG High School Girl’s GANG (RAIN �” GANG)” uploaded on YouTube channel “Pumpkin Jeon Si Hyun” back in November last year and March this year drew much attention online.
However, everything reached a climax with Rain’s appearance on MBC’s How Do You Play?, which aired on May 16. With his appearance, not only did netizens came familiar with his song, but the public became aware of the new meme. Popularity was proved on the music charts. According to K-Pop Radar, “GANG,” which ranked 161st on the Daily Youtube Viewcount, rose up to 16th with 476,330 views in just one day on May 17, one day after the broadcast. In only five days, the song jumped 145 steps and rose sharply.
Rain’s positive energy that was shown in How Do You Play? also stood out. Rain said, “To people these days, it (the music video) didn’t look that cool. The comments are also quite funny.” He also pleasantly added how he received a list of what not to do from his fan, which includes “don’t bite on your lips” and “don’t wink.” He then showed off his wily charm, saying, “I’m still thirsty. I hope you listen to it even more. We should at least to ‘1 Day 3 GANG.’”
The music video for “GANG” now is about to hit 10 million views on YouTube.
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