PSY's Gangnam Style hits one billion views on YouTube!

First video in Internet history to be viewed more than 1 billon times

Finally! On December 21, 2012, during the "End of the World" day, Gangnam Style, a K-pop single by South Korean rapper PSY officially becomes the first ever video in the history of the Internet to be viewed more than 1 billion times (1,000,382,639 views as of this writing). That's 6.5 million views per day or 76.4 views per second! The song also holds the title of YouTube's most watched music video after surpassing Justin Bieber's single "Baby." More details after the jump.

The phrase "Gangnam Style" is a Korean neologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam District of Seoul. The song and its accompanying music video went viral in August 2012 and have influenced popular culture worldwide since then. "Gangnam Style" received mixed to positive reviews, with praise going to its catchy beat and PSY's amusing dance moves (which themselves have become a phenomenon) in the music video and during live performances in various locations around the world. On September 20, 2012, "Gangnam Style" was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most "liked" video in YouTube history. It subsequently won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards held later that year. It became a source of parodies and reaction videos by many different individuals, groups and organizations while also inspiring flashmobs in Paris, Rome and Milan with tens of thousands of participants each.