On July 15, 2012, a music video featuring the now-trademark horse-riding dance was released. Seoul's Gangnam district was poked fun at, but within weeks it had gone global.
It was hard to predict how Gangnam Style would help usher in the streaming revolution 10 years ago when South Korean rapper Psy released it.
A billion views were recorded on YouTube by the end of that year. Azerbaijan to New Zealand performed giddy-up dances, spawning countless memes and parodies.
In addition, "Gangnam Style" showed the music industry what could be achieved through online platforms and social media, especially by non-English-speaking artists.
It was Psy who broke the rules. "Traditional marketing and promotional strategies were essentially thrown out the window," stated Bernie Cho, president of South Korean music agency DFSB Kollective.
According to industry group IFPI, streaming accounted for less than 7% of global music revenues in 2012.
“A platform like YouTube can attract viewers from all over the world to a particular video,” said Michelle Cho, professor of Korean pop culture at the University of Toronto.