Psy hopes to have his new album out in November, two months later than his original forecast of a September release, according to his cover interview in the October issue of Italian Men’s Vogue.
“I am making a lot of songs and so many good things are happening to me right now as a creator, I am just enjoying this period and I think maybe by November, people can get my new songs,” Psy said.
Psy revealed that one of the songs on his new album will feature Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, one of his longtime idols.
“I just finished recording my next song with a legendary artist, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. When I was in middle school, I literally cried when they were singing Crazy or Amazing or whatever, they were my lifetime role models, and now I am collaborating with Steven Tyler! … Man, I love my life.”
If he’s right about the November release, the next album won’t be as late as Gentleman which debuted three months later than Psy’s original forecast of January.
But Psy is brimming with confidence in his creative powers at the moment. As he sees it, he has entered a golden age of creativity thanks to the success of his second international single “Gentleman”.
“After Gentleman was out, I was really satisfied with what it had done, because it proved that I was not a one hit wonder, a lucky shot,” he explained. “Nobody can ever label me that now.Gentleman has 500 million views right now, the song also hit number 1 in 81 countries, and I am really relieved by that. Now I can really do what I have to do, comfortably. I don’t have to make another dancing phenomenon, I am just going back to where I came from and it’s really comfortable right now.”
His move in early summer to his Westwood condo appears to have helped keep his creative juices flowing. He claims he has been recording every day since then.
“I am on fire right now. I really can make great songs these days, and I think this is the best period in my life. I feel like Hyun-jin Ryu a baseball player from South Korea who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“One time he was just trying to swing it while he was closing his eyes, and he accidentally hit a home run, and the next time he was up, the crowd was calling for another home run, but honestly, he went for a bunt instead, so runners could advance to second base. So for me, “Gentleman” was that bunt, so now runners are on second base, and now it’s my time and I don’t have to hit another home run, and if I just hit one single and you can score because I made a bunt that’s even better.”
Despite the move from Seoul to Los Angeles and his US manager Scooter Braun, Psy’s team remains all-Korean. The only exception is Ricardo Caput, the Brazilian chef who won the worldwide talent search Psy organized earlier this year to find his new personal chef. Caput was chosen after Psy culled the videos of 350 contestants expressing their philosophy on music, dance and food. He won a 1-year contract at $40,000 a month to tour the world with Psy and cooking his favorite foods: bibimbap (rice with assorted vegetables), mandoo (dumplings) and kalbi (barbecue short ribs).
Psy’s original ambition was to become a music producer while attending Boston University & the Berkley College of Music. He never graduated, but he did write hundreds of songs without selling a single one. Two years later he decided to put his songwriting talent to good use by becoming a lead singer. He also composed songs for some of friends who are Kpop artists. Though he managed to achieve a following in Korea, it wasn’t until mid-July 2012 when he posted the video for Gangnam Style — a single from his sixth album titled Six Rules — that Psy skyrocketed to global stardom.
