3 Mai
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''3 Mai'' () is the third studio album by South Korean singer
Psy Park Jae-sang (; born December 31, 1977), better known by his stage name Psy ( ; ), is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter, known domestically for his humorous music videos and stage performances and internationally for his hit singl ...
, released on September 19, 2002 by Pan Entertainment. It contains 15 songs, including the two singles "Champion" and "Paradise". By February 2003, the album sold over 135,000 copies in South Korea.


Background and release

The third album was released in September 2002 with a launch on an internet music site. The title of the album "3 mai" means cheap. Unlike his previous albums, the lyrics were less explicit. Regarding the change, Psy commented that "3mai was intended as a project for taking a break, however, it should not be intended as a change of my personality." Lee Sun-hee, Kim Wan-sun, Park mi kyung, and Lee Jae-hoon of Cool featured in the album as vocals, as well as Park Jae-Eun, Psy's older sister.


Composition

The song "Royal Family" aims to criticize Korean marriage agencies which arrange meetings based on their academic credentials and wealth. The song "Peacefully" is about his longing for his grandfather who died on the third day of Psy's arrest for marijuana charges. The song "Celebrities (빤빠라)" aims to criticize politicians using celebrity scandals during elections to gain more votes. The timely release, during Seoul's enthusiasm over the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
, and a title track "Champion" with its "crowd-pumping vibe" which became "massively popular", confirmed his place in the Korean music world and on the K-pop scene. The title song "Champion" was also inspired by Korean street cheering during the 2002 World Cup. The song's lyrics include the word " ganggangsullae", the name of a traditional Korean folk dance that brings people together in a large circle to dance and play; with the message that "true champions are the ones who know how to have fun." Psy said about the song, "During the World Cup, I saw Korean people really loosen up to just have fun", and "I wanted to encourage that same carefree enjoyment, even without the soccer".


Critical reception

Paul Lester of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' called "Champion" a "thrashy disco" which heavily samples
Axel F "Axel F" is an electronic instrumental track by German musician Harold Faltermeyer. The track served as the theme tune to the film '' Beverly Hills Cop'', its eponymous character, and the film franchise it is based on, and became an interna ...
by
Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeyer (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the " Axel F" theme for the feature film '' Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the ...
". Jeff Benjamin of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' said, "'Champion' is a funky dance track that uses video game-like synthesizers years before the EDM explosion. With self-empowering lyrics and the repeated title word in the chorus, the song doubled as an anthem for South Korea when they hosted the World Cup in Seoul that year."


Legacy

Psy continued to perform "Champion" again and again throughout his career. At Park Geun-hye's 2013 Presidential Inauguration for a televised performance in front of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
he wore a black tuxedo with a bow tie and sunglasses and opened with "Champion", followed by "
Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" () is a K-pop song by South Korean singer Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, ''Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1'' (''Ssai Yukgap Part 1''). The term "Gangnam Style" is a n ...
". In June 2014, he performed the song again, among eight, at a Seoul street concert of nearly 30,000, during celebrations for the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
, when Korea tied Russia in the first round. He said, "The impassioned cheering of citizens inspired me to write 'Champion.' It's also a song that helped me continue my music career, which would have ended after a short run f it weren't for 'Champion' So even though 'Gangnam Style' was such a success, it can't be as dear to me as 'Champion,'" he said.' He expressed his fondness for the song, saying it would always "hold a special place" in his heart, and recounted that ten years later he was putting a lot of effort into making his music that successful again.


A different complaint

Although its title track "Champion" was received well by Korean soccer fans, a different complaint was raised for this album, by
expat An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
English teachers. At the time of its release and later with a new audience created by 2012's "Gangnam Style", English speaking fans were offended by the repeated use of the word "ni-ga" or ("you" in Korean), in the lyrics ("you are the champion"), which they heard as the
N-word In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...
. After clarification, many thought it an appropriate jab at convention, as Psy had studied in America and spoke English.


Track listing


Charts and sales


Monthly charts


Sales


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3 Mai 2002 albums 2000s Korean-language albums Psy albums