PSY to revise song over worry it may offend Arabs

In this Feb. 25, 2013 file photo, South Korean rapper PSY performs before President Park Geun-hye's presidential inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. PSY said Monday, March 18, 2013, on a Twitter-like South Korean website that he will change the title of his potential “Gangnam Style” follow-up over worries it could offend Arabs. PSY said earlier this week that his new song could carry a title that can be written as “Assarabia” or “Assaravia” in English. The expression is slang used by young South Koreans to express thrills. It suggests no ethnicity or body part. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

Photo by Associated Press /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — PSY says he will change the title and lyrics of his potential “Gangnam Style” follow-up over worries it could offend Arabs.

The announced title for the song can be written as “Assarabia” or “Assaravia” in English. It’s slang used by South Koreans to express thrills. It suggests no ethnicity or body part, but worries have risen that Arabs might misinterpret the title and find it derogatory.

PSY said Monday on a South Korean social media website that he has decided to change the title. Some lyrics also will change.

After several Korean albums, PSY has promised future work in English but it isn’t clear when. The “Gangnam Style” video with its catchy tune and much-imitated horse-riding dance has a record 1.44 billion views on YouTube since July.