Who's The Next Psy? Indonesia Wants To Bring 'I-Pop' To The World Music Stage With Its Own Pop Star

K-Pop, J-Pop, C-Pop...could I-Pop be next?

Psy's meteoric success with his music hits "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman" is paving the way for countries like Indonesia to want to find similar success while promoting contemporary culture.

During a recent interview, Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Pangestu voiced her desire "to bring Indonesian...contemporary arts abroad."

"Most contemporary Indonesian music, or musician, or arts, is still very domestic," she admitted, according to Radio Australia.

The same cannot be said about Psy, who has been globetrotting from Italy to Germany to California to promote his latest single, "Gentleman."

In fact, Psy will be performing in Jakarta for the first time at the Bung Karno Sports Stadium on July 6, as part of Korean-Indonesia Friendship Year 2013.

"It's an honor for me to present the concert for my friends in Indonesia," Psy said in a statement announcing the big show.

"This Jakarta concert is very special and very close to my heart as it will mark the 40th anniversary of the close relationship between Korea and Indonesia."

Now, Indonesia hopes to emulate the South Korean cultural wave (hallyu) with I-Pop, a term coined by Pangestu.

"The domestic music industry is being threatened by the entry of Korean Pop, and now is time for us to create I-Pop," she remarked on May 6.

"We have such a variety of music traditions that I feel that somewhere there, there's going to be something that will not just be a hit for Indonesia, but also a hit for the world."

The Radio Australia interview presenter, Waleedy Aly, then asked "what would it do if Indonesia could get a Psy?"

"I think it would have a huge impact," replied Pangestu. "People would want to know about Indonesia. I believe music and arts are like great [windows] to any one country. I think Psy did a lot in terms of, 'Okay, I want to know more about Korea.'"

Last year, an Indonesian boy band called S4 debuted, composed of four "Galaxy Superstar" talent show finalists. The quartet trained in Korea to receive the K-Pop discipline that made international acts like Psy and Girls' Generation possible.

Pangestu hopes to continue the trend in her native country and let I-Pop flourish.

Check out S4's debut single "She is My Girl" below:

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psy concert
Gangnam Style
Gentleman
Indonesia
Indonesian
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