PSY to release first album since smash hit Gangnam Style

South Korean rapper PSY, who is set to release his first album since becoming an international sensation more than three years ago with the smash hit Gangnam Style, said the pressure to live up to that success caused him to take his time with his latest project.

"There were many thoughts going around in my head, including thoughts like, 'If I write like this, it would be not as good as Gangnam Style,' and 'If I write like this, the international audience will not understand', so it took me a very long time to organize all those thoughts into one," PSY said at a news conference in Seoul on Monday, a day before Chiljip PSY-Da debuts.

Chiljip PSY-Da - Korean for "This Is PSY's Seventh Album" - comes about a year and a half after the release of his single Gentleman.