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Rapper Psy won’t show up in Dubai

South Korean rap sensation Psy may not be coming to Dubai after all. Two days after it was announced that the star would be the main act at Music X, a three-day festival, the first of its kind in the city from March 27 to 30, the Gangnam Style singer used his official Twitter handle to deny the report.

‘‘To fans in Dubai there is some wrong information being reported. I will NOT be in Dubai March 28 but look forward to coming soon!,’’ he said using @psy_oppa.

The South Korean took the world by storm last year and even world leaders like Barack Obama and David Cameron have tried to ape his moves. He performed before a one-million strong crowd to usher in the New Year in New York. His YouTube videos garnered over a billion views.

Psy was to perform at a concert with popular American rapper Sean Paul on March 28 at Atlantis The Palm, as announced earlier.

Responding to the Psy no-show, organisers, Music X said it was looking into the situation.

“My Music X is aware of a tweet from Korea this morning in relation to the appearance of PSY at our My Music X Festival next month. The My Music X team is currently making inquiries into the situation and will update the public as soon as the circumstances are clearer,” said a spokersperson.

There were no banners of Psy’s performance on the Music X website when Khaleej Times checked, but that did not explain why the organisers announced two days back the sale of tickets starting from Dh250. ‘‘There is a miscommunication regarding PSY coming to Dubai, rest assured My Music X is working on it! Stay tuned,’’ said a statement on the Music X website.

Below the statement were pictures of newspaper headlines screaming about Psy’s show (now a non-performance) in Dubai. “The My Music X hype has been created!! See what people are saying...” read the headline.

But there was clearly no miscommunication in the following line of the press release put up on the site: “Innovative new ‘My Music X’ concept to bring ‘Gangnam-style’ Psy, Sean Paul, Teddy Riley, ATB, Sander Kleinenberg and many others at a 3-day celebration of music in Dubai next month.”

Music X promised to tranform Dubai International Marine Club into an entertainment village. Fashion, sports, dance and arts events have been planned and 20 city clubs have been roped in to ensure the party never stops.

But with Psy dropping out, one wonders if this act has been worth the hype.

allan@khaleejtimes.com