The Gangnam Style AI meme is two people on a red-brick street. One stands in front with arms crossed and a straight face while the other dances like crazy in the background. Then they swap, do the horse-riding dance side by side and pile into the camera. This guide shows how to make your own with Gangnam Style AI, how to cast the two parts, and where these videos usually break.
The original and ours
At the end of September 2026 an AI clip put Sam Altman and Dario Amodei into a street version of PSY's 2012 hit, the latest in a run of AI remakes of the two CEOs after APT. and Alors on danse. People quickly started swapping in their own faces.
The AI Altman and Amodei version that started it.
Our version with two AI-generated people, made from two photos.
Ours follows the best 15 seconds of the viral clip (from about 4.8s to 19.8s): both swaps, the horse ride, the arms-up close-up and the high kick. It is vertical 9:16, like the original, and the matching 15 seconds of "Gangnam Style" are on the file.
What each beat asks of your photos
Every beat shows the two of you differently, so each one exposes a different weakness in a photo.
| Time | What happens | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3.9s | Photo 1 deadpan in front, photo 2 dancing far behind | A sharp face for photo 1. It fills the frame from the first second. |
| 3.9–7.5s | The swap: photo 2 in front, photo 1 small in the back | A sharp face for photo 2, and outfits that look different so people can tell who's who |
| 7.5–9.7s | Hands on hips on the corner, then the horse ride, filmed from behind | Legs and shoes. A face-only crop leaves the AI to invent the lower half. |
| 9.7–13.5s | Arm swing, arms up in a V, both lean into the lens with jazz hands | Both faces again, at their closest |
| 13.5–15s | A face framed by both hands, a high kick, arms straight up | Full body for the kick |
So unlike most two-person memes, there is no "background" slot here. Both photos get a close-up, and both bodies get a wide shot.
Step 1: Cast the two parts
| Slot | Opens as | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Photo 1 | The cool one: arms crossed, deadpan, right in front of the lens | Swaps to the back and dances wild, then swings an arm across the frame and does the high kick |
| Photo 2 | The wild one: dancing in the background | Swaps to the front with arms crossed, then throws both arms up in a V and strikes the final pose |
The joke is the contrast, so cast against type. Put the person who never dances in photo 1. Watching them finally lose it after the swap is the payoff. Pairs that work:
- A dad who "doesn't dance" and the kid who always does
- The boss and the intern
- The bride and the groom, the night before
- The quiet roommate and the loud one
Use two separate photos, one person each. We turned off the one-photo-of-both option in October 2026: from a single photo of a man and a woman, the AI put the man both in front and behind for about a second and a half during the pointing shot. Two photos didn't do that.
Step 2: Pick photos for this clip
The general rules (clear front-facing face, even light, nothing covering it) are in the main photo guide. For Gangnam Style, three things matter most:
- Full body, standing. The horse ride and the kick are the moves people wait for. A seated or chest-up photo makes the AI invent the legs and shoes.
- Different outfits. After the swap, one of you is a small figure at the far end of the street. Two dark jackets make the swap hard to read. A bright top on one of you fixes it.
- Both photos equally sharp. If one photo is weaker, that face is the one that drifts in the jazz-hands close-up. Retake it before you spend credits.
Everyone in the video should be fine with it. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian's consent, and no celebrities.
Step 3: Generate and post
Open the generator with the Gangnam Style effect selected, add your photos and start it. The video takes a few minutes. It is already vertical with the song on it, so it goes straight to TikTok, Reels or Shorts with no editing.
Caption ideas that use the swap:
- "Me in the meeting vs. me when the meeting ends"
- "We take turns being the responsible one"
- "Him at the wedding vs. me at the wedding"
Where Gangnam Style AI videos go wrong
The hardest part of this clip is the swap, and it is the first thing that broke when we built it.
The swap snaps back after a second
In our first test, the second person held the front for about one second and then the first person walked back into it. The reference clip has the faces wiped, so the model has no visual cue for who should stand where. We fixed it by spelling out, beat by beat, which person is in front and for how long. If you build this meme with a general video model and your own prompt, do the same: name who is in front for each beat, and say outright that the first person does not come back in beat 2.
The wrong person plays it cool first
Photo 1 always opens up front. Swap the two photos to switch.
How much it costs
A Standard 720p video is 10 credits, the same as one song, so a $9.99 Single covers it. 480p is 7 credits. Failed renders are never charged. See pricing.
This is a fan trend. RapVideo AI is independent and not affiliated with PSY, his label or the maker of the original AI clip.
FAQ
Can I do it alone?
No. The whole joke is one person staying still while the other dances, so it needs two faces: two separate photos, one person each.
Why is it vertical when the Gangnam Style music video is landscape?
The meme copies the viral AI street clip, not PSY's music video, and that clip was shot vertical for phones. If you want it wide for YouTube or X, switch the format to 16:9 before you render.
Can I make it with my kid?
Yes, with your own photos. A parent or guardian has to agree for anyone under 18.
Can I switch who goes first after it renders?
Not in the same video. Flip the photo or swap the two uploads and render again.
Make yours
Pick who plays it cool, grab two full-length photos and try it on the Gangnam Style AI page. New to the trend? The APT AI video and Alors on danse AI come from the same run of AI CEO remakes.