Hi there!! I’ve been on a hunt for global girl groups for a while now and finding my way to KATSEYE was not hard. Lately I’ve been enjoying the over the top music videos, behind the scenes, the various amount of youtube videos made by fans that’s always convincing me that the group has no brain – “they’re so chaotic”, “my last braincells”, “make you lose you’re sleep bc you watch them at 2am” etc (seriously, what’s with these titles 😂)

So here’s my analysis.

I’ve been watching KATSEYE’s rollout with cautious interest, but at this point it’s becoming clear: they don’t know who they are musically, and worse – they’re not even trying to define it.

Let’s talk about it. And before you roll your eyes “every time a group is doing great, haters bring them down” No. This is an honest discussion. And I know I’m not the only one thinking this.

I’ve been trying to give KATSEYE a fair chance, but I can’t help feeling like they’re the perfect example of everything hollow about current idol pop branding from Korean labels. Especially when it comes to debut groups manufactured for international markets, KATSEYE falls short on originality and authenticity.

The music videos are OVER THE TOP. Like very Sabrina Carpenter. They’re all fighting each other. Great. Cool to watch. Engaging. But then I realized. Take away the music videos, where do they stand?

Let’s be honest – SIS was basic. Felt really generic and “Touch” sounded like an ILLIT song. Their recent comebacks was sub-par. “GNARLY” was not it and I don’t know why that abomination exists. Was a huge letdown for me. “Gabriela” is MID. It sounds stale, very 2016 and some kind of lounge music (there’s nothing that stands out), could be playing in the background and no one will notice. Maybe its because it’s just a B-side. Ok. I give them a pass.

Now, we all know they’re styled like a K-pop group, move like one, dance like one… but somehow they’re adamant about not being called one? The irony is hilarious. They’re literally using the K-pop industry’s infrastructure, style, and fan marketing strategy, while publicly distancing themselves from the label. They already have a MAMA award (Asian award show), what next? Golden Disc award? K-drama OST? Yoo Jae Suk Running Man appearance? Lee Mujin service? Korean University College festival performances? Lightsticks, photocards and fanchants? 😂
I mean, I don’t mind them getting all this success, but come on. NO “global group” gets easy pass like them. They have majority of listeners coming from K-pop bubble. So please. You can’t eat the cake and pretend you’re gluten-free 🤷 It’s like learning the Asian Cuisine of making noodles but selling them as “Global” cuisine – It’s still noodles!!
Anyway, I don’t mind all of this. The more the exposure the better. But Manon constantly dismissing “K-pop” is rubbing me off the wrong way. But maybe that’s just me. Ok. I’ll let it pass.

So far, every rollout feels like a dress-up session rather than a musical statement. New teaser? New look. New “concept”? New wardrobe. And I see people flaunting it as “versatile”. Uhmm…no. It looks like they’re lost and are trying everything for that 5 minutes of fame – a short trend that will die down. Like Labubu or Stanley cup. One more over-the-top music video and a mid song and I can see people realizing this sham. None of what they do have come together to say who they are as artists to me. Compared to other gg for global appeal like no na, XG (when they debuted), Stealing Sheep – these groups know what they’re doing. But KATSEYE? It’s like someone dumped a mood board into a blender and hit “aesthetic.” We don’t know if they’re going for edgy, dreamy, bratty, experimental, or viral-friendly – we just know they want to look like they’re all of them.

And here’s the thing. People love this. Why? Because we are all here to be ENTERTAINED.

🧩 More Entertainers than a Musical Group

I can’t help but see that this group is gaining traction bc people like to be entertained – they are great performers, they give off attitude and expressions during their lipsynced performances (again, a K-pop thing 😉) It’s nice to watch them. Engaging. Entertaining. Its also nice to know about the LGBTQ+ members. Cool. Everyone’s gay – no I mean, I’m happy for them 😁 but one more person comes out in that group, I will start having doubts about queerbaiting 😬 But anyways, I don’t care about their sexuality, Pass. Let’s talk about music.

🟠 No Artistic Spine

There’s zero musical throughline. The songs feel like they were designed for tiktok attention spans – literally 2 minutes long, mostly hook, barely any vocal line distribution, and forgettable lyrics. What happened to bridges? Builds? Emotion?
I’ve also noticed that compared to other groups, this group barely sings. I don’t mean they’re bad – I’ve seen them do covers and they’re great at it. But where’s all that heavenly vocals in their own songs?? I mean they’re barely given anything to do vocally in the music. The verses are non-existent and sometimes everything is overproduced to the point that no one even sounds like themselves. The “Asian line” barely gets any lines. It’s hard to tell what each member brings to the table vocally when the production buries everything under a glossy sheen of processed beats and FX. “Gabriela” could be the odd one out, but only by a short stick. And I came to conclusion that maybe its just a HYBE thing. So I moved on. Pass.

And that’s it. Nothing more.
This doesn’t feel like a group being introduced – it feels like a brand activation. A clear aim at “popculture” trend, meme, virality. For the gays and the gals. Sometimes the group reminds of a University pamphlet showcasing “diversity” (lmao, just kidding 😅)

What’s wild to me is that KATSEYE’s whole project is clearly rooted in K-pop machinery:

• Trained in Korea
• Styled by K-pop veterans
• Promoted using fan engagement methods straight out of the K-pop playbook
• Has Korean PD-nims. (I’ve watched all their content, and I can see they have traditional K-pop staff and PD-nims behind the scenes. Yoonchae is a part time translator)

But suddenly the language changes when it’s time to go global. “Not a K-pop group.” Why? Are they trying to distance themselves to appeal to a Western market that’s still weird about foreign language music? It feels cowardly – like they want all the structure of K-pop without being held accountable to its standard of excellence. I mean if “Golden” by Jung Kook – a pop album is categorized as K-pop, then GNARLY is clearly K-pop, bc of how experimental it sounds. It reminded me of badly produced half-baked NCT song (that will never exist) when I first heard it.

TL;DR :

KATSEYE doesn’t feel like a musical group – it feels like a concept simulator wrapped in K-pop packaging with none of the depth. No vocal moments, no artistic stance, just short-form content designed for virality, not longevity. And yes, the upcoming EP; The 12 minutes 🫠 “EP” clearly curated for the streams and charts (a HYBE signature atp). They’re skimming from the top of the K-pop iceberg, hoping aesthetics + Tiktok = success. But global audiences are smart – and more and more groups (like XG, FLO, Citizen Queen, no na) are showing what it actually means to have identity, intention, and artistry.

I’m open to being proven wrong, but right now? This feels like the fast fashion version of a girl group – entertaining on the outside and meme-worthy on the inside, but disposable at the core.

Would love to hear if anyone else is feeling the same way 🥲 Made this post because I’ve seen people commenting about similar thoughts only to get downvoted to hell. Let’s have an honest discussion now.

Anyways, if you wanna know my hunt for girl groups, I’ve been hooked onto FLO and no na. XG has created their own X-pop nation. For those who like Electropop, Stealing Sheep has recently released a single.