After debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists and Heatseekers Albums charts with their 2024 debut EP SIS (Soft Is Strong), KATSEYE returns with “Gnarly,” a hard-hitting club banger built on earth-quaking 808s, gritty rave synths and a pugnacious attitude.
As they embark on this new era, KATSEYE captures what it’s like to grow up in the digital age and to simultaneously be thrust in the limelight – resulting in a heady blend of excitement, vulnerability and overstimulation. Always reveling in life’s dualities, KATSEYE leans into the dual meaning of “gnarly” and embraces the blurred line between the real and the digital worlds.
The track was produced by Pink Slip, Tim Randolph, HYBE founder “hitman” Bang and Slow Rabbit. Listen to “Gnarly,” released via HYBE x Geffen Records. The official video is directed by Cody Critcheloe. The video made its broadcast premiere on MTV Live, MTVU, MTV Biggest Pop and on the Paramount Times Square billboards.
KATSEYE says, “We want people to feel the vibes, to really connect with our music. ‘Gnarly’ feels true to us — it’s bold, it’s fun, and it shows a different side of what we’re about. It feels good to share more of that as we grow alongside the EYEKONS,” referring to the group’s dedicated fandom.
Named an artist to watch for 2025 by VEVO DSCVR and TIDAL, KATSEYE don’t just break the mold — they’re making their own. The global girl group is the first of its kind, forged within the high standards of the K-pop system, but armed with the explicit goal of smashing through boundaries both cultural and creative. Ranging in age from 17 to 22 and coming from immensely different cultures, the six members of
KATSEYE are: Daniela (Cuban/Venezuelan-American, from Atlanta, GA), Lara (Indian, from New York, NY), Manon (Ghanaian-Italian, from Zurich, Switzerland), Megan (Chinese-American, from Honolulu, HI), Sophia (Manila, Philippines), and Yoonchae (Seoul, South Korea).
After the world watched them compete and come together through HYBE and Geffen Records’ groundbreaking Dream Academy show and artist development program (a story told in the Netflix docuseries, Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE), the group made its recording debut with the aptly titled single “Debut” in the summer of 2024, which was featured on Rolling Stone’s “Songs You Need to Know” playlist. KATSEYE’s second single, “Touch,” found a spot on Billboard’s Staff List of “The 100 Best Songs of 2024.” Their chart-topping debut EP, SIS (Soft Is Strong), included both singles plus three new songs.
SIS received widespread critical acclaim, with features running in Interview Magazine; PAPER; the Los Angeles Times (including an appearance on the cover of Image Magazine); Associated Press; Cosmopolitan; V Magazine; OUT Magazine; and the first-ever social-first cover of InStyle. KATSEYE performed on “Good Morning America,” “GMA3” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
The group was nominated for two 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards and gave a stunning performance at the MAMA Awards. The Los Angeles Times observed, “they blew everyone away with their commanding stage presence and on-point, intricate and athletic prowess.” Billboard said, “KATSEYE slayed a high-flying rendition of their tracks ‘Debut’ and ‘Touch’ in a special collaboration with the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders squad.” View the performance HERE. KATSEYE stars in Fendi’s new “Fendi For Yourself” global digital campaign and Pepsi has tapped “Debut” for a new ad campaign.
KATSEYE continues to create a prismatic, mercurial and potent pop sound that thrives in the tension between softness and strength, polish and raw power, precision and rebellion — always shining, always evolving, as “Gnarly” affirms.
Follow KATSEYE
INSTAGRAM | TIK TOK | FACEBOOK | KATSEYE
