KATSEYE (캣츠아이) (stylized in all uppercase) is an international K-Pop-inspired group under HYBE Entertainment and Geffen Records. KATSEYE has six members: Sophia, Manon, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae. The group was formed on “The Debut: Dream Academy,” a survival show produced by HYBE Entertainment and Geffen Records as a way to find 6 members for an international pop group. KATSEYE debuted on June 28, 2024, with their EP, SIS (Soft is Strong).

Gnarly is the most recent comeback of the international pop group, KATSEYE. The single was released to streaming platforms on April 30, 2025. The single was originally teased on April 22, 2025, on KATSEYE’s Instagram account, @katseyeworld. The song follows their previous EP, SIS (Soft is Strong), receiving very mixed reviews from listeners. On May 6th, KATSEYE posted an announcement of their upcoming EP, BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, which is likely to feature “Gnarly” as a single. In this song, KATSEYE makes a statement about their confidence and attitude, describing everything as “gnarly,” a word meaning something that is both unpleasant yet good.

Gnarly

Rating: ★ ½

As much as it pains me to say it, especially since I loved their EP, this song just really does not work for me. The fun, girly pop anthem “Touch” from their EP was such a hit and solidified what KATSEYE was to me: a group that can push out a catchy, fun pop song with entertaining choreography and nice vocals. I feel there are so many things wrong with this song, starting with the fact that the new style is such a big jump from their previous music that the song itself is jarring in their discography. Although this is still one of their first releases, changes are likely to occur; however, it feels like their branding changed WAY too quickly.

Originally, “Gnarly” was a track teased on TikTok by modern hyperpop artist Alice Longyu Gao. On the TikTok page for The Chainsmokers, they teased the opening and first verse of the song alongside Gao; however, it seems that it was a collaboration that was scrapped due to little reaction or noise created from the teaser. It was most likely put up for other artists, from which KATSEYE created the song. I think that if Alice Longyu Gao continued making the song, it would have been a lot better, as Gao is known for her hyperpop music, which is the brand that she already has for herself.

Secondly, the lyrics of this song are incredibly cringy. Even from my first listen, I’ve said that the way that they cuss in the song, as well as some of the lyrics that are written, sound like they put a middle schooler in a room and told them to write a hit. The lyrics feel forced in the sense that they’re supposed to be cool and “hip,” and the result is a song that lacks any real substance. For example, the song uses lots of slang and terms that are “cool for teens,” which just feels so forced and usually makes little sense in the context of the song. In the second verse of the song, Manon sings, “Now you be like, “Gang,” Gang, gang, gang, gang, gang,” which feels so out of place and also flows so weirdly in the song that it just makes it feel like they’re throwing in terms just to make their song more trendy. Similarly, many of the lines created for rhymes could be improved to make the song flow better, as again, they fall into the trap of trying to be trendy to make the song catchier. In the chorus of the original, Manon sings, “Hottie, hottie, like a bag of Takis, I’m the sh*t, I’m the sh*t,” however, she sings, “Hottie, hottie, this ain’t just a hobby, I’m legit, I’m legit,” in the clean version, which I think flows so much better and also just has a better ring to it. Lastly, I think that although the idea of having a song named “Gnarly” that has a gnarly sound is a fun concept, the song itself is just unpleasant; there is not much that makes it good.

Although I dislike this song, I did have to give it at least one star because I think that the instrumental is such a feat of this song, as well as the pre-chorus. If the song centered more around how the pre-chorus of the song sounded, I think the song would have at least been received better by the general public, even if the shift in genres was still jarring. Although I do like both of these parts of the song, these are the only redeeming qualities of the song.

Find “Gnarly” by KATSEYE on most major streaming platforms!