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| Photo Credit: Julian Song |
KATSEYE, the powerful pop girls, are continuing their path of chaos. After shaking up opinions and online debate over their single Gnarly, the girls are back with their new EP, BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, via HYBE x Geffen Records.
With KATSEYE the joy is you never know what to expect, and the title reflects just that; the five-song track list consists of bold but important songs that are rooted in their identity in a digital age. A message I'm sure many of us continue to fight where reality is curated and authenticity fights the algorithm. As Rolling Stone noted in this feature, “With Beautiful Chaos, the group proves that their strong friendship and shining individuality are here to stay… Beautiful Chaos shows off the diversity in their styles and vocal versatility.”
Beautiful Chaos follows the group's debut EP SIS (Soft Is Strong) – which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists and Heatseekers Albums charts in late 2024. Leading the way for this new release is the new track, Gameboy. It follows a new image of their boldness with lyrics, a nice mix of cheekiness and a sprinkle of sugary pop goodness, so it’s easy to see why the group describes it as the big sister of Touch, a track from SIS.
After the world watched them compete and come together through HYBE and Geffen Records’ ground-breaking Dream Academy show and artist development program (and later, the Netflix docuseries, Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE), the idea of “beautiful chaos” felt oddly comforting to the group. Working with collaborators like Justin Tranter (Selena Gomez, Chappell Roan), Andrew Watt (Lady Gaga, Jungkook), John Ryan (Sabrina Carpenter), and Kristin Carpenter (Nessa Barrett, JISOO), KATSEYE thrives in the tension between softness and strength, polish and raw power, and precision and rebellion on the new EP.
Highlights include the anthemic Mean Girls, which chooses grace over drama (something many online should take note of), and M.I.A., which serves up high energy with a hard-hitting beat — a fitting backdrop for asserting one’s self-worth. Then, of course, there's the iconic lead single Gnarly, which has amassed 100 million combined global streams and was hailed as a “hyper pop doozy” contender for “song of the summer 2025” by The FADER. KATSEYE performed Gnarly at last week’s 2025 Kids Choice Awards.
That's not all, last week saw the release of the gorgeous latin inspired Gabriela which earned praise from HYPEBEAST, noting that, “Blending haunting synth-pop tunes with Latin-acoustics, the song creates a cinematic, genre-blurring atmosphere. With a hypnotic hook, layered harmonies, and emotionally charged lyrics, it explores themes of obsession, identity, and envy — showcasing a new side of KATSEYE’s artistry.” The official video for “Gabriela,” which stars Jessica Alba, racked up over 10 million views in the first three days of release and quickly ranked #1 on Trending for music on YouTube. Teen Vogue – which featured KATSEYE on the cover of its May-June issue – observed, “Visuals have been an essential part of KATSEYE's success, and that success is driven by the band's authenticity — both in their work and their wardrobes.”
PAPER observed, “[Beautiful Chaos] is an encapsulation of the group’s buzzing energy, a messy distillation of the first-of-its-kind girl group…KATSEYE are ready to lean into their own distinct POV. There is no set road map for this group…”
Wonderland declared,“ They’re taking over the pop- world…”And long may they continue. It's been a while since we’ve seen such a girl group make polarising tracks that get people talking all while being themselves and embracing their cultures.
Beautiful Chaos is available on all streaming platforms now. What's your favourite track?