From catchy pop bops to viral TikTok dance challenges, there’s hardly a corner of the internet where Katseye hasn’t popped up on your feed. Since their debut in 2024, the six-member girl group has been steadily taking over airwaves and playlists alike, serving pure Y2K pop nostalgia with tracks like “Touch” and “Gameboy,” while showing off their edgier side through bold hits like “Gnarly” and “Gabriela.”

At first glance, the six-member pop group may appear to be your typical K-Pop ensemble, with their sharp choreography, high-concept visuals, and synchronized energy. But then you realize: they don’t sing in Korean, and there’s only one member who’s actually Korean. Cue the collective internet confusion.

So the million-dollar question remains: Is Katseye a K-Pop group?

The debate’s been ongoing across stan X and Reddit threads, with fans dissecting what truly defines the genre. After all, with groups like BTS and BLACKPINK having already blurred the boundaries between K-Pop and Western pop, where exactly does Katseye stand?

After digging in, we’re here to say it: Katseye isn’t K-Pop — or just pop. They’re carving out something entirely their own.

Made from Pop: A Product of ‘Glocalization’

Katseye is the brainchild of HYBE and Geffen Records, two of the biggest record labels in the music industry today. The former is based in South Korea and is known as the multinational powerhouse that brought us BTS, Le Sserafim, NewJeans, and Enhyphen, while the latter is a division of Interscope Capitol Labels Group headquartered in California.

If you’re wondering how this cross-ocean partnership came about, it all had to do with K-Pop evolving into a cultural movement, which pushed South Korean entertainment companies like HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment to actively pursue international expansion.

These companies have rolled out varying “glocalization” strategies, such as partnerships with Chinese and Japanese music companies, and creating sub-units within their groups that include members from China and Southeast Asia. Some examples include SM Entertainment’s WayV, a sub-unit of NCT, based in China, and JYP Entertainment’s NiziU, a Japanese girl group formed in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

According to a case study from Essential Bizmarketing, HYBE Corporation has been pursuing global expansion in the United States since 2021, when it acquired Ithaca Holdings, a U.S.-based media company managing artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. This extended their portfolio beyond K-Pop, cementing itself in the American music industry. HYBE then partnered with Universal Music Group (UMG), which now has exclusive distribution rights across their roster of artists and labels for the next 10 years, and Geffen Records to launch a global girl group, marking a new chapter of Western market engagement.

ICYDK, Katseye was formed through the global survival reality show “The Debut: Dream Academy,” which brought together aspiring idols from all over the world to compete for a spot in a new pop girl group. Over 120,000 auditions were submitted over two years, and from that massive pool, only 20 finalists made it to the final stage. The show premiered on Sept. 1, 2023, and ran for 12 weeks in the U.S., with contestants divided into teams for various vocal and dance challenges.

Fans followed every step of the girls’ journey, with eliminations heavily influenced by online votes, creating an early and passionate fan base even before the group’s debut. By November 2023, Katseye officially took shape, featuring Sophia (Philippines), Manon (Switzerland), Daniela (U.S.), Megan (Hawaii), Lara (U.S.), and Yoonchae (South Korea).

Given that HYBE is best known for producing K-Pop powerhouses, it’s easy to assume Katseye is a K-Pop group too. But according to Bang Si-Hyuk, HYBE’s Founder and Chairman, their collaboration with Geffen Records is actually an experiment in global pop production, combining the K-Pop training system with Western music industry practices to create a truly international act.

“I’ve always had a dream to give talented young people the opportunity to become a member of a remarkable group that is created based on K-Pop,” he told John Janick, CEO of Geffen Records, in an interview.

This is further emphasized by John in Netflix’s “Pop Star Academy,” a documentary that chronicled Katseye’s training and formation, as he expressed, “I don’t think there’s a project that’s been done like this before. Taking the K-Pop method of developing and training, but doing it in pop music. It’s real collaboration and partnership with a label from Korea.”

In conclusion, Katseye is a K-Pop-inspired girl group or a product of HYBE’s global localization strategy, which aimed to permeate the Western music industry through international partnerships. “The Debut: Dream Academy” may have used the K-Pop way to find new talents across the globe, which involved auditions, intensive training, and elimination rounds through various performance tests, but these girls were built for the American market, which in turn makes them globally mainstream.

K-Pop, as defined by Britannica, is mainly described as a colloquial term for popular music from South Korea. It’s also known as “idol music,” created and performed by artists trained by entertainment companies. These songs span upbeat pop, dance music, and ballads, and are mostly sung in the Korean language. Although in the past decade, K-Pop has featured songs with a blend of both English and Korean lyrics.

While Katseye was born from a system pioneered by Korean entertainment companies, the group itself doesn’t exactly fall under the K-Pop label. They’ve neither sung in Korean nor included Korean lyrics in their songs, setting them apart from traditional K-Pop groups. Instead, Katseye represents a new kind of global pop act, one that borrows the precision, performance discipline, and visual flair of K-Pop while embracing a more international sound and identity.

Katseye’s music radiates pure pop energy, something they have in common with global pop girl groups like Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and XG. Their EPs showcase a vibrant mix of styles and sounds, even weaving in multicultural touches, like their recent single “Gabriela,” which featured Spanish lyrics.

Their songs are matched with sharp, dynamic choreography, eye-catching 2000s-inspired styling, and digital-first fan engagement through dance challenges, performance clips, and behind-the-scenes content that keep audiences hooked. It’s a formula familiar to K-Pop fans, yet they execute it with a refreshingly global twist.

But beyond the polished performances and catchy hooks, Katseye’s story is rooted in inspiration. The group was built on the belief that artistry isn’t bound by borders and that raw talent can come from anywhere and be shaped into something extraordinary.

“I hope they become the voice of our new generation and inspire young people all over the world,” said Bang Si-Hyuk on the show’s live finale. Through their journey, they’ve become living proof that with passion, training, and opportunity, dreams that may have once felt impossible can take center stage on a global platform.

Stay tuned for more of their music and performances by following Katseye on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok. You can also stream their music on YouTube and Spotify.