It’s April 29, 2025. Katseye are greatest identified for a soapy Netflix actuality present, their viral hit “Contact,” and for merely being Hybe’s large worldwide lady group experiment (the group’s six members have roots in not less than 5 continents). They’re popping out with a brand new single, and primarily based on the teasers, the beat appears catchy. Their future is promising, however nonetheless very unsure.
It’s April 30, 2025 and Katseye have the primary trending music video on YouTube. Each nook of the digital Okay-pop neighborhood appears to be buzzing and efficiency movies are reaching lots of of hundreds (if not thousands and thousands) of views in below a day. “Gnarly” has arrived and it’s modified the sport.
Let’s be very clear: “Gnarly” will not be a very good tune. It has some good components—specifically a sick beat and enjoyable choreography—nevertheless it’s messy, and a number of the dangers it takes don’t repay. There’s a motive that a number of the preliminary on-line buzz was what-on-earth-is-this themed.
The MV is an particularly robust tablet to swallow. Class has left the chat: Every thing is garishly brilliant and cheap-looking, regardless of the fixed barrage of product placement (put that advertiser cash to good use!). There’s additionally a number of AI-generated imagery, which provides to the sensation of artificiality.
Some may defend “Gnarly” by saying it’s kitsch (purposefully and satirically garish), and that may have been the intention. Nonetheless, kitsch requires 1,000,000 instances extra finesse than what “Gnarly” has to supply. Crucially, it’s lacking a humorousness. The MV’s visible gags—together with temporary bursts of pg-rated violence and gross-out meals pictures which might be in all probability speculated to be edgy—aren’t humorous, they’re cringe and try-hard, two adjectives that additionally apply to the tune’s horrendous lyrics.
Correctly tuning into the tune will end in you being assaulted by strains like “hottie hottie/like a bag of Taki’s” and “Tesla (gnarly)/fried rooster (gnarly).” The monitor’s second verse is especially nightmarish:
Making beats for a boring dumb bitch
Fucking gnarly (gnarly)
Don’t discuss to me
You’re gnarly, I’m not (shit is gnarly)
Jealous of my mansion?
Yeah the view is (fucking) gnarly
There’s nothing incorrect with a nonsense-lyrics right here or there, or with swearing for that matter. Nonetheless, the tune’s mixture of fixed meaningless content material and a swear phrase each 5 strains makes it really feel prefer it was written by a center schooler (beneficiant) attempting actually, actually onerous to be cool. Funnily sufficient, the ‘clear model’ of the lyrics—with model references and swearing eliminated, doubtless in order that Katseye can carry out the tune on Korean music reveals—is barely much less cringe than the unique.
On high of all that, there’s one closing strike in opposition to “Gnarly,” which is its bizarre dealing with of suggestive content material. It’s notable right here that Katseye’s members vary in age from 17 to 22, so what’s completely acceptable for a few of them could also be much less so for others. With that in thoughts, a number of the booty-shaking dance strikes are in all probability tremendous (particularly because the choreography is the one place the place “Gnarly” really feels playful and cheekily creative), although a raised eyebrow or two is comprehensible.
What makes much less sense are a number of the visible decisions within the MV, which just like the swear phrases, really feel like shock worth for shock worth’s sake. No one wants to observe two animated flies mate on a sandwich (I want I used to be joking). The ultimate dance scene—which sees the women surrounded by a largely male cohort of photographers, a few of whom go disturbingly bug-eyed— additionally feels insanely tone deaf in a world the place ladies are so usually focused by illicit images or plain old school ogling.
With all that stated, you could be questioning: If “Gnarly” sucks that a lot, why is it proving to be Katseye’s breakout second? There are two predominant causes. The primary is that it’s a practice wreck, and practice wrecks are type of fascinating. Watching “Gnarly” could be an off-putting expertise, nevertheless it’s definitely distinctive! That is in distinction to one thing like “Contact,” which as pleasant because it was, isn’t reinventing any wheels and will have been accomplished by any variety of different lady teams. “Gnarly” positively stands out.
That brings us to motive quantity two, which is that “Gnarly” has succeeded in getting a number of eyes on Katseye…and when you get previous the catastrophe of the monitor itself, what turns into clear is that Katseye are killer performers. The members are just about the one salvageable factor in regards to the MV. Their dedication and confidence stops “Gnarly” from changing into a complete joke.
On stage, Katseye rework “Gnarly” right into a enjoyable, recent efficiency hit. They’re helped by the truth that the tune’s greatest options are its clanging hyperpop sound and party-ready choregraphy, however make no mistake: Katseye are doing the heavy-lifting right here. Their power, dance abilities, and stage presence are one thing to behold, and because the post-release promotion cycle for “Gnarly” has kicked off, the dialog has shifted from (deserved) lyric-bashing and (deserved) critique of Hybe, to reward for Katseye and their charisma.
Funnily sufficient, “Gnarly” being so unhealthy solely serves to spotlight the group’s expertise. Turning lemons into lemonade is an artwork, and now, thousands and thousands of persons are watching Katseye handle simply that. In a way, then, “Gnarly” is a triumph. No matter Katseye do subsequent, the world shall be watching.
(YouTube[1][2][3]. Lyrics by way of YouTube. Photos by way of Geffen, HYBE.)
