<\/p>\n
As someone who cannot dance, still loves to dance, and especially loves watching professional dancers, I\u2019ve observed K-pop from a distance for years, never knowing where to start with this genre. On a whim last Fall, I watched Netflix\u2019s\u00a0Pop Star Academy: Katseye,<\/em> a documentary series created in collaboration with international record labels Hybe and Geffen Records that follows the creation of a global girl pop group in the style of K-pop. Through this documentary, I came to appreciate the rigorous (at times, too rigorous, given these were teenagers and young women being treated with questionable standards) and perfectionist artistry embedded in K-pop. It\u2019s incredible to see how much thought and detail go into every aspect of a performance, from faces to vocals to even the ways one\u2019s fingers are positioned in specific dance moves. Throughout the series, you watch more than 100 girls be whittled down to a selection of finalists, with the final six coming together to create Katseye.\u00a0<\/p>\n Katseye\u2019s first EP,\u00a0SIS (Soft Is Strong),<\/em> was good, great even, but it felt distinctly Hybe and Geffen, failing to capitalize on the potential of the group\u2019s six members, who are of differing ages and cultural backgrounds. Songs like \u201cTouch\u201d and \u201cDebut\u201d are bops, to be sure, but it\u2019s clear the girls of Katseye\u2019s weren\u2019t necessarily vibing with its more sanitized, ubiquitous, mainstream sound. But then Katseye released their debut EP,\u00a0Beautiful Chaos,<\/em> and the fog cleared on what the girls of Katseye want to do and be.\u00a0<\/p>\nKatseye – “Gameboy” Official Music Video:\u00a0<\/h3>\n