Yes, I said it, the “EYEKONIC” global girl group KATSEYE is overrated among this generation’s boy bands and girl groups. Before all the people that claim to be an “EYEKON” come and attack me, just hear me out. 

An “EYEKON” is a member of KATSEYE’s fanbase.

Around the world, people started learning about KATSEYE through their advertisement with the clothing brand Gap. Their dancing talents made people more curious about who they are, which led to them gathering a following.

As much as I enjoy listening to their music and appreciating every member for their talents because some of the “EYEKONS,” they make it hard to like all six members. The fanbase treats them like babies, even though they’re all over the age of 18, with their youngest member being Yoonchae, who just turned 18 in December, or they will try to hate on a member for either doing “too much” or being “lazy.”

For instance, if one of the members said  something problematic, the fans would try to justify their actions and behavior by saying, “She didn’t mean it like that.” This shows that the fans don’t know how to hold their favorite members accountable. Like, in an interview, a member and lead dancer, Daniela Avanzini, mentioned that she’s a fan of rapper, Playboi Carti. 

Avanzini claimed that “he saved her life,” which caused a lot of conversations between fans and haters, due to Carti’s past of abusing women. Although we knew what she meant, her wording could have been a lot better than what it was. This shows the lack of media and PR training that KATSEYE has. 

When it comes to the musical aspect of the group, they have very popular songs like “Gnarly,” “Gabriela,” “Debut,” “M.I.A.” and “Touch,” which I enjoy. However, some of their songs can be underwhelming. For example, their newest single called “Internet Girl,” which was released on Jan. 2 felt very frustrating and disappointing.

 It made their music feel too generic and boring. Sometimes the marketing can overhype their music and make it seem like it’s the best song in the world, and that’s what happened to “Internet girl.” Although I know a lot of the music released by one artist won’t sound the same, consistency matters for all artists. 

From the promotion from their tour, fans were excited for the song to be released, and they set a high standard for it. However, the production lacked creativity when it came to writing the lyrics and visual production. They turned to A.I. to create the visuals for tours and music videos. I feel like HYBE, the production company, is stripping away the talent that the girls already had prior to joining KATSEYE. 

For example, some of the girls know how to produce music, like singer and member Lara Raj. She has shared her producing skills with fans prior to joining the group. She also co-produced and co-written her sister’s, Rhea Raj, song called “Now That Ur Gone.”

HYBE is not handling the group well and should let them use their talent. They can do a lot better than watering down the natural talent the girls already have. 

While we can appreciate the girls’ talent, but criticize what is not great.