KATSEYE: Photos From the Billboard Shoot

When rumors of a lingering rift between two of KATSEYE’s six members reached the girl group this summer, they quickly turned the chatter into a viral moment. “We’re literally fine lol,” read the caption on a photo of Lara and Manon holding hands and posing on a backdrop of dolphins and rainbows, playing into a then-current TikTok trend around Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson’s “Symphony.”

“One thing I love about this group is how Gen Z we are,” says Manon. “We saw all of that and were like, ‘Okay, funny. Let’s do this TikTok and put an end to this.’” The 11-second post has since compiled more than 5.4 million views.

The savvy social media approach is just one of the effective strategies that the rising group and their team at HxG (HYBE x Geffen Records, which represents a joint venture between the Korean-entertainment conglomerate and Universal Music Group) employ to hook new fans. Another, naturally, has been with the music: KATSEYE’s latest single, “Touch,” packs crisp drum-and-bass production, twinkling electro-pop flourishes and a swirl of pop-R&B harmonies into two minutes and ten seconds. Co-produced by Cashmere Cat (Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Charli XCX), the hit has latched onto U.S. radio and helped to build the group’s following stateside.

Read the full Billboard story here.