KATSEYE's "WILD" Goes Back to When Pop Girls Made Parents Nervous

KATSEYE has never been particularly easy to place into one box as while being created through the K-POP training system now position themselves as a global group. The six-member group spent its first two years moving between sounds, aesthetics and audiences while in search of an identity to call their own. With their third EP "WILD," that identity might finally be coming into focus.

Asides from parts of its concept, there is something unmistakably early-2000s about "WILD." The project recalls an era of female pop stars and girl groups like Britney Spears and The Pussycat Dolls, when sexuality, provocation and controversy frequently existed alongside the music itself. These were artists whose performances could spark conversations about female liberation and objectification at the same time and most importantly, whose controversies often became inseparable from their cultural impact.

KATSEYE appears willing to step into that territory as "WILD" is more mature, provocative and self-assured than much of the group's previous material. The album presents five young women increasingly comfortable with deciding how they want to look, sound and express themselves. Yet that evolution also arrives with an unavoidable complication as a significant portion of the audience KATSEYE has cultivated thus far is considerably younger than the demographic traditionally associated with this kind of pop.

"Hootie Frutti"

Of the three new tracks, "Hootie Frutti" offers perhaps the clearest indication of where KATSEYE is heading musically. Built around Brazilian funk-inspired rhythms, the track carries a more mature and confident energy while maintaining the playfulness that has increasingly defined the group since "Gnarly." Daniela emerges as a particular standout, with the rhythmic production playing naturally to the performance style and Latin-influenced flair she has repeatedly showcased.

That maturity carries directly into the music video as rather than simply following the Y2K trend, the track recalls the provocative female pop of the early 2000s. Particularly it emulates the attitude of Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Me Against the Music." However, rather than feeling like a sudden transformation for KATSEYE, the members have steadily leaned into a bolder image since "Gnarly's" release in 2025 thus allowing a more natural progression for the group.

The only risk is that the visuals could ultimately become louder than the music. Much like the pop era it evokes, conversation surrounding the members' styling and choreography could easily overshadow what is, at its core, a more mature musical step for KATSEYE. Viewed through an artistic lens, however, the sensuality feels complementary rather than separate from the track and "Hootie Frutti" may be one of the clearest examples yet of KATSEYE becoming comfortable with the artists they want to be.

"Bel Air"

In contrast, "Bel Air" strips away much of the rythmic intensity that "Hootie Frutti" brings to the album and replaces it with something much more softer and vocal-driven with remnants of R&B woven into its polished pop production. Rather than rely on the talk-singing that previous tracks have thrived upon characterizing some of the group’s biggest hits, "Bel Air" gives the girls more room to actually sing.

Sophia and Lara particularly benefit, with their vocals, harmonies and runs becoming part of the song's appeal rather than sitting behind its production. For Lara especially, it feels like a continuation of what she had been excited to showcase on pre-release track "Animal," allowing more of the vocal runs and harmonies that have sometimes taken a backseat to KATSEYE's performance-heavy material.

While "Bel Air" may lack the immediate punch of "Hootie Frutti," that restraint serves another purpose as it reminds listeners that KATSEYE is a group of capable vocalists, rather than simply a group capable of producing the short, addictive hooks that have repeatedly translated well to TikTok. If "Hootie Frutti" demonstrates KATSEYE's growing confidence as performers, "Bel Air" gives them space to establish themselves as singers. Together these begin to make the EP feel more like an attempt to define what KATSEYE’s signature sound is like.

"That Way"

Closing out the EP is "That Way," a funk-tinged pop-R&B track built around a recurring guitar melody that gives the song a smoother groove than much of "WILD." Despite containing some of the album's more provocative lyrics, it also provides another opportunity for KATSEYE to emphasize their vocals, moving between short rap verses and more melodic sections filled with layered harmonies, ad-libs and even flashes of the members' whistle register. Its combination of funky guitar and polished vocal layering is at times reminiscent of the pop-R&B palette heard across Ariana Grande's 2020 album "Positions."

Like "Bel Air," the track benefits from allowing KATSEYE to sing, but "That Way" arguably finds a stronger balance between those vocals and the attitude that drives the rest of "WILD." Furthermore it allows their maknae Yoonchae, a bigger chance in the spotlight as her vocals really shine throughout the track bridging together what a fully developed KATSEYE sound could eventually become.

For that reason, "That Way" feels like a fitting conclusion to the EP, even if its placement as the final track feels somewhat late. Introducing this sound earlier could have helped establish the album's musical identity sooner. Nevertheless, alongside the Brazilian funk influence of "Hootie Frutti" and the vocal focus of "Bel Air," "That Way" helps tie together the different sides of KATSEYE that "WILD" is attempting to establish.

Two years into their career, perhaps the most important question surrounding "WILD" is whether KATSEYE has finally found a sound that belongs to them. If their earlier releases often felt like the group was testing different corners of pop to see what would stick, "WILD" feels considerably more intentional.

Of the three new tracks, "That Way" emerges as the standout, finding the strongest balance between those different sides of the group. "Hootie Frutti" makes the boldest statement and feels built to generate conversation, while "Bel Air" offers some of the clearest evidence of KATSEYE's abilities as vocalists. "That Way," however, brings both together, pairing the maturity and attitude of the former with the harmonies, runs and vocal focus of the latter.

If "WILD" proves anything, it is that finding KATSEYE's sound does not have to mean finding one genre. The group seems increasingly comfortable existing somewhere between pop and R&B while borrowing from different influences without allowing any single one to define them.

For the first time, this EP feels less like KATSEYE searching for an identity and more like different pieces of an identity that is already beginning to take shape. "WILD" may not be the final answer to what KATSEYE sounds like, but it is the clearest one they have given yet.