About the artist: KATSEYE is a six-member global girl group, curated on the Netflix series Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE. The girls, joined together by Hybe x Geffen, each bring their own cultural background into the mix, giving representation for girls all across the world. Each girl delivers a dynamic mix of vocals, visuals, and choreography, and their star power shines through every time they take the stage.
About the album: Beautiful Chaos is Katseye’s second extended play, released on June 27, 2025, through Hybe UMG and Geffen Records.
Reviews:
Album Cover: Personally, I really like this album cover. I love the way each girl is styled, their individuality shines through while still maintaining the cohesiveness of the group. I also love how each girl is sitting atop her own car, further enforcing that individual yet cohesive idea of the group. The only thing that I would change is maybe getting a closer view of the girls, as they’re all beautiful, and I would love to see more details of each of their styled looks.
Overall, I would rate this cover an 8.5/10.
Songs:
Gnarly – This song is definitely an acquired taste. However, it didn’t take very long at all for me to acquire that taste. Right off the bat, the lyrics are different from anything I’ve heard previously. “Boba tea” and “fried chicken” are two things I wouldn’t expect to be mentioned in the opening of a pop song, and now it’s actually kind of making me hungry.
Though this song isn’t the best display of their vocals, it’s a fun song that’s different from anything I’ve ever heard, and I don’t think every song an artist releases has to be vocally-focused. This song is a dancing song, and that becomes prevalent when they’re performing this one on stage, like they did at the 2026 Grammys for their Best New Artist performance.
I give “Gnarly” a 9/10.
Gabriela – This song was Grammy-nominated for a reason. Of all the KATSEYE songs I’ve heard across social media platforms, I’ve heard this one the most by far. This song is a wonderful display of their vocals, and brings culture into the mix beautifully as well.
Daniela, who brings her Latina heritage into the group’s dynamic, delivers a beautiful bridge in Spanish in this song. I loved the song’s display of culture, vocals, and dance, this song definitely went viral for a reason.
For me, “Gabriela” is an 8.5/10.
Gameboy – This song is definitely not nearly as popular as the songs mentioned above. For me, I really love the little video game noises throughout the song. I agree that this song also isn’t the best display of vocals for the girls, but I think the lyrics and instrumentals are cute.
I think this song is fun and girly, I would give it a 7.5/10.
Mean Girls – Out of the songs on the Beautiful Chaos EP, this one stands out to me. I know that’s crazy to say considering “Gnarly” is on this EP, but “Mean Girls” brings a new sound to this project. This song is slower and more low-key than the others, but still has a nice beat.
This song is also a great display of their vocals, and I love how their voices are layered here. To top it off, one of the lyricists on this song, Justin Tranter, confirmed that this song had been previously offered to multiple other musicians who ultimately turned it down due to wanting to remove the lyric “God bless the T girls, and all the in-between girls,” a line referencing transgender women. Justin would not agree to let an artist have this song unless they kept this line in the song, and KATSEYE were the first to agree to keep the song as is.
So, not only is KATSEYE great global representation, they’re also allies (and a few of them, members) of the LGBTQ+ community. I love the sound of this song, and I love the backstory of why KATSEYE got to perform it.
This one is an 8/10.
M.I.A – I love this song. Though this one didn’t get as much attention as songs like “Gnarly” or “Gabriela,” many who have heard this song have expressed much love for it. This song has a great beat, their voices sound great, and the lyrics are fun.
Near the end of this song, Lara delivers siren-like vocals that nearly entrance me every time I listen. I personally prefer songs that are really upbeat, and this song is a great example of that.
I would give “M.I.A” a 9/10.
OVERALL RATING: 8.4/10
I think this album covers different varieties of pop music, has both displays of vocals and dance, and shows each girl’s own personality while maintaining the look of the group. This project doesn’t absolutely blow me away lyrically as a whole, but not every album needs to be like that. I like the songs, and I think they’re fun, just like I think KATSEYE is fun!
Copyright & Fair Use Notice: Album artwork is the property of its respective copyright holder and is used here for non-commercial, educational purposes under fair use (17 U.S.C. §107). This review includes commentary and criticism of both the music and the artwork.
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