Pinky Down: Why did Katseye's New Song "Pinky Up" Have So Much Discourse?

On April 9th, the Girl Group, Katseye released their latest song "Pinky Up." The currently 5-membered girl group released the song at a time when the streets were buzzing about their visual Manon Bannerman's hiatus. Many fans, including me, were not as shocked by Manon's absence in the video; however, it still left a bad taste in everyone's mouth after what had led to the situation. Others on TikTok have also criticized the group's choreographer's dance skills as well as the direction of their music and concept. While I could expand on what occurred with each situation, I wanted to note that due to the distractions within the group, the professionals surrounding them, the members' parents, and the company, this may have influenced people to dislike Pinky Up more than they wanted to. 

When Katseye first debuted, they had an edgy yet soft presence that their audience enjoyed. Things turned for the worse when Gnarly was released in 2025. From the lyrics mentioning Tesla to the background moans, the random lyrics, the accusations of AI use. At first, there were disgruntled reviews, but within a month, some fans had changed their minds and even learned the lyrics. Towards the end of 2025, the girls went on tour and debuted their new song Internet Girl. Similar to Gnarly, people expressed their distaste for the alleged AI music, and would sing along at their concert days later. 

Where Are We Going With This?

Pinky Up is no different with the criticism, but due to the situations surrounding the group, it feels like people disliked it even more. I began to see the vision of Katseye's concept. It appears that their company is going for an edgy Pussycat Dolls 2.0, but without only one person singing. Katseye is definitely a self empowerment group, but because the Y2K culture is coming back, they have incorporated electronic It Girl aesthetic to them. Regardless if they make rnb, rock, or ballads, they make "It Girl" pop music inspired by various decades of It Girl pop music.  

The Sound 

As previously mentioned, techno, technopop, and electronic Y2K are making a comeback with artists like Charlie XCX, Zara Larsson, and Rina Sawayama making waves with their upbeat music. Pinky Up has a deeper electronic dance sound that has been compared to BlackPink's "Jump" or the original Da Hool's "Meet her at the Love Parade."  This Eurotechnopop sound complements the edgy, borderline cyber punk concept they are leaning into. European artists like Joost and Horsegirl are bringing back European Club music, and Pinky Up is ahead of what we might be hearing on the radio or on social media this summer. Pinky Up's music video confirms the concept they are going for by combining party electronic and trashy glam. Think season 1 and 2 Snooki from The Jersey Shore, a time when girls were bolder with their looks, wore trucker hats, drank Monster, tanned, unblended extensions, and had black, hot pink, or neon green combo, accompanied with animal print. 

As of recently, international girl groups have a defined sound but not a consistent marketing concept. In my opinion I think that global girl groups have unique characters and one single concept might not fit everyone, as they provide different aesthetics and vocal ranges that it would be hard to contain their image the same way as Twice, Red Velvet, or BlackPink. Because the group was hyped and scouted through social media and Netflix, having a pronounced internet It girl image adds to their concept like Myspace. Specifically, Internet Girl and Pinky Up are songs that I can see being released in 2008-2010 on Myspace or another platform where underground musicians used to release their music pre-Soundcloud. Think Ayesha Erotica, Ke$ha, 3OH!3, Sophie, and LMFAO with a hint of Christina Aguliara, The Pussycat Dolls, Girlicious, and maybe the Spice Girls.

Along with the instrumental and concept, many complained about their lyrics, which are often accused of being created by Artificial Intelligence (AI). From the outside, one could simply agree; however, they have worked with some of the best songwriters who are artists themselves. A lot of their most recent releases have included questionable lyrics and random phrases that are the artistic styles of the songwriters. Recently, people stated that they disliked the phrase, "eat zucchini," in Internet Girl which translates to "eat a d!ck". From the perspective of someone who constantly dissects lyrics, I automatically knew that this phrase was used because: 1. they do have a young audience, 2. it matches the concept of the song being an internet girl who uses emojis, and 3. It's catchy and funny. I think because songs are not as quirky or funny as they used to be, we have a new group of music listeners who would describe the songs as lazy, weird, unserious, and AI. We sometimes forget that there are songs like '3' by Britney Spears, "We Are Young" by FUN, and "Mooo!" by Doja Cat that were all created years ago, but if they were to debut today, they would receive AI accusations. Instead of putting their middle fingers up to the sky, they put their pinkies up, which universally signifies having class. Throughout the song focuses on living it up, being delusional, and the beauty of not knowing everything, especially while the world is burning down. It's catchy, fun, and different from what the music market has been giving us lately.

Because their fans' ages range from 14 to 32, it feels like it's a little hard to satisfy all age groups, as they can't be too edgy, but they also have a very mature look as most of the members are adults. Also trying to be innovative while still trying to cater to an audience that is used to contained kpop girl groups makes it trickier for Katseye. By experimenting with different concepts while still maintaining the Y2K and 2010s MySpace vibes, Katseye does have a direction, but not a specific lane.