JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
What's Gnarly? KATSEYE's 'noise music' slowly grows on people amid debut Hot 100 chart entry for girl group
KATSEYE makes waves with Gnarly, a bold blend of crazy tune and hyperpop, as the track grows in popularity and earns the girl group their first Hot 100 debut.
KATSEYE is making noise—literally and figuratively. Less than a year after their debut, the six-member girl group has scored their first-ever entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with their genre-bending track Gnarly.
On May 13, Billboard announced that Gnarly debuted at No. 92 on the chart, which ranks the most popular songs in the US. each week. It’s a major milestone for a group that’s been on a fast track to global recognition.
The members—Sophia, Manon, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae seemed to know the track would stir up strong reactions. Designed to provoke, Gnarly isn’t your average K-pop release. It throws out the rulebook and instead leans into an experimental fusion of dance, punk, and hyperpop. The result is a loud, chaotic, and unapologetically bold piece of music.
Charting KATSEYE's Course
The success of “Gnarly” has been nothing short of explosive. In addition to its Hot 100 debut:
- It entered Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart at No. 39
- Landed at No. 47 on the Global 200
- Re-entered Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart at No. 11
- Peaked at No. 52 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart (for the week of May 9–15)
- Hit No. 60 on Spotify’s Top Songs Global (for the week of May 2–8)
So… What Is Gnarly?
The title says it all. Gnarly is a slang term that can mean wild, cool, weird, gross, dangerous. According to Teen Vogue, Yoonchae shares, “They could describe everything with one single word”. The track instantly introduces its concept: that the same word can carry opposite meanings, depending on how you use it.
In a recent interview with The Fader, member Manon explained, “Gnarly can be a good thing or a bad thing in our minds. It's kind of up for interpretation.” Lara added, “Especially in the first verse, there are good gnarlies and there are bad gnarlies. They're just like, yeah, whatever you interpret it as.
Interestingly, two versions of the song are currently available: a clean version and an explicit version. The clean version swaps out brand names and explicit phrases for more family-friendly alternatives. For example, “Tesla” is replaced with “robotics,” and “I’m the sh*t” becomes “I’m legit.”
Gnarly is playful, tongue-in-cheek vibe, a banger from KATSEYE. So what kind of Gnarly vibe are you in?
