The response to this song was so layered to me!!!! First of all it undermined some of the conversations I’ve had in private about how conservative gen z can be and their unwillingness to be truly open to things that feel outside of their expectations. I feel like a lot of this is a product of the time and the rigidity and discomfort with “cringe” more than ever before which is hilarious because kpop has a lot of cringe but the expression of the song is outside of the realm of even the girl crush aesthetics and the acceptable cringe of desirability. It’s also hilarious because — and I say this with all the love in my heart — a lot of K-pop lyrics are totally gibberish? Especially the English parts. In the era of NCT and even Stray Kids this reaction is even more odd but then again kpop has always had a problem with women and expression and experimentation. I’m happy to see that everyone is coming around to it because to me it was an instant bop but also because I found it kind of scary how intense and void of critical thinking and examination the reaction was. Again it felt like a sign of the times but I’m so glad katseye’s performance really helped turn things around. Another group couldn’t have done that! I have found a lot boring these days so I am so happy with what they did and hope they keep pushing it. Touch was cute but this song seems to represent them and align with their personalities and aesthetics so much more which I love in the world of kpop which can sometimes just be about trying on different personas and cultures (oop)!
I definitely second what you're touching on here, especially as far as the conflict between a K-pop fan mentality and Katseye wishing to expand their identity beyond that scope goes, which is why I wanted to explore what "Gnarly" could represent from both perspectives in my review. It's a tricky balancing act for sure! I'm also glad the audience is coming around -- this release feels like a breath of fresh air in the wider K-pop sphere right now where ("Touch"-esque) easy-listening and softcore aesthetics have become the redundant go-to. It's spunky, funny, and offers a lot to talk about and unpack, plus their performances have been insane!! And yeah, with the girls saying they had a lot of input in this upcoming EP and that "Gnarly" feels very authentic to them, I'm excited to see what else they have in store for this new chapter.
The response to this song was so layered to me!!!! First of all it undermined some of the conversations I’ve had in private about how conservative gen z can be and their unwillingness to be truly open to things that feel outside of their expectations. I feel like a lot of this is a product of the time and the rigidity and discomfort with “cringe” more than ever before which is hilarious because kpop has a lot of cringe but the expression of the song is outside of the realm of even the girl crush aesthetics and the acceptable cringe of desirability. It’s also hilarious because — and I say this with all the love in my heart — a lot of K-pop lyrics are totally gibberish? Especially the English parts. In the era of NCT and even Stray Kids this reaction is even more odd but then again kpop has always had a problem with women and expression and experimentation. I’m happy to see that everyone is coming around to it because to me it was an instant bop but also because I found it kind of scary how intense and void of critical thinking and examination the reaction was. Again it felt like a sign of the times but I’m so glad katseye’s performance really helped turn things around. Another group couldn’t have done that! I have found a lot boring these days so I am so happy with what they did and hope they keep pushing it. Touch was cute but this song seems to represent them and align with their personalities and aesthetics so much more which I love in the world of kpop which can sometimes just be about trying on different personas and cultures (oop)!
I definitely second what you're touching on here, especially as far as the conflict between a K-pop fan mentality and Katseye wishing to expand their identity beyond that scope goes, which is why I wanted to explore what "Gnarly" could represent from both perspectives in my review. It's a tricky balancing act for sure! I'm also glad the audience is coming around -- this release feels like a breath of fresh air in the wider K-pop sphere right now where ("Touch"-esque) easy-listening and softcore aesthetics have become the redundant go-to. It's spunky, funny, and offers a lot to talk about and unpack, plus their performances have been insane!! And yeah, with the girls saying they had a lot of input in this upcoming EP and that "Gnarly" feels very authentic to them, I'm excited to see what else they have in store for this new chapter.