KATSEYE On Debut EP ‘SIS (Soft Is Strong),’ Netflix Docuseries ‘Pop Star Academy’ | Billboard News
The global girl group KATSEYE has debuted and is making waves in the music industry. They discuss their debut EP 'SIS (Soft Is Strong)', their Netflix docuseries 'Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE,' and performances at KCON and on 'Good Morning America.' KATSEYE also shares insights into their rigorous training, the K-Pop methodology for success, and their mission to inspire through individuality and cultural identities.
Transcript
00:00I don't think this has ever really been done before, but we use the K-pop methodology.
00:04We can tap into like our fierceness.
00:07Just go for it, you're not gonna break the mic like you told Sophia.
00:10That's like one thing that's gonna stick with me forever.
00:12Hey, it's Cat's Eye and this is Billboard News.
00:19Give it up for your new global girl group, Cat's Eye!
00:30Hey, it's Tetris with Billboard News and this is a debut.
00:36I'm here with Cat's Eye.
00:38What's up?
00:39Oh my god.
00:40So the last time I was with you guys was at Dream Academy announcing the group and you
00:45finally arrived.
00:46So how are you feeling?
00:47It's actually crazy.
00:48This is such a full circle moment.
00:50Like the last time we saw you, we were literally balling on stage.
00:54You made the group, you made the group, you made the group.
00:56And here is the group.
00:57So you have your EP coming out, SIS.
01:00And I love the title, I gotta say.
01:01So tell me what the title means and how excited are you to put it out?
01:05So SIS is soft as strong and I think the whole EP itself is like amazing.
01:13I'm so excited for everybody to hear it.
01:16Each song has a different story and I hope that our fans and icons can find themselves
01:23in each song.
01:24The EP just shows a lot of our duality, like soft and strong.
01:32And I mean, I gotta say, naming the first song debut, that was good.
01:36It's like, you see what we did there.
01:37I see what you did there.
01:40Yeah, and how was that song?
01:41How was creating that and why was that the first one you wanted to introduce to the world?
01:45Oh my god, girl.
01:46I mean, that song was like, when we first heard it, we were literally all gagged because
01:52it was so fierce.
01:54The production is incredible and we were like, oh my god, it really feels like it's coming
01:59from us and it represents us and where we are right now.
02:03So yeah.
02:03And I mean, we got to work with Ryan Tedder, who's literally for that being our first song
02:09and to work with such an icon in the music industry and someone who's so experienced
02:14was like, we were all so grateful and we got to record with him and he gave us the best
02:20pep talks before.
02:21He was like, just embrace yourself, go for it and just don't be afraid.
02:28Just go for it.
02:29You're not going to break the mic, like he told Sophia.
02:31That's one thing that's going to stick with me forever because I was going-
02:34Wait, break the mic?
02:35Why were you almost going to ask him to break the mic?
02:37When I was recording that chorus, he was like, Sophia, I need you to just go.
02:42Just scream.
02:43You're not going to break the mic.
02:44Don't be afraid.
02:45Just go.
02:45And I fully went into this whole parallel universe because of Ryan.
02:50It was crazy.
02:50I feel like he really was able to bring out the best in us.
02:55And yeah, I mean, we all just kind of come alive in the studio.
02:58So it was such a good experience.
03:00And the second single, Touch, it's a bop.
03:03So tell me all about Touch.
03:05It's such a beautiful song.
03:06We all love it.
03:07And the song itself, it is like our softer side.
03:12And it kind of shows complexity of love, you know?
03:16And filming the whole music video too was such an amazing experience.
03:21And like recording as well.
03:22It is ethereal.
03:24It is, like I said, like our softer side.
03:26But it's also like we can tap into like our fierceness and like our self-confidence too.
03:32I mean, I've been watching the fierceness online.
03:34You guys constantly and consistently deliver.
03:37But tell me, okay, so I watched you guys kind of go through that process and watched you grow.
03:41But then you have to like mix it all together and make a sound.
03:44That can't be easy.
03:45So tell me how you guys found the Cat's Eye sound.
03:47I feel like our sound is something that was developed like individually from the six of us.
03:54I feel like our beautiful team really pulled a lot from our own personal experiences,
03:59our own personalities, and just our whole story that is going to be on our docuseries,
04:05Popstar Academy Cat's Eye, that people get to check out.
04:08Our sound is something that we want to grow and really...
04:11Like evolve.
04:12Yeah, evolve together and sort of bring the best Cat's Eye that we can to the world.
04:17And then talk to me about like mixing the different cultures,
04:19because obviously you guys have come from so many different backgrounds.
04:22So is that something that you're thinking about as well as you're creating these songs?
04:25Yeah, I think we all like individually like to add our own like cultural heritage.
04:30Personally for me, I love to add like my little like Latina like roots.
04:35But I think it is important since we are a global girl group.
04:38And I do want to talk to you guys about this,
04:39because this is a question I feel like a lot of consumers are going to have.
04:42Okay, is this a K-pop group? Wait, it's a global girl group.
04:45So how do you explain that? How would you feel like you would tell somebody,
04:49yes, we are K-pop or we're not?
04:51People that created BTS have this vision to take the K out of K-pop and make it global.
04:56I don't think this has ever really been done before,
04:58but we use the K-pop methodology to like form our group, right?
05:03So we were trained in a K-pop way, but we are not a K-pop group or a global girl group.
05:09However, we've learned so much from like the K-pop side and like,
05:12we're so inspired by that. But yeah, we are a global girl group.
05:16But there's some things I got to make sure you guys are going to have.
05:19Are there going to be light sticks?
05:20I hope so.
05:21You're going to have them.
05:21I hope so.
05:23I need a light stick. Okay, where's my cat's eye light stick, right?
05:26I absolutely need to have it.
05:29And a lot of viewers at home might not know about the K-pop training process,
05:32the methodology you're talking about.
05:33So tell me how it was to go through that and what you learned from it
05:36and what you feel like you've taken into K-pop.
05:38It was an amazing experience. It was obviously like a lot.
05:42We had training like eight hours every single day,
05:45like in the morning and then we would go home like at night
05:48and then just restart the next day.
05:50We took a bunch of different types of classes
05:52and I learned things about myself that I never knew.
05:56Personally, one of the things that I just learned about myself
05:59is to just keep going and never quit.
06:04Obviously, always push yourself and don't be too hard on yourself too.
06:09Because sometimes I feel like I can be a perfectionist,
06:12but it was a great learning experience.
06:15I got to meet so many beautiful, talented girls
06:19and it was a long process too.
06:22It was about two years of training, a year and a half of training.
06:26Every single day we were working so hard.
06:29It sounds like it was really hard and it was,
06:33but I want to add on to that.
06:34I think we all also learned that hard work really pays off.
06:38And so we got really disciplined and we're really hard workers now.
06:46I think that it unlocked something within all of us.
06:51There was that extra reserve of power and energy in us
06:55and the whole training process just showed us how far we can go.
07:01I love that.
07:01Well, we're definitely seeing it and everybody's going to see it
07:05on the Netflix documentary that you're talking about.
07:07Popstar Academy Cat's Eye.
07:08There you go.
07:09She is so ready.
07:10If I make the girl group, that's when my life starts.
07:18Now, tell me about having the cameras there all the time.
07:20Was that an extra layer of training
07:24and having cameras be there watching you?
07:26Sometimes it felt like the cameras weren't even there, right?
07:29Yeah, I feel like we barely even noticed them at the end of the day.
07:33I feel like when we first started,
07:35it was kind of getting used to being like,
07:37oh, there's a camera right there.
07:38I got to be a little, you know, a little bit extra.
07:43But I think throughout the time we kind of got used to it
07:47and I'm super excited to see that our love for each other
07:50and that's something really special that we got to experience.
07:54Especially with the people that I'm here with today
07:57and the past contestants,
07:59we really just had such genuine love for each other.
08:02And at the end of the day, this was a competition,
08:04but we still had so much love for each other
08:08and we supported each other through everything.
08:11And what's something that you're nervous or excited
08:13for people to see in the documentary?
08:15Maybe our training process and our improvement.
08:22Yeah.
08:24Definitely.
08:25Yeah.
08:25No, they really got the improvement.
08:27Like, for all the hard work.
08:29Do you guys, like, when you look at the early stuff,
08:31are you like, who is that?
08:35We are all going to be reminded of who we were before the training began.
08:39It's going to be weird.
08:41Like, when we sit and watch it and like, look at our past self,
08:44like, we really don't know.
08:46Right.
08:48I'm so ready for this.
08:49I don't remember her that well.
08:50Exactly.
08:51It's a blur.
08:52Like, personally, like, I'm excited but, like, scared at the same time
08:55because when I first joined, I was, like, 15, 16.
08:58And now I'm 18.
08:59So, like, there was a lot of phases.
09:01A whole different person now.
09:02A whole different person now.
09:03So, I'm excited to see what journey I went on.
09:06Okay, so now talk to me about living together.
09:09So, last time I left off, you guys were just put together as the final group.
09:12So then, like, did you go straight to a house?
09:14Like, how long was it before you guys were all together working on everything?
09:18I think it was about, like, maybe two months.
09:20And then we started moving in together and, like, getting used to each other's vibe.
09:24I think it was actually so much fun.
09:28We all feel like such, like, a family and, like, sisters.
09:31And I can always rely on them.
09:33And, like, most of them are my big sisters.
09:35And Minche is my little sister.
09:36So, there's, like, obviously that kind of, like, dynamic.
09:39And especially with us being a global girl group, we all have our own cultures.
09:44So, being able to, like, share it with each other and experience it,
09:47like, one thing about Cat's Eye is that we love food.
09:50So, we share each other's food.
09:54And we just, like, introduce new things to each other every day.
09:57And it's just such a blast.
09:59Who's the bigger cook out of everybody?
10:01Oh, they move right away.
10:03So, is she always in the kitchen?
10:05Like, me and Sophia, but I feel like Sophia's a lot better, honestly.
10:08Like, I'm always eating your food.
10:10Like, she's the best.
10:11She's a baker.
10:11She bakes too.
10:12I spend more time in the kitchen than I do in the room.
10:14So, she bakes.
10:15She bakes us these blondies.
10:17Oh, they're so good.
10:18Oh, blondies?
10:20Oh my God, come over.
10:20Butterscotch blondies.
10:22Something about Sophia is that, like, she'll be like,
10:24girls, I made something today.
10:27She will always offer what she has made.
10:31Well, now I got to come over for a blondie.
10:32Just letting you know that's happening.
10:33It's happening.
10:34And when you guys are not cooking, what are you doing the most?
10:38Use your time.
10:39Are you listening to the tracks you made in the studio?
10:41Are you writing?
10:41What's the process like?
10:42We're going to perform for the first time very soon.
10:44So, we're working really hard every day in the studio.
10:47When we're at home, we just hang out and, like,
10:49stay up until 2 a.m. and chit-chat.
10:51We don't get no sleep.
10:53Everybody's like, are y'all going to sleep yet?
10:54Y'all have to rehearse tomorrow.
10:55Yeah.
10:56We're still talking.
10:57Yeah.
10:57We find the energy somehow.
10:58Yeah, somehow.
11:00It's the adrenaline.
11:01Like, we're like each other's hype girls all the time.
11:03Like, we get into rehearsal, we're like,
11:06and then we all just like, okay, good morning.
11:08Yeah.
11:09And I mean, you guys are really busy.
11:10So, between creating an EP, a Netflix documentary,
11:14and also performing, you were talking about KCON.
11:16So, tell me, how exciting is that going to be to perform at KCON?
11:25We've been working and training so hard for KCON and, like, everything.
11:31So, yeah, we're so excited to perform together on the stage.
11:37Yeah, and meet the icons.
11:39For the first time.
11:40For the first time, yeah.
11:42You didn't see this, but we were in the dressing room
11:44talking about all our favorite K-pop groups.
11:46So, how are you going to feel being there performing
11:48in front of so many people that you have watched and look up to?
11:51Surreal.
11:52It's actually crazy to even think about
11:55because I'm sure we all started,
11:57we all have people we look up to and people we're inspired by.
12:00That's one of the big reasons why we're here today
12:02and that we want to do the same thing that they've made us feel.
12:05Like, we want to make people feel the same way
12:07that we feel when we see our favorite artists.
12:09So, it's going to be really cool to be in the same space
12:12and be in that environment of all these artists
12:15that we've been looking up to.
12:16It's so surreal to think about.
12:18I'm so happy for you guys.
12:19We're going to be a little starstruck.
12:21A little starstruck.
12:22Some of our favorites are going to be there.
12:24So, it's just so exciting.
12:26I'm not going to tell you guys that, you know,
12:28one of us shares a Jungwon bias
12:30that they have them on their cell phone.
12:32Not going to say who has it on their cell phone.
12:35Hey, Tattoo.
12:37Hey, girl.
12:39And then, who are you inspired by?
12:40Who is somebody you guys want to work with
12:42now that you're here in the industry?
12:44You guys were hanging out with Khalid earlier.
12:45You should have seen that.
12:46That was so cute.
12:47So, who's somebody you guys want to collab and work with?
12:50So many.
12:51So many people.
12:52Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Khalid.
12:56Khalid, Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams.
12:58Yeah, Pharrell, Timbaland.
13:00Like, really cool producers.
13:02That'd be awesome.
13:03The Seraphim and Hypen.
13:05Charli XCX.
13:06Charli XCX.
13:07It's a Brad Summer.
13:08We could go on and on and on and on.
13:10And then, also, you guys are going to be performing
13:12on Good Morning America.
13:14Oh, my goodness.
13:15I just got goosebumps just now.
13:17So, like, how is that going to be to, you know,
13:19premiere yourself on a national stage?
13:21So, we just feel so blessed and grateful
13:25for that opportunity.
13:27And, yeah, we can't wait.
13:29What do you guys want people to see
13:30when they see a performance of Cat's Eye?
13:32Fierceness.
13:33Confidence.
13:33Sisterhood.
13:34Sisterhood.
13:35I think confidence.
13:37Like, we want them to, like, feel, like,
13:40empowered and hot and the best version of themselves.
13:43And I also think, like, we work so much
13:46to, like, get our performances.
13:49And, obviously, there's so much more ways to go.
13:51But, like, we're really proud of the work we've done
13:54and, like, the synchronization with our dancing
13:56and everything.
13:58We hope that people see that
13:59and that we just want to keep working, keep growing.
14:02I mean, people are going to be learning from you
14:04about the Netflix documentary.
14:05They're going to learn from you on Good Morning America.
14:07As people learn more about Cat's Eye,
14:10what do you want them to feel?
14:11Inspired.
14:12I think, yeah.
14:14And I think we want them to feel, like, seen
14:16and, like, they can see themselves
14:18and, like, each one of us.
14:20Each one of us, yeah.
14:21Okay, so now that makes me think.
14:22How have you felt about your fans?
14:24I know that's had to be so cool
14:26to, like, grow this community
14:27and see them rooting for you online.
14:28A lot of times they come to my page
14:30and they're like, oh, Cat's Eye.
14:31Oh my god!
14:32I love the community you guys are building.
14:34How has that been?
14:35I think it's so fun that we get to go on Weverse
14:38any time we want
14:39and kind of see all the icons on Weverse
14:42and we get to talk to them
14:44and then post something.
14:46It's so funny when we just say, like, one thing
14:48and they all come in and they're like, Sophia, hey!
14:50And we can literally ask for little things.
14:52So we'll be like, hey, like,
14:53do you guys have any, like, movie suggestions?
14:55And they will literally send everything.
14:57Like, I have playlists.
14:58I have playlists saved, actually,
14:59by a lot of the fans when they recommend songs
15:02and I'll just, and they'll send up,
15:03they'll drop a playlist link
15:04and I'll, like, save it every time.
15:06And it's just so cool.
15:07It's so fun.
15:08And they're so creative.
15:09They do, like, stuff like Icon Selfie Day
15:12where they all, like, post their selfies
15:14and they do all of these little things.
15:17And, like, yeah.
15:17We're just so grateful
15:19and, like, happy to have such,
15:21like, so much love and support from these icons.
15:23Like, our lovely icons,
15:25like, we love you guys so much.
15:27Like, we wouldn't be here without y'all.
15:32Well, I'm so happy for you guys.
15:33So proud of where you've come.
15:35And ladies and gentlemen, it's cat time.