Hybe’s global girl group earns MTV VMAs nomination, Spotify milestones and praise for pushing pop boundaries
Katseye, Hybe’s first multinational girl group formed in partnership with Geffen Records, is making strides on the global music scene, ranking No. 12 in Bloomberg’s latest “Pop Star Power Rankings,” the company said Friday.
The six-member group appeared alongside household names such as Post Malone at No. 1, Bruno Mars at No. 3, Beyonce at No. 4 and Sabrina Carpenter at No. 5. BTS member J-Hope placed at No. 18.
Bloomberg’s monthly rankings factor in concert revenue, ticket sales, album sales, digital streams, social media growth on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube views.
The outlet noted that Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk recently declared his ambition to make K-pop an even greater global phenomenon — not solely through established acts like BTS, but by assembling multinational groups that sing in English.
“Katseye’s growing success is a validation of Bang’s unique approach to engineering global pop stardom, which continues to evolve since unleashing BTS,” Bloomberg wrote. “Now, it’s Katseye’s turn to storm the charts.”
This year, Katseye has stepped firmly into the spotlight.
On Tuesday, the group was nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the upcoming 2025 MTV Video Music Awards for its debut single “Touch.” Two days before, it performed at Lollapalooza Chicago — one of the largest music festivals in the US — only a year after its debut.
The group first entered the Billboard Hot 100 in May with the single “Gnarly,” debuting at No. 92. The B-side track “Gabriela,” from its second EP “Beautiful Chaos,” followed in June at No. 94. The EP debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in July, marking Katseye’s highest ranking yet and its second consecutive appearance on the main album chart. As of Tuesday, “Beautiful Chaos” was at No. 61, holding a spot on the chart for five straight weeks.
The EP has drawn praise for its bold, genre-blending sound, distinctive concepts and high-energy performances.
On Spotify, the world’s largest streaming platform in terms of subscribers, Katseye’s presence is equally notable.
In the service’s Weekly Top Songs Global chart for July 4–10, Katseye had three tracks chart simultaneously: “Gabriela” at No. 25, “Gnarly” at No. 81 and “Gameboy” at No. 149. “Gabriela” also became the group’s fastest track to reach 100 million streams, hitting the milestone in just 38 days.
