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.
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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.