i don't think RnB is the right word many are looking for

i think i've came to terms with their concept mainly being dance pop, teen crush and hyperpop. I don't have an issue with this at all actually but many say they'd like to see Katseye tackle RnB and personally I think that's unrealistic and I also think HXG are trying to really show us that they just aren't doing that.

Let's take FLO for example. Theyre a REALLY good rnb girl group yet a lot of people never really took them on aside from the few that actually did want rnb. Many people say they want rnb yet dont actually digest rnb. Not to mention, theyre under a kpop label, they are not gonna bust out in ballads and calmer vibes for a comeback after nearly 11 months. So here's what I really think the issue stems from itself:

exhibit a: rage-bait song and marketing tactics
exhibit b: beat is fire, lyrics are concerning
exhibit c: production quality isnt fully there

katseye's genres are completely fine but those are the glaring issues preventing us from getting a good song.

exhibit a: rage-bait song and marketing tactics

We've already seen it with Gnarly and they tried again with Internet Girl. Gnarly is an objectively horrible song that was saved by its own choreo and how campy it was and honestly, thats something you do once or twice then return to schedule but HXG is milking tf out of it. Pinky Up imo attempts to rehash what Gnarly has done in a more palatable way and honestly I think most people are tired of it. Pinky Up isnt a bad song per say and I don't have a strong opinion yet due to us only hearing a quite dated demo of it but I genuinely don't think people are that willing to replay another Gnarly situation. They got their shock value last year and I think it's still going into this year, they do not need to do it a 3rd time.

exhibit b: beat is fire, lyrics are concerning

Pinky Up isn't a horrible song and as I said it's way more palatable than Gnarly and I.G. was but the other glaring issue is that there are middle aged men writing songs that are apparently for these young women to perform and worse yet, for teen girls and fans of around the same demographic to listen to.

"Us against the world, shaking ass in the parking lot, if we get arrested, Haha, baby laugh it off, I love you, you love me, we batshit, oui oui, and i'd kill him for you, if it got that D!"

IN ABSOLUTE VERBATIM. Again, this is just the demo, they could change this for the final product but it's unlikely again since they barely changed anything from the Gabriela and Gnarly demos but my point is, this is what theyre gonna have their fans of an already young demographic as we can tell, singing this???

Their song lyrics are abysmal and it directly clashes with the concept and visual behind it sometimes and in general makes it seem like a joke. I must admit, the first time I heard that verse I straight up LAUGHED at it many times after replaying it. It doesn't sound serious at ALL. "It's not meant to be taken serious!" And how many times will we apply that same argument?? They're going onto 3 years old this year and we're still stuck on "It's not meant to be taken serious" do we want them to be taken serious or not? We ALL saw how the Grammy's situation went down.

exhibit c: production quality isnt fully there

And for my final point, this is my #1 gripe with most katseye songs. They're stagnant. It goes NOWHERE. In nearly every single one of their songs, they sound the same throughout. Its always the basic

Intro + Verse 1 + Pre Chorus + Chorus + Verse 2 + Pre Chorus + Chorus

and thats it. Sitting at around 2 mins to 2 mins, 30 seconds. And yeah we can throw in the occassional bridge but even with that, the song still sounds the SAME. There's no beat switch, there's no key change theres no nothing that amplifies the song in its final moments. All of their songs while listening have the same beat with either a minor being taken away or inserted at times to switch it up a little and that's it. The main offenders of this are Touch, Debut, Gabriela, Gnarly, Gameboy, MIA, matter of fact their whole discography. And my thing is, you can make a short song while still having it feel complete.

My #1 example for this is Tweak by Girlset. This is NOT a comparison, it's an EXAMPLE. In the track itself, it has basically the same arrangement that Katz has with a few differences and im gonna focus on the bridge part. In the bridge there is a very obvious beat switch that starts ramping the song up, making it feel like its reaching its climax right before hitting you with the final chorus that is a key switch that's higher than what you were accustomed to hearing throughout the whole song. I'm not a musician but as a regular degular listener, it's a clear and apparent change that makes the song feel COMPLETE. Tweak already had a very basic and repetitive beat that honestly needed something like that to make the song sound better and complete, something that Katz just aren't doing.

Leak It by FLO also did something similar, their song had the same stagnant beat the entire time and guess what, they amplified each chorus by giving it more oomph each time until the final chorus where it felt like the song was wrapping up in a satisfying way (though i beg to say it could have had a harder hitting finale but nonetheless my point still stands if you've listened to the song)

Sure in Gameboy they sing a bit higher in the final chorus, Sure in Gabriela it has a few high notes in the final chorus but the song still feels like we left Point A, drove past Point B and came right back to Point A when in reality I think the listening experience for a song should take you from beginning to end in a way that leaves you wanting to relisten, not out of intrigue but because you just WANT to be blessed with the experience again. Katseye needs better producers that can amplify their already basic demos to something that leaves you satisfied, not wanting more.

conclusion

I feel like I can yap so much more but I don't know too much terminology aside from those ive heard wisps of over the course of the past few days. I think everyone wants better for Katseye's music and I personally think they don't have to abandon their current music genres. Party 4 U by Charli XCX is objectively more hyperpop than anything theyve released yet the lyrics are substantial. They CAN do better with what they have, their production just isn't allowing it as they rather op for shock factor and discourse over singles rather than actually building their discography. HXG is using Katseye like lab rats to test the waters with their songs and I think a lot are tired of it, inclusive of myself. So let me restate:

They CAN stay in hyperpop + dancepop, all they have to do is find a way to amplify it lyrically and sonically.