HYBE and Geffen Records' global girl group KATSEYE has achieved the feat of placing three songs simultaneously on the U.S. Billboard main song chart Hot 100.
According to Billboard's latest chart released on Jan. 13 (local time) for the chart dated Jan. 17, KATSEYE's second EP "BEAUTIFUL CHAOS" track "Gabriela" rose to No. 21 on the Hot 100, setting a new team-high on that chart. Even though the song was released nearly seven months ago, its sharp rise beyond mere "late surge" is remarkable. Its cumulative charting record is 25 weeks. It is the longest among girl group songs released last year.
New song "Internet Girl" entered the same chart at No. 29. It is the highest ranking among KATSEYE's first entries on the Hot 100. Compared with earlier starts on the same chart when "Gnarly" debuted at No. 92 (chart dated May 17) and "Gabriela" at No. 94 (chart dated July 5), this is a surprising trend. Although the song was previewed on last year's North American tour and is a fan favorite track, it caused a stir and revealed the team's accumulated global impact.
In addition, "Gnarly," released in April last year, ranked No. 88 on Billboard's Hot 100. Very few K-pop artists have had three songs on the Hot 100 at the same time, including BTS, Jungkook, NewJeans and Jennie. KATSEYE is a multinational girl group different in character from those artists, but the team was planned and produced based on the so-called "K-pop methodology." It is not only a successful example of the "Multi-home, multi-genre" strategy led by HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk, but it also has great significance in reaffirming the competitiveness of the K-pop production system.
Based on the popularity built by previous releases, the new song broke into the Hot 100 top 30 in its first week, and that attention has in turn raised the rankings of existing songs in a virtuous cycle. This suggests that KATSEYE has established itself not as a one-hit wonder but as a sustainable "global pop artist." HYBE and Geffen Records, which are preparing to launch another girl group through this year's second audition project, World Scout the Final Piece, are also expected to further expand their global influence.
KATSEYE previously posted impressive results on the U.K. Official Charts and Spotify charts. "Internet Girl" made its first entry on the latest "Official Singles Top 100" at No. 24 (chart dated Jan. 9–15), rewriting the team's best on that chart. In addition, the song landed at No. 19 on Spotify's "Weekly Top Songs USA" (chart dated Jan. 2–8) and No. 31 on "Weekly Top Songs Global," signaling relentless popularity from its early release.
KATSEYE is nominated in the Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance categories at the 68th Grammy Awards next month. In April, they will perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
[Photo] HYBE Labels
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