Crate Digging is a feature series from Consequence that takes a deep dive into music history to turn up several albums all music fans should know. In this edition, the members of rising act KATSEYE talk through the girl groups that shaped their musical identities.
The young women that make up KATSEYE are on a mission. In a time of abundance for international pop groups, their story is fairly unique — KATSEYE was assembled through a program called The Debut: Dream Academy, which whittled down a pool of 20 hopeful women from around the world to the final lineup of just six.
But the milestone of officially debuting as a team isn’t a finish line for Sophia, Manon, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae, who hail from The Philippines, Switzerland, the US, and South Korea. Instead, this is just their starting point, as is their whimsical first single album, titled Touch. They’ve already followed it up with a new EP, SIS (Soft Is Strong), available today.
“There were so many special days and moments for all of us,” the band tells Consequence, reflecting on their music-making journey so far. “One of our favorite memories was recording ‘Touch.’ All six of us went into the booth together and had a party! We wanted to include a laugh track in the song, so we had a blast jumping around, laughing, and just enjoying ourselves.”
Next week, fans who have already fallen in love with their music — or who kept up with their journey on The Debut: Dream Academy — will get to enjoy a deep dive into their next chapter with a Netflix documentary, titled Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, which launches on August 21st.
“We’ve become more of a family more than ever before,” the girls reveal. “Everyone was already so close during the entire training and development process in The Debut: Dream Academy, but now that there are just the six of us instead of 20, we’ve had much more focused time together as a group. We’ve been able to dive deeper into our personalities, habits, and interests, solidifying our bond as KATSEYE in a really special way.”
Today, to celebrate the release of SIS (Soft Is Strong), KATSEYE are chatting through the albums from girl groups throughout the years that shaped both their individual and team journeys. Stream the new EP below, and read on for their picks.