KATSEYE’s divisive “PINKY UP” also divided our critics

The FADER isn't in the business of kumbaya-ing our music reviews. If you're a longtime reader of the magazine, you'll know that we choose our side pretty clearly whenever significant albums or songs drop. But just as how it's already divided fans, KATSEYE's maximalist, techno single "PINKY UP" divided our staff — with each side having strong opinions on whether the track is a yay or nay. So we decided to share both view points below. Ahead Tobias Hess defends the gaggy brilliance of the song while India Roby questions its seriousness.

On “PINKY UP,” KATSEYE makes one thing clear: life isn’t that deep. As the group waits for the “world to end,” they’re “living large,” which means: making out with friends, sipping tea with their pinkies up, snacking on chocolate-covered frozen fruit snacks, and “shaking ass in the parking lot.” Their latest track, which dropped on April 9, taps into the creative fountain of songwriter Justin Tranter and producers dwilly, FRANTS, and HYBE’s “Hitman” Bang. It continues the trajectory of what has become synonymous with the group’s image: subversive brainrot that’s been cranked to the max.

It’s clear that the HYBE x Geffen machine behind KATSEYE is chasing the high of their 2025 earworms “Gnarly” and “Gabriela.” Luckily, I had days to adjust to their high-energy pivot to techno as the “PINKY UP” demo, storyboard, and dance practice were suspiciously “leaked” before release. But instead of whetting my appetite, by the time the song officially dropped on Thursday, the novelty and shock factor had already worn off.

Like many artists and multi-piece bands these days, KATSEYE is a victim of the TikTok-ification of music. Overly-simplified structures and instantly memorable hooks are key to virality. It’s why “PINKY UP” sounds resolved yet unfinished in two minutes. It’s an industry-wide phenomenon that drives me stir-crazy just as much as I admittedly drink the Kool-Aid.

But the hyperpop track also arrives at a confusing time for the girl group. Notably, the song and the music video don’t feature member Manon Bannerman, whose “temporary hiatus” from KATSEYE was announced on February 20. Per HYBE, Manon is focusing “on her health and wellbeing.” But the reason for her hiatus has been highly speculated as one of racial discrimination and inter-company tensions. For now, the band has continued as a quintet, but I can’t fully digest “PINKY UP.” Manon’s absence — and the lack of clarification surrounding her hiatus over the weeks — distracted from the release, especially considering that she was allegedly a part of its preparation, per the leaked info.

KATSEYE’s music is often a hit (“Gnarly”) or a miss (“Internet Girl”) for me. And while I appreciate their foray into the brainrot territory at a time when artists — girl groups, especially — are known to play it safe, I’m worried about what now seems to be their go-to strategy of leaning into the negative whiplash and chaos. It’s a tendency that’s even colored their baffling handling of Manon’s hiatus: the company’s silence allowing divisive fan theories and online bullying to escalate because it keeps KATSEYE at the front of the cultural conversation. For a girl group that’s only two years into its career, there’s only so much over-the-top facade and polarizing conversation can mask before the momentum comes tumbling down. KATSEYE’s music has never been serious, but maybe it’s time that it was. —INDIA ROBY

It feels impossible to soberly judge a KATSEYE song while they’re in the midst of Manon’s ominous “hiatus.” The fandom’s already outsized reaction to their pre-Coachella release “PINKY UP” feels more like a proxy for their anxious feelings around the fate of the group than the actual music. As a casual, non-stan of the band, my requirement from a KATSEYE song post-”Internet Girl” was quite simple: I wanted vocals. KATSEYE thankfully delivered.

This is one of KATSEYE’s best songs in a short discography; “PINKY UP” is an effective combination of the vocal whirlawheel of “Touch” and the brain rot gaggery of “Gnarly.” It was a relief, after a song of pure brainrot unseriousness like “Internet Girl,” to hear the girls trade true, sung verses. On it, they’re singing a universalist ode to friendship, but they still have their nonsensical humor: “Us against the world, shaking ass in the parking lot.” Though the song’s opening line is unfortunate given the geo-political state of the world (“One day, soon, the world's gonna end / I'm gonna make out with my new bestest friends”), its soaring chorus, which reminds me of an anime intro in a way that is warm, heartfelt, and earnest, wins me over.

The musical headline here is not the vocals or the lyrics, but the production, namely the chorus’s hard techno brutalism. But since this song arrives post BLACKPINK’s “JUMP,” a song that also went diet Berghain, KATSEYE’s pivot to the club feels less jarring. Plus, given the group’s penchant for unseriousness, I think the genre suits them well. Yes, the austere hard edged drums are a sonic gag, but it’s on brand for KATSEYE, and fun.

When KATSEYE released “Internet Girl,” I was concerned that they’d learned all the wrong lessons from the somewhat surprising success of “Gnarly.” It’s quite a feat, after all, to mint a hit from a song whose verses read like slop from a random word generator: “Fried chicken / gnarly / Tesla / gnarly.” Its head-banging production and the girls’ commitment to the bit made it a hard-hitting, authentic inside joke from a girl group with a penchant for screen time. But it wasn't a recipe for success, and that only made the baby-voice cringe and heavy-handed jokes of “Internet Girl” (“Eat zucchini / eat zucchini”) feel all the more tryhard.

“PINKY UP” threads the needle between meme music and pop delectability. And it’s already stuck in my head. Does it heal the wound of Manon’s absence? No. But is it an ample distraction for the time being? Def. —TOBIAS HESS