KATSEYE got Grammy nominations, a viral Gap campaign, a sold-out tour, and one of the best-selling albums in America, all in under two years. So why can't the girls escape criticism?
In this episode of "Middle Row with Coco Mocoe", I break down what I'm calling the "Katseye Kurse," the collision between HYBE and Geffen's K-pop machine and a Western fandom that plays by completely different rules. I get into the Manon hiatus and the silence that followed, the Dream Academy contestants who got recycled into HYBE's next global group, Saint Satine, the Mickey Mouse Club blueprint with dropped artists being launched into stardom, and why the label's biggest marketing win might also explain its biggest blind spot.
This isn't bad luck. It's a system that was built for impact. But who pays the price of the whiplash?
Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
7:54 - Pop Star Academy on Netflix
12:03 - Mickey Mouse Club
14:12 - Who didn't make Katseye but have since launched music careers?
16:08 - The Introduction of Saint Satine aka Prelude
17:48 - The moment KATSEYE became a household name
19:32 - The Manon Hiatus
20:24 - Why doesn't Hybe address the Manon rumors?
21:33 - The importance of fan accounts
24:26 - Why the K-Pop infrastructure failed in western media
26:48 - The Gen-Z Vs. Gen Alpha Dilemma
30:03 - Can the "Katseye Kurse" be broken?
New episodes of Middle Row every other Monday. If you made it this far, you're already a Coconut — so make it official. 🥥 Subscribe to the channel and drop a comment below telling me which artist you think is about to take off. I read them all and it might just land them in the Middle Row seat.
Follow me for more:
Instagram | @cocomocoe
TikTok | @cocomocoe
Email | cocomocoe@gmail.com
Add the official Middle Row playlist to your library on Spotify to hear what songs and artists I think are going to break big next:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/19x3n1ZRyN4eeikwSy8sL9
Executive Producers: Coco Mocoe & Trinna Tracy
Videographer: Operation Podcast
Editor: Coco Mocoe
Creator: Coco Mocoe
Filming Location: Spotify Theater, Los Angeles
