Gnarly

On April 30, 2025, the multinational girl group KATSEYE dropped "Gnarly" as the lead single from their second extended play Beautiful Chaos. The track marks a sharp pivot toward hyperpop, trading standard pop polish for glitchy, maximalist production and earrape-style audio elements. Written by Alice Longyu Gao and Madison Love, the song leans into the chaotic energy of its title, which describes something both disgusting and excellent. Buckley, Hitman Bang, and Slow Rabbit handled the production to create a sonic landscape defined by exaggerated sugary melodies clashing with jarring sound effects.

The release strategy centered on high-impact visuals, debuting alongside an official music video that matched the song's aggressive tone. Critics like Teen Vogue immediately flagged the track as a frontrunner for the most polarizing pop song of 2025. Initial reactions on Reddit described the abrasive beats as "horrific ON PURPOSE," yet the song quickly proved its staying power by securing top ten positions in New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia. It also earned KATSEYE their first entries onto the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. [edit]