KATSEYE - SIS (Soft Is Strong)

More than 120,000 people applied. Six were chosen. KATSEYE came out of The Debut: Dream Academy, a joint venture between HYBE and Geffen that ran K-pop training methods on a global casting call, and the members who made it through hail from the United States, Switzerland, the Philippines, and South Korea. The title of their first EP names the thesis: soft is strong, and it also nods to the sisterhood they built across a lot of cultural distance.

Five songs, under twelve minutes, not a wasted second. "Debut" opens with the swagger the title promises, all airy confidence and clean hooks. "Touch" is the standout, a two-minute rush built on liquid drum and bass skitter that ends before you are ready for it to. From there the EP softens into confessional territory: "My Way" is a piano ballad drawing on the members' own stories, and "I'm Pretty" and "Tonight I Might" give the record more emotional range than a debut this compact has any business having.

Reviews were warm, with the most common praise going to how cohesive it feels and the most common complaint being that the songs end too soon. Both are true, and neither has slowed the group down since. This was the launch pad.

Given the runtime, the EP is presented on a single-sided 12" pressed on vintage bottle green vinyl, housed in a gatefold jacket and packaged with six member photocards.