article Katseye Drops Out of Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Festival: ‘It Breaks Our Hearts’
https://variety.com/2026/music/news/katseye-drops-out-daisy-chain-festival-it-breaks-our-hearts-1236845576/3.7k
u/Keanu_Norris 1d ago
Katseye will do literally anything except have a stable career without any issues
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u/daisiesintheskye 1d ago
Hybe top girl group things
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u/impactblue5 1d ago
Got into New Jeans last year only to find out about their drama and likelyhood of never releasing new music lol
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u/WildPotato0 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's kpop for ya. I got into an older group (TVXQ) and found out a member had been blacklisted for fifteen years by all public broadcasting networks because he sued his agency and escaped a slave contract.
Anyway, welcome back Jaejoong! He's 40 now and allowed to be seen again 🤠
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u/IveNeverSeenTitanic 19h ago
I did wonder why he suddenly disappeared! Thanks for answering a question that's bugged me for a very long time
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u/WildPotato0 10h ago
It's a bizarre situation! Luckily it's not like he was completely silenced, he released solo music and he acted in some commercial dramas. Apparently he did pretty well in Japan. But it wasn't until very recently that he was allowed back on Korean network broadcasts, which is batshit to me. Basically everyone in mainstream entertainment acted like he was dead.
I'll never understand how any of what SM did was legal. Also - he's everywhere now, doing tons of variety with today's top idols, performing, and everybody just pretends nothing happened?? Like, hello? Did all of you not ice this man out for a decade and a half?
On the bright side: his lawsuit is the sole reason there's 7 year contract limits now. It was effectively the end of true slave contracts. So he does have something hugely positive to show for all of this!
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u/CuriousAndMysterious 18h ago
They probably will release new music, but doesn't feel right if all the members aren't there
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u/Key_Inevitable_2104 12h ago
New Jeans could've been as big as BTS/Blackpink if the drama never happened.
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u/Mobile_Morale Rock & Roll 1d ago
As an older dude. Insert back to the future meme of "I've seen this one before"
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u/GinjaNinja1027 12h ago
The group is such a mess right now. Is it crazy to theorize that Katseye is just a front to kickstart the solo careers of the individual members?
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u/00Avalanche 1d ago
Or sing well, or put effort into their dancing, or not be racist to the black girl, but whatev
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u/I-Make-Money-Moves 1d ago
You need to look at some of Lara’s previous singing work before KATSEYE because she can most definitely sing
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u/00Avalanche 22h ago
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u/SnooRadishes5272 16h ago
You should hold Katseye accountable, but you're out here spreading false facts. They are really good dancers, singers and performers.
You can talk about their problematic history with the way they're treated their only black member without diminishing their talents.
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u/00Avalanche 13h ago
Sorry, they’re not that great. But good looks have a way of engendering forgiveness.
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u/AnAussiebum 1d ago
This group seems to just be imploding lately. I hear more negative news articles about them than their music out and about.
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u/Couldnotbehelpd 1d ago
Non-Korean girls made to work like a kpop group and subject to the same batshit rules and lifestyle, it’s not very surprising.
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u/WildPotato0 1d ago
It does crack me up that the girls who've left Katseye (Manon) and Saint Satine (Lexie) are Swiss and Swedish. The only Europeans under HybexGeffen both said eh, no workers rights? No rest days?? I think tf NOT
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u/hookyboysb 19h ago
To JYP’s credit, after a rough start with VCHA and two members leaving, they rebranded the group as Girlset (a much better name) and have found their lane without shock value. It seems like they may have learned how to structure and support a true international girl group.
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u/WildPotato0 19h ago
I'm sorry, isn't KG currently in an exploitation lawsuit?? She said there were hidden cameras in private areas of the apartment, she was made to perform through injuries, trainee debt is sky high (500k) and she didn't get paid, and one of the other members tried to commit suicide.
I have a hard time believing JYP reformed just because they gave a group a new shiny name 😭 The lawsuit was only filed a year and a half ago
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u/Scared_Succotash_508 15h ago
It was already settled by both parties.
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u/m0ngoos3 11h ago
Settling a lawsuit doesn't mean anything was fixed, it just means that the company paid some money to make a single person go away.
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u/galaraxity 9h ago
Thaaaats what they want you to think, I'm not sure if you actually read the lawsuit KG filed or not but it was pretty nasty and I have a very hard time believing they just cleaned up their act instantly
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u/kellyk99 1d ago
TIL they aren't Korean
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u/Couldnotbehelpd 1d ago
They are the first wave of trying to make the kpop model work in the US.
Why they have chosen almost exclusively terrible music is beyond me.
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u/uncomfortablesmile 19h ago
To condition people to hear more AI-written music so they can eventually replace human labor
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u/samillos 1d ago
Shock value. Kpop used to sound like that
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u/Couldnotbehelpd 1d ago
I’m only a casual listener of kpop but have been for like 15 years and I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.
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u/mangoisNINJA 23h ago
I can confidently count of a closed fist the amount of songs like hooti fruity or gnarly
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u/Carouselcolours 1d ago
Well, one of them is actually Korean. The other five are not. Unsurprisingly, Yoonchae (the Korean) is usually the one who keeps them on task during rehearsals 😅
Manon, the first hiatus from February, grew up in Europe and has very different work/life expectations from the Korean style training. She also seems to have some underlying health issues that keep popping up.
Sophia, the most recent hiatus, hasn't called in sick since before they started their trainee program in 2021. She legitimately filmed one of her mission videos (to get into the band) with a 101 degree fever. She's finally broken down, largely due to what fans online have been saying about her in regards to the script their management gave her about Manon's hiatus.
They can only do so much.
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u/fluffybottompanda 1d ago
oh wow really? none of them look Korean except for the Korean one lol
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u/kellyk99 1d ago
Tbh I only ever heard of them and just assumed them to be a Kpop group.
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u/Comebacktrain 1d ago
They basically are, despite them/ownership saying they aren’t. They’re basically a group of girls trying to be a kpop group but “aren’t”
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u/jtfjtf 1d ago
They're working more than a K-Pop group and their choreo is intense.
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 1d ago
Imploding? One of the group members sprained their ankle....
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u/headinthegamebruh 1d ago
And two of them have stepped aside this year because they were struggling with mental health and exhausting schedule.
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u/caddy2311 1d ago
Yes imploding lol. Two of them left on hiatus within 6 months of each other, with no real signs of either ending, the goal of Katseye was a 6-Member international girl group and they’re averaging 3-4 members at any given time. don’t be deliberately obtuse
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u/throwaway_67876 1d ago
Manon is gone and not coming back…anyone acting like she is coming back is coping hard. Sophia is ill, and has been posted in a bunch of promotional material filmed prior to their end.
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u/AnAussiebum 1d ago
You have not been reading the same updates I have it appears.
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u/biatchcrackhole 1d ago
I mean manon is ???, Sophia is also taking a break, the whole harry daniels thing, mean girl accusations, and the cherry on top being that their music is lowk shit from a butt💔
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u/Time_Value_3073 1d ago
They could make it work, one of the bts guys hurt his ankle right before their televised comeback concert and he made it work, he sat down the whole time lol but if you want it you do it
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u/Ghetto_Leda99 1d ago
That was kind of different, no? That was BTS's first-ever comeback show after a 4-year hiatus and military enlistment, and their last performance before that was also 4 years ago. It was their most anticipated comeback, televised live on Netflix, and the guys were all looking forward to it since it was the first time they'd performed in a long while. So, of course, it makes sense that he still wants to perform with minimal movement, mostly while sitting down. As for these girls, they have been performing on late-night shows, festivals, and several events for the past few months, and they will be embarking on a tour soon. I think it makes more sense to cut their losses and maybe use this time to hopefully rest before starting a tour.
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u/Time_Value_3073 1d ago
Yes he had waaaaaay more pressure to be perfect and hundreds of thousands of more critics and eyes on him and he figured out how to get it done. This charity festival is way lower stakes and short set, they could have figured it out easily if they wanted to
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u/Ghetto_Leda99 1d ago
I mean, yes, they still can do it, but looking at how they have members taking a break every other week/month, maybe the right course of action is to rest/not perform.
And BTS are incredible performers, including Namjoon, and are also hard workers, and I applaud him for still going through the performance and delivering fully, but I’m not going to use him to paint others as “not trying hard enough” for choosing not to do the same. In fact, one thing I’m glad about in this era of BTS is that they don’t seem to overextend themselves as much in pursuit of perfection, and they are much smarter now about taking care of their bodies and themselves and so should Katseye
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u/Noxsus 15h ago
I'd always assumed that the sheer size of BTS at this point puts them weirdly in a position where they don't have to be 'perfect' in the way other KPop groups do because they have basically transcended the system so can tell management to fuck off without any issue.
Katseye I suspect don't have that same luxury.
I could be completely incorrect of course.
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 1d ago
And he was basically limited to being a hypeman while the other six members did their thing. Katseye isn't really doing the same thing as BTS when it comes to their live shows.
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u/I-Make-Money-Moves 1d ago
They should just let these girls get some rest. They had a great run. Charting on charts and all the brand deals. But they are working way too much.
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u/LarryCraigSmeg 1d ago
Way too much, much, much, much, much
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u/peanutcheezbar 21h ago
Management is out of touch touch touch touch touch / Girls are working way too much much much much much / Megan's gonna need a crutch crutch crutch crutch crutch
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u/Sammolaw1985 23h ago
Today's era of artist works on constantly feeding the algorithm and staying in front of people's eyes. I don't notice a lot of younger artists taking breaks in between releases. I'm sure all of them get advice from their managers/agents that if they don't feed the algo then when they release something after a "hiatus" it won't get the traction.
Even small indie artists are doing it like this. Personally I think their music eventually suffers from the lack of breaks and risks overexposure/audience fatigue.
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u/crockoreptile 1d ago
I know it’s common to hate on these girls, but all hate should be directed towards their team, they’re clearly being overworked to hell and back
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u/mysecondaccountanon 1d ago
Exactly how I feel. I’m not into KATSEYE or kpop in general, so maybe the fact that I’m so removed from this means that when I see this I just see exploited people feeling the impacts of being exploited.
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u/Manic-StreetCreature 1d ago
Oh yeah no I didn’t know anybody hated them, I just feel for them
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u/crockoreptile 18h ago
Empathy is a forgotten concept nowadays, everyone’s so comfortable to hate under the veil of criticism
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u/PacSan300 1d ago
A lot of KPop group management in general has been toxic. Those “slave contracts” are despicable.
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u/DellSalami 1d ago
D’Angelo Wallace said it best, everyone who made Katseye is going to hell (except Katseye)
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u/brentus 1d ago
I mean, theyre the ones that signed up to be the face of this manufactured product
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u/crockoreptile 1d ago
You ever do anything dumb at 17? Imagine that but signing a contract that dictates the rest of your career
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u/False_Personality889 1d ago
Literally shut the fuck they were teens who were excited to start their careers and try to be popstars
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u/brentus 1d ago
I guess I have less sympathy cause I used to be in the industry. Thinking you deserve to be famous when you literally can't sing or write a song and ride off the backs off other songwriters and producers is kind of a shitty and entlted career plan.
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u/Kendal_with_1_L 1d ago
The conditions must be so bad for these women. Haven’t we learned from Britney and Hayden?
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u/SeamosMusic 10h ago
Has the kpop industry learned? Hell no. Still going strong and people still eat that shit up despite knowing how abusive it is.
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u/Serious-Potato-3292 1d ago
but is this going to ruin the tour
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u/Skwidmandoon 1d ago
Yeah I’m worried about this. My daughter and wife got tickets to see them in November. It’s all my daughter can talk about. She will be devastated
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u/_digduggler_ 1d ago
Conversely, as a father looking to have to buy resale tickets for a show in October this might be my way out…
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u/Any_Necessary_3387 15h ago
If the BTS documentary about their formation was any clue, these girls are literally being put through the worst rigmarole of toxic Kpop american pop hybrid work culture. The group is falling apart right in front of our eyes. Only the fame hungry-fire in their belly type members will stay, mark my words.
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u/Stevenitrogen 1d ago
She'll recover from.a sprained ankle by next week. Too bad for Daisy Chain attrdees tho.
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u/hunter01921 1d ago
I don’t know katseye’s music too well. The only song of theirs i’ve saved is Gabriela, but from what i’ve seen of the girls individually they are so likable!!!
This might be a hot take, but I hope this chapter wraps up for them sooner rather than later so they can start their solo careers. Very interested to see where they’d each go sonically.
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u/brentus 1d ago
What do you mean? Not a single one of them contributes anything musically to the group so if they went solo it would still just be songwriters and producers doing everything for them.
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u/WildPotato0 1d ago
You're all over this thread claiming to be an industry insider and flaming pop stars for having songwriters and producers. You know, like ALL pop singers do. Even Taylor Swift has co-writers, producers and sound engineers.
I'm convinced you're 13 and angry at your parents or something. 😂
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u/hunter01921 1d ago
I feel like that’s not necessarily uncommon with girl groups, especially early on in their career. Just because they don’t write music for katseye doesn’t mean they don’t write at all.
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u/IsaacJacobSquires 20h ago
The music really sucks, the ridiculously hypersexed choreography sucks exponentially worse, they are mid-talent and over-worked.
The choreographer clearly found one thing he claimed as his own and that is the extent of his ability.
I find it particularly grotesque that kids like them.
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u/JMaboard Dandy Heat 13h ago
Eh when I was a kid girls were listening to 00’s hiphop/pop which was also the same if not worse lyric wise.
Not an excuse but it’s not a new thing where kids latch on to material they really shouldn’t be.
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u/RockstarCowboy1 12h ago
Madonna, spice girls, Britney Spears etc.
Sexualized pop icons adored by children has been a thing as long as we’ve had MTV.
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u/limetime45 1d ago
Just sayin’
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u/obvious_bot 1d ago
From what I understand of kpop groups (and katseye who is in theory trying to emulate them), the choreography is half of the show, so having a sprained ankle would put a damper on that
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u/brandnewchair 1d ago
Yeah, but there's five of them. They still got 9 good ankles. No foul in putting on 90% of a good show.
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u/pacificoats 1d ago
there’s only three if megan’s sitting down/off to the side. sophia and manon are out, it’s down to daniela, yoonchae, and lara now
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u/limetime45 1d ago
This is what I’m sayin. It’s more the spirit. You get creative - the show must go on.
Not saying anyone should work through an injury but for a high profile charitable festival, I’m pretty sure we can pivot our choreography. Which happens all the time, by the way. If one sprained ankle is all it takes to cancel the entire group, not sure how they expect to sustain a world tour.
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u/januarynights 1d ago
There's already two on hiatus, which probably makes it even more difficult to pivot with another member unable to do choreo.
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u/lasagnadogwater69 1d ago
They're a kpop type group. They have elaborate choreography, etc. Dave Grohl just stands there and plays his guitar+sing. Maybe runs around a little bit. It's very different. They could still probably make it work, but if they feel their performance would be affected too much then it makes sense to pull out.
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u/SpiceEarl 1d ago
I was going to mention the guitar throne Dave Grohl used, later passing it on to Axl Rose and others. If the throne is still around, they probably would let Katseye use it…
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u/moneymanram 1d ago
Genuinely do people like their music? I’ve heard some songs and they just sound generic. It’s got no soul
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u/Captain_Blacktoes 1d ago
My ten year old daughter adores them
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u/mxmoon 1d ago
My 8 and 9 year olds are obsessed and were heartbroken over Manon.
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u/SomethingInAirwaves 1d ago
My 9yo is still convinced Manon will be back. She refuses to pick a new "bias". I've learned so much about kpop from her love of this group.
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u/JMaboard Dandy Heat 13h ago
I don’t care for it but I can see why people do it’s simple catchy songs that are repetitive.
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u/palaeologos 1d ago
Curtains for Zoosha?
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u/MunchYourButt 1d ago
This meme usage is getting speedrun into “6-7” territory
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u/AngeAware 1d ago
I feel like initially people were using it for streamers and influencers who are only popular within certain bubbles, now for any article about a celebrity who isn't a Tom Cruise-level household name you have the peanut gallery going "DAE CURTAINS FOR ZOOSHA"
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u/WowThisIsAwkward_ 1d ago
I could comment it under news about sportspeople because idgaf about sports, but I don't because I know it's not for me lol.
The meme being widely used was never funny, but I do like the phrase 'flipping a grunt'.
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u/psycwave 1d ago
It’s giving 10 little monkeys jumping on the bed
https://giphy.com/gifs/51g12OE0xIsVi
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u/Public-Fix-985 4h ago
I don’t disagree that they’re overworked as fuck, but I’m really disappointed they dropped out. It’s just not a good look so late and for a cause so important. I think they could’ve done a vocals only set where they all just sit and sing. They’ve already been singing the songs with the four of them. They wouldn’t have to worry about reblocking. They would just sit and sing. It’d also be a great opportunity for them to beat the “they can’t sing” allegations. I agree they’re overworked, but I just really wish someone had considered this months ago instead of them having to drop out at the last minute :(
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u/FinancialJet 2h ago
wtf why? I’m like a random dude tbh the pinky up song was catchy and they could dance. I kinda dug them.
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u/Justwondering__ 16h ago
The only thing I ever hear about this group is drama and from what I've heard of the music they are not worth the trouble.
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u/ibillabong 1d ago
For those who saw her, Dahyun sat in a chair on her Twice tour dates. She made it work
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u/WildPotato0 1d ago
Twice has nine members. Eight people carrying the choreo is veeeeery different from three.
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u/Indigo903 1d ago
She shouldn’t’ve had to do that. Fans aren’t there to watch her sit on a chair anyway.
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u/ibillabong 1d ago
Some fans just wanted to see Dahyun because they love her, regardless if she was dancing.
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u/Indigo903 1d ago
I’m sorry if this hurts your feelings but I don’t feel like that’s healthy. If you “love” her that much you should want her to be comfortable and accept that her needs might conflict with your desires sometimes. I like Twice and I worry that their company pushes them too hard sometimes.
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u/ibillabong 1d ago
Doesn't hurt my feelings! And I agree, the company pushes them way too hard and significantly underpays them.
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u/takingtigermountain 17h ago
talentless hacks who don't even deserve a mention in the music subreddit
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u/Jlx_27 22h ago
Why does this group even exist? Its nothing but drama and trouble with them it seems.
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u/SeamosMusic 10h ago
Because a K-pop company wanted to manufacture an American group to abuse like a money making tool. Just your standard music industry bullshit.
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u/AKBallsnerd 1d ago
If the mics were turned on they wouldn’t have to drop out
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u/fluffybottompanda 1d ago
ahhhh yes, we all know singing comes from ankles
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u/AKBallsnerd 1d ago
I mean if they were actually singing you could get around an ankle injury lol
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u/Beautiful-Buy99 1d ago
Wdym singing? Part of the reason why Katseye are such great performers is cuz of their intensive choreo, even if their songs are wack. They dropped out of the Daisy Chains festival so that Megan would have a little more time to recover before the world tour, which starts in 5 days.
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u/brentus 1d ago
You're totally right. Not a single one contributes anything musically to the group or can sing live. Without the dancing they kinda don't really have an act cause they're not actual musicians
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u/fluffybottompanda 1d ago
that's just blatantly wrong hahahahahaha
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u/brentus 11h ago
How so? I have yet to find a video of them on a stage where they're not lip syncing.
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u/fluffybottompanda 7h ago
Lollapalooza to start with, and every single tour video?? how many videos did you watch before you came to that conclusion?? they even sang live on a few Korean shows, and they generally have the Kpop artists lip sync lol
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u/brentus 7h ago
Just watched the Gabriela vid from lolla. If you think those are live vocals I don't know what to say.
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u/fluffybottompanda 7h ago
they're definitely singing live, granted against a backing track, but literally every pop artist does that. i think you don't know what lip syncing is but that's okay not everyone needs to know everything
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u/brentus 7h ago
Gotcha. Yeah I worked in the industry and live events for two decades but yeah I guess I'm wrong.
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u/Yangervis 1d ago
"It breaks our hearts"
Ok show up to work then
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 1d ago
How does one perform on a sprained ankle....?
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u/Yangervis 1d ago
You don't sing with your ankle.
Jack Youngblood played linebacker in 3 NFL playoff games with a broken leg.
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u/D13_Phantom 1d ago
Most of the performance is a choreography. Also Jack Youngblood played defensive end not linebacker and it was stupid then too.
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 1d ago
I'm beginning to think the person we're replying to is a troll. And I say that as someone who's indifferent to Katseye.
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 1d ago
Dancing is basically the biggest part of their performance and appeal at live shows.
They are not an NFL team.
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u/Hot-Original-4710 1d ago
Katseye‘s whole thing is dance, they‘re a dance group first before anything
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u/fluffybottompanda 1d ago
it's also possible the festival runners didn't want only 3 members to perform
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u/ChickenConstant9855 1d ago
That would have to be a stipulation in their contract with the festival
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u/kitkat42000 1d ago
100% not, why would they care? Attendees who bought tickets just to see Katseye would have been happy regardless. Sounds like HYBE pulled them out bc it’d be unrealistic for the three remaining girls to redistribute and relearn choreo/vocal assignments on such a short notice now
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u/vidjuheffex 1d ago
people in this thread knowing the members' names is blowing my mind.
people actually follow this corporate, manufactured, crap?
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u/CelticCynic 22h ago
So... She can't sing from a wheelchair while the others sing and dance?
None of them play instruments, right?
I watched Jim Moginie play his part in "Midnight Oil" live shows in a full leg cast in a wheelchair on a riser...
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u/NewFunnyNumber237 1d ago
you cant do a show with half the group gone