The Katseye Kurse

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? If you want a real deep dive into KATSEYE, the Manon situation, the HYBE x Geffen strategy, and where this is all heading, this is the one. 🎧 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 | [email protected] 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/19x... Executive Producers: Coco Mocoe & Trinna Tracy Videographer: Operation Podcast Editor: Coco Mocoe Creator: Coco Mocoe Filming Location: Spotify Theater, Los Angeles