Music news: KATSEYE unleash their wild side with new single ‘Animal’
KATSEYE are shedding their polished image and embracing something wilder, writes Music News Blitz’s Zinhle Radebe.
The global girl group returned on Friday, 24 July with ‘Animal’, a new single accompanied by a music video featuring Demi Moore.
Co-written by Ed Sheeran, the track is the latest preview of KATSEYE's upcoming EP, ‘Wild’, which is set for release on 14 August
Ed Sheeran joins the writing team
Ed Sheeran's name is among the songwriting credits on ‘Animal’.
The singer-songwriter revealed that he first discovered KATSEYE after hearing the group's breakout single ‘Gnarly’ while travelling in Mexico last year.
He later contacted the members about writing together, a collaboration that eventually became ‘Animal’.
"I heard KATSEYE's song Gnarly last year when I was in Mexico and loved it," Sheeran wrote on Instagram.
"I reached out to see if I could write them a song. We've created ‘Animal’ together."
The single was written alongside Johnny McDaid, Blake Slatkin and Omer Fedi, with Slatkin and Fedi also producing the track.
KATSEYE switch roles
Directed by Cody Critcheloe, the music video follows KATSEYE as they switch between feminine and masculine personas.
The members perform on one side of a two-way mirror while their executive alter egos watch and judge them from the other.
Their headshots are torn apart, and every performance is dismissed.
The members scramble through a dressing room, hurriedly pulling together new outfits as Demi Moore watches on, delivering harsh feedback.
Then Moore declares it's time to "get wild."
Moments later, the tailored suits give way to glittering stage outfits as KATSEYE break into the song's choreography.
"Nobody knows you're outta control / But I see a side behind the closed doors / They get a glimpse here on the dance floor / You move like an animal," they sing.
According to the group's press release, ‘Animal’ explores the tension between the carefully curated versions of ourselves we present to the world and the uninhibited energy that emerges behind closed doors.
A fast start
Fans responded quickly to the release.
Within days, Animal became KATSEYE's fastest-growing music video, surpassing 20 million YouTube views.
The single also earned 21.7 million Spotify streams in its first week, reaching No. 9 on Spotify's Weekly Global chart for the group's biggest streaming opening to date.
On Billboard, ‘Animal’ became KATSEYE's first top 10 hit on the Global 200, entering at No. 10.
It also arrived on the Hot 100 at No. 24, marking the group's highest entry on the chart.
The release continues to be a breakout year for KATSEYE following performances at Coachella and Governors Ball.
What's next?
‘Animal’ is one of five tracks on KATSEYE's third EP, Wild.
The project follows the group's 2025 EP, Beautiful Chaos.
Before the EP arrives, KATSEYE will release KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS on 12 August, a new film offering fans an inside look at the group's world and rise to global stardom.
The group will then embark on the Wildworld Tour in September.
Since forming through Dream Academy and later introducing themselves to audiences in Netflix's Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, KATSEYE have steadily expanded their global audience.
With a new EP, a feature film and a world tour all arriving within weeks, ‘Animal’ sets the stage for a busy second half of the year for KATSEYE.
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