HYBE and Geffen’s American (K-pop adjacent) girl group KATSEYE made a pre-debut last month with the solid but underdeveloped Debut. Less than a month later, they’re back with follow-up Touch, which succumbs to the same issues as its predecessor without developing its own strengths.
Like Debut, Touch is a wisp of pop track. At just over two minutes, it might as well be an extended ringtone. The group turns down any hint of bombast with a sonic landscape that borrows many elements from HYBE’s other girl groups NewJeans and ILLIT. At their best, songs like this can be addictive little earworms, so pleasantly airy you could repeat them several times over without even realizing where one play ended and the other began. At their worst, they’re a flat line devoid of compelling peaks and valleys, performed in a detached monotone that robs listeners of human tension.
Sadly, Touch falls into the “at their worst” category. The song is so lightweight it fizzles into the air. The instrumental is all muted synth tones and skittering percussion without weight or impact. And when the track hits its chorus, the repeating hook is more irritating than addictive. With its ultra-short length, Touch doesn’t go anywhere or build to anything. I know many listeners enjoy this general sound, but to me it’s the most uninspiring corner of today’s pop music market.
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I think it’s really cute and addictive😊
8.25/10❤️😍😘
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Meh, NewJeans but without the groove or that “it” factor that makes their songs work.
Idk what to rate it, but I’m wavering into 7 (6, 7, 8, 7) or 7.25 (7, 7, 8, 7), or maybe a 6.75 (6, 7, 8, 6)
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Also, the verses are really good, wish it was utilized in a better song
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I think it has the opposite problem of Debut – the verses here are good but the chorus is too repetitive. if they figure out how to combine the strengths of both songs (and just make the songs longer…), they’d have a winning formula.
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It feels like the first half of an Ariana Grande song to me?? Like Ari, but if she forgot to have a good rap feature or a fun switch up/ high note at the end.
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this is so boring
6.75/10 for me
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‘I know many listeners enjoy this general sound:’ funnily enough, with western artists like Chapelle Roan and Charli XCX popularising bombastic sounds again, I have a feeling (Western) audiences are going to move away from a lot of soft garage. It could be too early to say though.
This just feels so inoffensive for no purpose. But I guess that’s what Kpop is a lot of the time, and it just does not translate well into Western pop. I stand by my thoughts in ‘Debut.’
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Well, I do hope the bombastic sounds gets popularized, cause it is more versatile and has more potential than the NewJeans/Pinkpantheress sound or the “easy-going” sounds. Fingers crossed that this trend finally dies by 2025
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With you on this one despite my love for Pink-pantheress, to me K-pop has always been defined for its maximalism sounds so it’d be refreshing to hear again.
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Mmmhh have to see how it grows on me. The verses are really good and I agree that it sounds like an Ariana Grande song, but the chorus sounds like a bit of a let down (at least first listen). But the same happened to me with “Boy’s a liar pt. 2” – I didn’t rate it highly at first and then it got stuck in my head for months, so I have to see how this ages. I feel with this genre you need an incredible earworm of a chorus to really stand out.
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I’m so tired of these short ass songs, how hard is it to make a song over three minutes with the proper requirements like, you know, a bridge?
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“Touch” is very PinkPantheress-esque. For a group consisting of six person, this is quite non-explorative and borders to easily discardable.
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This song is boring as hell, this gives me New Jeans if not Illit vibes, don’t get me wrong every kpop group has the right to experiment with beats but Katseye this ain’t it honey, their debut was trash and now this. I feel like kpop is too infused with the West(America) and I’m from their I miss when kpop was truly kpop that’s just my opinion….this is a 4/10 and I’m just being generous
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kpop is not original dumbass
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No need for name-calling, thank you.
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With the very low expectations that I had, I think they did better this time. This seems surely crafted more in tune for the American audience with its pink-pantheressque sound. The verses are good enough, only if the song wasn’t just 2 minutes long maybe we could have actually got something.
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I want to shoutout the melody and lyrics of the prechorus, “Sometimes I’m alone / Stare out my window / the moon makes you seem close tonight.”
I remember reading that nature references in American pop music are at an all-time low compared with the 1950’s and 60’s. I’ve always appreciated how much K-Pop references flowers, the moon, etc. Nice to see that here. A little poetry is nice.
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Just as everyone is getting sick of this flatline song trend, I (who have loathed this low energy music since its inception) am kind of getting into it :’)
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probably an 8/10 for me, it’s so magnetic vibes
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I really wish this song was longer. Other than that, I enjoyed the song.
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