In August, KATSEYE took the stage at two of the biggest music festivals in the U.S. and Japan — Lollapalooza Chicago and Summer Sonic 2025. Performing in front of tens of thousands of people, these shows marked a turning point in the group’s career. Since then, KATSEYE has surpassed 28 million monthly listeners on Spotify, while “Gnarly,” which closed their festival set, topped 200 million streams 113 days after release. Most notably, “Gabriela” — the song that served as the festival’s dramatic climax — began climbing back up the charts afterward, reaching No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 24 on the Global 200 as of September 6, 2025. From setting the record for “largest daytime audience” at Lollapalooza Chicago to earning rave reviews for an “unforgettable performance” at their first Japanese festival, Summer Sonic, these appearances have become new milestones for KATSEYE. To learn more about the background and preparation behind these shows, I spoke with HYBE LABELS’ Head of Creative Production Jay Ihn and Executive Creator Sungdeuk Son, who helped bring KATSEYE’s festival stages to life.

This past August, KATSEYE took the stage at two of the biggest festivals in the U.S. and Japan — Lollapalooza Chicago and Summer Sonic 2025. Since the settings and audiences were so different, I imagine the preparation process and on-site reactions must have varied as well.
Jay Ihn (Head of Creative Production): We really tried to adapt to the culture and vibe of each festival — not just in how the stage looked, but even in the way we spoke to the crowd. Lollapalooza had this outdoor setup with an extended stage, while Summer Sonic in Tokyo was indoors on the main stage, so things like lighting, atmosphere, and stage flow naturally had to be different. We figured the audience would react differently, too, but when the Tokyo crowd started chanting the “gang, gang, gang, gang, gang” part of “Gnarly,” every one of us was in shock. (laughs) The energy was so much bigger than we expected, and it turned into a really uplifting, emotional moment for the whole team.

Sungdeuk Son (Executive Creator): Lollapalooza was in the middle of the day, but the crowd was massive and the energy was insane. Since it was our first time on that stage, the members soaked it all in and really gave it everything. Honestly, the passion from the fans who showed up made the performance that much more special. Summer Sonic in Japan was just as unforgettable. So many people came out, sang along, and cheered for us with so much passion. The reaction was way more explosive than we expected, and it gave the members a huge lift to finish strong. The set itself wasn’t all that different from Lollapalooza, but what made Summer Sonic stand out was that it was our first chance to meet Japanese fans up close. The members tried dropping in some Japanese during their on-stage comments, and the fans thought it was adorable. Those little exchanges made the whole stage feel lighter, more relaxed.

The setlist for this festival was impressive as well — starting with title tracks like “Gameboy” and “Debut,” moving through “M.I.A” and “Mean Girls” with their strong messages, reaching a climax with “Gabriela,” and wrapping up with “Gnarly.”
Jay Ihn (Head of Creative Production): Since KATSEYE is still pretty new and doesn’t have a huge catalog yet, we spent a lot of time figuring out how to keep the crowd engaged with the songs we had. We kicked things off with tracks that really show who KATSEYE is, then moved into songs that carry more of a message and ask for a bit more focus. Toward the end, we lined up the tracks fans were most excited for — the ones they knew and were waiting to hear — to build that anticipation. Another big thing was making sure we spread out the dance breaks, because those are the moments that hit hardest on stage.

“Gabriela” has often been singled out as the most dramatic moment of your festival set. The Latin-pop vibe, Daniela’s solo, and the choreography where the members turned their skirts into rose-like shapes all drew huge reactions.
Sungdeuk Son (Executive Creator): When we first heard we’d be performing at Lollapalooza and Summer Sonic, we knew “Gabriela” had to be a special moment. The song carries a softer, more passionate Latin vibe that feels different from what KATSEYE had shown before, so it felt like the perfect chance to highlight another side of the group. Performance is what the members do best, and we wanted to show that off in the most vibrant way possible. For these festival stages, we added more “show” elements to make it feel bigger, more colorful, and in tune with the festival atmosphere.

The group choreography with the dancers was also striking. In “Debut,” KATSEYE even recreated parts of your MAMA Awards stage, while in “Touch” and “Gnarly,” they performed alongside the dancers in ways that felt tailored for a festival crowd.
Sungdeuk Son (Executive Creator): KATSEYE can definitely hold down a stage with just the six members, but for huge festivals like Lollapalooza or Summer Sonic, we wanted to deliver something even fuller and more dynamic. Since the crowd included not only fans but also people seeing KATSEYE for the first time, it felt important to really showcase what makes the group special. That’s why we put so much focus on presenting a polished, high-impact performance. For “Gnarly,” being the finale, we brought in the dancers to make it even more powerful and dazzling. On the other hand, with new songs like “Mean Girls” and “M.I.A,” we designed the staging to spotlight the members themselves — their visuals, their energy, and their vocals.

That might be why the performances of “Mean Girls” and “Tonight I Might” kept their original, more lyrical mood, yet the sound felt more powerful and amped-up for the festival stage.
Jay Ihn (Head of Creative Production): For these festival stages, we really wanted to stay true to the originals while giving the members the chance to show everything they can do as vocalists. The direction for the arrangements was basically, “Let’s highlight what makes the songs great, but deliver it in the most festival-ready sound possible.” Since a lot of people in the crowd were probably hearing KATSEYE’s music for the first time, we didn’t want to stray too far from the originals. With “Mean Girls,” the lyrics and melody are already beautiful, so we focused on keeping that rhythm intact while pushing the energy higher. And with “Tonight I Might,” the song already feels like an anthem — something the audience can sing along to — so we amped up the existing elements to make it explode more and feel almost like stadium pop.

It sounds like a lot of thought and effort must have gone into preparing for these festivals.
Jay Ihn (Head of Creative Production): From the very first kickoff meeting, the KATSEYE members shared what they felt was most important for these festivals — what sides of themselves they wanted to highlight, what messages they hoped to get across, which songs they were excited to perform, and which ones they thought might be more challenging. Those ideas carried all the way through, from building the setlist to shaping the concept to rehearsals, and the artists’ input showed up even in the smallest details. For example, the siren sound at the start of the “M.I.A” performance came directly from the members, specifically Manon, who felt the audience needed a moment to focus completely on the artist before the song’s explosive energy kicked in. We worked with the music director to test out what kind of sound would be most effective, and that’s how it ended up in the final version of the show.

Sungdeuk Son (Executive Creator): From the siren sound bridging “Touch” into “M.I.A” to the outfits, the transitions between songs, and even which extra sounds to layer in, the members themselves brought a ton of ideas to the table. They were always talking about what they wanted each song to show and what kind of stage they wanted to create, and that back-and-forth is what made the performance feel so complete. One of the group’s big goals had always been to perform on a festival stage, so going into these shows, there was definitely a lot of pressure and a real sense of determination. The members always practice hard, but this time they pushed themselves with even more focus than usual. What really stuck with me was how, before rehearsals even began, they would gather together to remind each other how important this stage was, what it meant, and to encourage one another. Watching that, you could really feel just how much this stage meant to them — and that sincerity reached all of us on the staff side too.

Now that you’ve successfully wrapped up Lollapalooza and Summer Sonic, how does it feel?
Sungdeuk Son (Executive Creator): This was our very first festival set with a full setlist in front of such a massive crowd, so both the artists and the entire staff were honestly nervous — but also really determined to give it everything. Right before going on at Lollapalooza, the members definitely felt a wave of nerves seeing how many people were out there, but we knew KATSEYE is a team built for the stage, so we trusted they’d deliver. (laughs) The reaction was incredible, not just from the live audience but also online, and we’re so grateful to every fan who followed along and supported us through the whole process. Moving forward, KATSEYE will keep bringing music and performances that only they can deliver — and we hope everyone will continue to watch and cheer them on as the stages grow to become even more striking.

Jay Ihn (Head of Creative Production): Long festival sets take a huge amount of stamina and focus, and since this was KATSEYE’s very first major festival stage, there were a lot of things we just couldn’t fully predict — both in the preparation and on the day of the shows. Not being able to do a proper stage rehearsal ahead of time was another challenge. We prepared as best we could, but there are always variables you can’t control, and in those moments, all you can really do is trust in the talent and determination of the artists and the whole team. Thankfully, KATSEYE pulled it off beautifully, and the response went beyond what we expected. So many people really enjoyed the performances and the content around them, and we’re truly grateful for that. More than anything, we feel these festival stages marked a really important step in KATSEYE’s journey as artists. We hope everyone will continue to follow and support them as they open up new chapters from here. (laughs)