"Gnarly" is a song by girl group Katseye. It was released on April 30, 2025, through Hybe UMG and Geffen Records, as the lead single for their second extended play "Beautiful Chaos" (2025). Described as a hyperpop song, "Gnarly" was written by Alice Longyu Gao, Tim Randolph, Kyle Buckley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Madison Love, with production by Buckley, "Hitman" Bang and Slow Rabbit.
Despite initially receiving a polarizing response from fans, the song became a success, earning the group their first entries on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and the UK singles chart.
Background and release.
In March 2025, Katseye were added to the lineups of Lollapalooza's and Wango Tango's 2025 festivals. On April 23, Hybe X Geffen announced that the group would be releasing their first digital single, titled "Gnarly". A teaser was released on April 29. The song and its music video were released April 30.
Composition and lyrics.
"Gnarly" was written by Alice Longyu Gao, Tim Randolph, Kyle Buckley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, and Madison Love. It was produced by Buckley, "Hitman" Bang and Slow Rabbit. The song has been described to be an experimental pop and hyperpop track characterized by "quaking 808s, gritty rave synths and a pugnacious attitude". It was written in the key of C minor with a tempo of 135 beats per minute.
Performed by its songwriter Alice Longyu Gao, a pioneer of the hyperpop genre, an early demo of "Gnarly" was first publicly shared by Andrew Taggart on TikTok in April 2023. Gao stated that her inspiration for the song originated from her "gnarly" experiences with boba tea and fried chicken, among other interests. The song's prominent use of "gnarly" stems from Gao's background as a non-native English speaker who was "always on the lookout to expand her vocabulary". Upon first hearing the word, Gao admitted that she had initially not known its meaning but was "amused and surprised by the excessive usage of this word by some basic bros".
Lyrically, the song gravitates around the word "gnarly", which is defined by its ability to express "different meanings and connotations depending on what cultural or life context you're in", as indicated in the track's opening line: "They could describe everything with one single word." Explaining the meaning of the term, Katseye member Manon stated, "Gnarly can be a good thing or a bad thing in our minds. It's kind of up for interpretation."
Critical reception.
"Gnarly" received polarizing responses, having been described as a "sharp turn" from Katseye's previous releases. In an interview with "The Fader", Lara described "Gnarly" as unstructured, and acknowledged that it was a change of sound after "Touch". Tetris Kelly reviewed the song for "Billboard" "Music You Should Know", describing it as "if you get it, you get it".
"NME" Rhian Daly contributed "Gnarly" to the magazine's "Songs of the Summer" list.
Live performances.
Katseye first performed "Gnarly" on the May 1 broadcast of "M Countdown". They then performed on "Music Bank" on May 2, "Show! Music Core" on May 3, and "Inkigayo" on May 4. While promoting in South Korea, the group also performed "Gnarly" on Studio Choom.
Katseye's first North American performance of the song was during their set at Wango Tango 2025. On June 21, they performed "Gnarly" at the 2025 Kids' Choice Awards.
Credits and personnel.
Adapted from Melon.
Location
Credits and personnel