KATSEYE release their third EP ‘Wild’ via HYBE x Geffen, led by the Ed Sheeran co-write ‘Animal’ and a new documentary
KATSEYE have spent two and a half years turning a reality-competition premise into one of pop’s most commanding rises, and on August 14 they made their most deliberate statement yet. The six-member global group released their third EP, “Wild,” via HYBE x Geffen Records, framing it not as another entry in a catalog but as the opening of an entirely new era. Arriving alongside a theatrical documentary and a chart-climbing lead single, the project is the sound of a group that has stopped proving it belongs and started defining what it wants to be.
The commercial momentum was already in motion before the EP landed. Lead single “Animal,” co-written by Ed Sheeran, made an immediate global impact, debuting at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated August 8), reaching No. 16 on the UK Official Singles Chart and hitting No. 8 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs Global chart, the group’s highest placement there to date. For a group that has famously built its career on one-off EPs rather than a traditional album, those numbers signal that the KATSEYE machine no longer needs the album format to command the industry’s attention.
An Evolution, Not Just A Release
“Wild” is being positioned as a turning point, and the group has been explicit about that. Speaking with the Associated Press, member Lara Raj described the shift as deeply personal. “It’s an evolution,” she said. “There’s a physical piece of us in this music more than ever before.” That framing matters given the timing. The rollout arrives as members Sophia Laforteza and Manon Bannerman navigate temporary hiatuses, lending the “untamed” theme an undercurrent of real-life stakes rather than pure marketing gloss.
The music reflects that widened ambition. The six-track, English-language EP moves from the hyperpop rush of fan favorite “Pinky Up” to the seductive pulse of “Animal” and the title track “Hootie Frutti,” which opens with an exotic Portuguese intro before erupting into pure kinetic energy. The credits read like a summit of global pop architects, including HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk, Ed Sheeran, Omer Fedi, Blake Slatkin, Patrik Berger and Johnny Goldstein, underscoring the international, multi-genre strategy that has defined KATSEYE since their inception.
Building A Multimedia Moment
KATSEYE understand that a release in 2026 is an event, not just a drop. “Wild” arrives with a Demi Moore-starring music video for “Animal” and a theatrical documentary, “Wild Hearts,” expanding the EP into a full multimedia rollout. The physical release spans eight versions, from “Wild World” and “Wild Heart” editions to vinyl and five individual member variants, a collector-driven strategy borrowed directly from the K-pop playbook that shaped the group.
That playbook is by design. Formed in 2023 through the joint HYBE and Geffen venture and documented in the Netflix series “Pop Star Academy,” KATSEYE were built using K-pop development methods for a global, English-language audience. The results speak plainly. Their 2025 EP “Beautiful Chaos” debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200, and the group recently earned three American Music Awards nominations, including New Artist of the Year. With “Wild,” KATSEYE are betting that euphoria and self-determination, rather than a debut album, are the truest measure of pop dominance in this moment. On the evidence here, the bet looks safe.
