KATSEYE dominates Google search trends with major growth this year

Global girl group KATSEYE, created through the K-pop production system, is experiencing soaring popularity as they rank among Google’s top ‘Year in Search’ trends.

KATSEYE recently secured multiple placements on Google’s annual ‘Year in Search’ report, which analyzes worldwide search data to identify the people and topics that saw the largest spikes in interest.

Despite being only in their second year since debut, KATSEYE achieved an impressive milestone, placing No. 2 in both the ‘Trending Musicians in North America’ category and the ‘Concert Outfits’ category.

KATSEYE was also included in YouTube’s ‘Trending Topics in the United States.’ Among listings that featured the Netflix animation ‘K-pop Demon Hunters’ and the viral doll La Bubu, KATSEYE stood out as the only music artist named.

Industry observers believe the group’s steep rise can be attributed to their major festival appearances and North American tour earlier this year. Their commanding stage presence helped them dominate social media algorithms, while the global spread of the K-pop-originated ‘fancam’ culture further accelerated exposure.

As KATSEYE emerges as one of the defining keywords of the year, attention is also shifting toward K-pop’s unique identity as a genre completed through live performance.

K-pop is not just music, it is a multilayered performance format that blends innovative visuals, choreography, and storytelling. To support this, K-pop artists train under a systematic development model to grow specifically as performance-based entertainers. Once a group gains momentum, embarking on a world tour becomes a natural strategic move to strengthen fandom in a genre built around stage experience.

An industry insider commented, “K-pop is a live-performance-driven IP. In the global pop market, the song is the brand, but in K-pop, the stage itself is the brand. KATSEYE has demonstrated that once again.”

SEE MORE: KATSEYE’s “Gnarly” ranks No. 5 on NME’s 2025 Best Songs List