International girl group KATSEYE kicked off ‘The Beautiful Chaos Tour’ in Minneapolis, Minnesota, starting their first proper North American tour since their debut in 2024.
The Armory in downtown Minneapolis was not prepared for the power that KATSEYE held over the youthful masses, with massive lines stretching down several blocks past the venue, eager to get inside and cram into the packed, standing room only pit. With a sold out crowd and massive turnout, the show time had to be pushed back slightly to allow the fans to get through security and situated in the crowded venue.
With the fitting show-openers “Debut” and “Gameboy,” the six-member group set the bar high for the rest of the performance, with raps, dances and vocals that had the crowd mesmerized and screaming in delight. The crowd had a lot of special surprises in store for them, with one of the most exciting being the first-ever performance of a brand new song: “Internet Girl.”
The young group made up of members Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia and Yoonchae, ranging from ages 17-23, are clearly the future of girl groups and pop music, picking up the mantle from so many of those before them. Being under HYBE Label, the agency managing K-pop superstars BTS, brings along the structure and feel of a K-pop show, but the international flavor of the artists showcases many different styles of vocals and dance techniques.
The dancing hits an absolute high with the performance of the smash hit “Gabriela,” including a massive dance break that gives all of the members a chance to shine, along with their ensemble dance crew. Fun moments also included a dance cover of the iconic “Milkshake,” originally from a GAP promotion, as well as “Monster High Fright Song,” another co-promotion between KATSEYE and a toy line and streaming show.
While the crowd was fairly diverse, it seemed that most adults were there chaperoning younger children. The audience seemed to fall between early middle and high schoolers, with some trending even younger, all dancing and singing along to the tracks. For most styling purposes, the show fit the edgy youthful look of the group, but several of the outfits were incredibly sexual and revealing for a group with such a young fanbase, which was slightly concerning. For a section of the show, one member wore a sequin lingerie set, with denim short shorts unbuttoned and unzipped.
Fans of the group since the very beginning would remember their start on the reality show “The Debut: Dream Academy,” and would be excited to hear some of those tracks performed live, along with the rest of the group members that joined after the conclusion of that show.
“M.I.A.” and “Gnarly” closed out the main set, with possibly the most intense songs visually and vocally. The visuals for “Gnarly” were almost headache-inducing, which fits the song perfectly, but it was hard to focus on the very intense dancing with so much else happening with the production.
The brisk set concluded with the essential “Touch,” and featured the girls returning to the stage wearing their merch, another staple of K-pop shows. Hitting all of their big tracks, throwing in some fun B-sides and covers, the show was a breezy 80-minutes of entertainment. It was surprising that there were no solo performances or more dance covers, however I can see this tour being a great “testing the waters” for the group, as so many tours that offer such an intense schedule with high caliber performances can lead to exhaustion.
As they said to the crowd “next time, we’ll be in an arena,” and the way that things are going for KATSEYE, they’ll sell those out too.
