Targeted Against Recent Backlash, HYBE LABELS’ KATSEYE, ILLIT, and LE SSERAFIM Collaborate in a New Single, “ICONIC BY MISTAKE”

HYBE LABELS’ three most prominent girl groups, KATSEYE, ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM, clap back at haters with the release of their special collaboration, “ICONIC BY MISTAKE,” released on June 12th.

K-Pop fans have recently noticed a trend in new releases surrounding more EDM sounds specifically from HYBE’s girl groups. Not only have they pointed out the similar-sounding tracks, but they’ve also started blaming KATSEYE specifically, as the trend seemed to surface following the success of “Gnarly.”

The other two groups have been placed under the “KATSEYE curse,” a rumor surrounding the type of music KATSEYE has been coming out with recently, with a focus on how the music is executed along with the lyrics. On the other hand, fans of either one or all of the groups have taken note of the lyrics, “I'm just tryna stay me, dance a little crazy / But now I am iconic from how much you f*****' hate me.” These lyrics seem to be directly targeted towards haters, specifically calling out those who call Daniela Avanzini from KATSEYE an overdancer during performances.

The three groups also recently performed the song live on M Countdown, leaving fans impressed with the performance’s visuals, irrespective of whether they enjoyed the song. The stage was set to match the music video, including creative lighting and an immersive matching background that shifted based on certain parts of the single. The performance exceeded many expectations by far in terms of vocals, dancing, and stage presence.

Hatred and toxic fan culture are unfortunately common in the K-Pop industry, whether or not the idol is doing something bad or living their life, causing them to be very restricted. This song drew attention to many instances where these idols were hated, yet became popular because of it or despite it, which was the original message intended with this song, and many could say they delivered. Even haters have been quieted as the song’s meaning was targeted towards those types of people specifically.