Katseye’s upcoming single “Gabriela” comes with a shift in tone, but the bigger move might already be happening behind the scenes. In the teaser clip, the group goes full vintage with pearled jewelry, coifed hair, and retro silhouettes, all styled against a sparkling, nostalgic backdrop. A Latin-type beat plays underneath, nodding to a ‘70s inspired runway glamour that feels both bold and self-aware. But it wasn’t the styling or sound that broke new ground last week, what really shook things up was a single, unguarded sentence in Weverse.
During a livestream with fellow member Lara Raj, Megan Meiyok Skiendiel looked into the camera and said it plainly: “Guys, I’m coming out, I’m bisexual.” They both started jumping, laughing, still in the moment. Then came a beat of silence. “I’m, like, scared now,” she added, letting the gravity land between the joy. It marked the second public coming-out from a Katseye member, following Raj’s own announcement back in March that she’s queer.
Openness comes with risk in the world of K-pop, where image management is militant and fan scrutiny can collapse entire careers. South Korean singer Holland remains one of the few K-pop idols to have come out, doing so with his debut in 2018. And though queer visibility is slowly building, it still moves against the industry current. For Katseye, whose members trained under HYBE and were picked from an international pool in the reality show The Debut: Dream Academy, their presence and popularity already operate outside K-pop’s usual borders. The added fact that they’re choosing to be out and doing so in a celebratory, public, and unrehearsed way feels rare, if not revolutionary.
In the Philippines, the group’s resonance hit early. Katseye’s visit to Manila in 2024 didn’t just include a fan showcase and a guest slot on It’s Showtime, they embedded into the ecosystem, collaborating with Filipino content creators like Niana Guerrero and building a base that’s stayed loyal since.
P-pop, which mirrors much of K-pop’s machinery, still rarely speaks openly about queerness. For half a decade, P-pop has been a target for homophobic remarks as well. Whether that silence is about management control, fear of backlash from a hyper-heterosexual fanbase, or the pressure of performing in a Catholic-majority country, the result is the same.
But Katseye skipped the coded Instagram captions and came right out with it, in a moment that felt more real than any concept trailer. That matters, especially for young queer fans in the Philippines and across Asia where representation often comes sanitized, late, or only when it’s been focus-grouped to death. And it matters for the P-pop industry too, which is still in the process of defining what kind of culture it wants to build: one that sells idols as fantasy, or one that lets them live.
“Gabriela” drops June 20 as part of Katseye’s second EP Beautiful Chaos.
