Ariana Grande, K-pop boy band BTS, Taylor Swift, Khalid, Lady Gaga and urban Latin star Ozuna are the music artists named Time magazine's "most influential people" for 2019.

The annual list, released Wednesday (April 17) features100 artists, leaders, politicians and more from all over the world who are making an impact. The list is compiled by the magazine's editors and features magazine covers with some of the honorees. Taylor Swift is the only music artist featured on the cover of one of the magazine's six issues this year. Each honoree has a blurb written about them by others in their field. 

Grande graces the list fresh off her week one Coachella performance in which she reunited most members of *NSYNC, brought out Mase, Nicki Minaj  and Diddy. The "7 rings" singer's blurb is written by singer/songwriter Troye Sivan, who is a friend of Grande and features her on his song, "Dance To This."

He writes: "Through just about the craziest storms and whirlwinds I can imagine, Ariana Grande remains the most real person I’ve met. I’ve always thought the world is privy to actual, genuine emotion—be it heartbreak, empathy, generosity, resilience, strength—and I believe that’s exactly why the world keeps falling deeper in love with Ariana."

BTS, the K-pop kings who have been one of the groups to take the genre to the next level in the U.S. with their bilingual love songs and choreographed dance moves, has an essay about them on the list is also written by a friend and music collaborator, Halsey. J-Hope, Jin, V, Jungkook, Jimin, Suga and RM dropped their latest album, Map Of The Soul: Persona, last week with "Boy With Luv," a single featuring the "Bad At Love" singer, who celebrated by sharing fun-facts about their friendship on social media.

In her essay, Halsey writes about how much the group is loved by their fans: "How exactly does one accomplish world domination? Surely it takes remarkable talent, charm, kindness, altruism and dedication. But you’d still be missing a key component: a devoted community to uplift your efforts, soften your stumbles and shoot light from their eyes into the sky in your name every single night."

She added words about BTS' vision and love for music. "But behind those three letters are seven astounding young men who believe that music is stronger than the barriers of language. It’s a universal dialect," she wrote. 

RELATED: BTS' Big Week: The K-Pop Kings Unveil New Album, Video Feat. Halsey & More

Urban Latin music has one of its brightest star on the list too: Ozuna. The reggaeton veteran superstar Daddy Yankee has touching words to share about the next-generation urban music singer, who has launched into stardom with his reggaeton infused pop songs in the midst of an urban Latin boom in the U.S.

"I still clearly remember the chamaquito who came to my recording studio to ask me to be on a remix to his song 'No Quiere Enamorarse.' His name was Ozuna, and what got my attention was his tenacity, his sublime and unique voice, and his drive," Yankee writes.

He continues: "[Ozuna] shows kids that anything is possible—that you can become a global star if you work hard enough. He is a great competitor, a good friend, and he never hesitates to give back to his community. And even though he has broken records, he has the spirit to be bigger."

RELATED: Ozuna Is Making Reggaeton Hits That Are Getting Global Attention

"I was first introduced to Khalid through his 2016 debut single, 'Location,' Alicia Keys writes for singer/songwriter Khalid. "It kept showing up in my life, and I thought, “This song is so good—so understandable, emotional and soulful. Who is this?”

She hones in on Khalid's talent for making music that is relatable: "He’s a beautiful writer with the ability to take human concepts and make you understand and feel them. He has a full, powerful voice that is somehow unassuming and smooth at the same time."

The GRAMMY-nominated singer wrote his hit "Location" during the middle of his senior year and self-financed its release, he told the Recording Academy during the 60th GRAMMY Awards red carpet. 

Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga were both featured under the icons section of the list. Shawn Mendes shared the singer's ability to break records and touching millions seem so effortless: "Taylor makes anyone older feel young again and anyone young feel they can do anything. It’s so rare and so special," he writes. 

RELATED: Beyonce To Drop 'Homecoming' Documentary On April 17

Meanwhile, Celine Dion captures the spirit of singer/songwriter and A Star Is Born actress Lady Gaga in one sentence: "Her artistic expression has no rules, no boundaries." 

Dion continues: "She marched to the beat of her own drum, knowing that her message of individuality was a way to express her inner strength. What makes her even more special, and such a powerful influence on society, is that she empowers her fans to adopt the very same values in their lives—to stand up for what they believe in, despite what others might think."

While not on the list, Beyoncé shares words of admiration for former First Lady Michelle Obama. "Loving Michelle Obama wasn’t much of a choice, she writes. "I’m honored to know such a brilliant black woman who’s spoken about the sacrifice it takes to balance her passions while remaining a supportive partner and mother, and now a best-selling author with Becoming."

For more on who made the Time 100, visit the magazine's website. 

Hit-Makers Share The Specialized, Intuitive Art Of Crafting The Perfect Song

Sabrina Carpenter is the first to admit that it's taken her a bit of time to find her way to the top of the music industry. She even likens herself to the tortoise in the fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" — even if she didn't want to believe the metaphor growing up.

"Something that my mom always said to me as a little girl that really annoyed me was that I am the tortoise… throughout my life, [I was] being told, 'Sabrina, you're the tortoise, just chill,'" Carpenter recalled while accepting the Variety Hitmakers Rising Artist Award in December 2023. "In moments of frustration and confusion it can feel like a letdown, but it turns out it's actually a very good thing."

It's been a very good thing for Carpenter, indeed. A decade since the release of her debut single, the singer/songwriter isn't just breaking through — she's one of pop's new reigning queens. Over the last year, Carpenter has nabbed her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, made a stellar debut at Coachella, and performed on "Saturday Night Live," all the while racking up billions of streams on her music new and old. It's all built excitement for one of the most anticipated pop albums of the summer: Short n' Sweet.

As Carpenter unveils her new album, take a deep dive into her decade-long journey to pop stardom.

Growing up, Carpenter filled the sounds of her family home in Pennsylvania with covers of songs like Adele's "Set Fire To The Rain" and "Picture to Burn" by future Eras Tour companion Taylor Swift (more on that later). After submitting videos for a singing contest spearheaded by Miley Cyrus, Carpenter would get her first taste of success. Placing third, she caught the eye of Hollywood Records, who signed her following the competition.

Simultaneously, Carpenter also began pursuing acting, landing guest spots on series like "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in 2011 and joining "The Goodwin Games" in 2012. In 2014, she landed a lead role in the Disney Channel series "Girl Meets World," a spin-off of the beloved '90s series "Boy Meets World," which served as a breakthrough moment for the burgeoning star — and a catalyst for her music career.

Just before the show debuted, Carpenter released her debut single, "Can't Blame A Girl for Trying," the title track to her debut EP that arrived a month later. While the four-track EP was the typical output of a teenage Disney star — bubblegum pop sounds with digestible, family-friendly lyricism — it showed off her youthful timbre and offered themes that would become prevalent later in Carpenter's songwriting: love, heartache, and navigating life.

A year later, she released her debut album, Eyes Wide Open. A mix of pop with folk and country influences — a soundscape that remains on Short n' Sweet — Carpenter's debut showed maturity and growth following Can't Blame A Girl For Trying; songs like "Eyes Wide Open" and "We'll Be the Stars" showed a more introspective side, reflecting on the pressures of being in the spotlight and the journey of finding her identity. Eyes Wide Open also hinted that Carpenter was beginning to hone her songwriting skills, penning four of the 12 tracks.

It would be on her 2016 sophomore album, EVOLution, where Carpenter would find confidence as a songwriter, co-writing all but one song on the 10-track project. In turn, the lyrics reflected her growing sense of self and a new perspective on past themes, like embracing non-romantic forms of love in "All We Have is Love," being there for a struggling friend in "Shadows," and learning to assert boundaries in "Space."

EVOLution transitioned Carpenter out of the teen pop aesthetic into a more sophisticated sound, experimenting with dance-pop and techno sonics. Genre versatility would become a throughline of sorts for Carpenter, and EVOLution foreshadowed the multifaceted musicality that was to come.

After "Girl Meets World" came to an end at the beginning of 2017, Carpenter was ready for reinvention. Much like Britney Spears' Britney and Cyrus' Can't Be Tamed before her, as Carpenter grew into an adult, she felt like she needed to shed the Disney-fied image that has become a rite of passage for teen stars. Thus began the Singular era.

Released in 2018 and 2019, respectively, Singular: Act I and Singular: Act II featured songs that were more risqué and mature in nature. A far cry from her tamer work of the past, the R&B track "Hold Tight" is equal parts sultry and evocative with Carpenter singing, "Wanna keep you in, wanna keep you in right/ Wanna feel your skin, wanna feel it on mine."

As she noted in an interview with Billboard, Singular: Act I  was a natural progression for a girl now in her late teens — even if it was against the squeaky-clean image of her beginnings.

"I was known as a fictional character on television with lines that were written for her with an attitude that was portrayed in a way by other people. So for a lot of people, their first impression of me was as a 13-year-old girl [singing] the kinds of songs that she should be singing," she said. "Then, flash forward to 19, and people are asking why I am not singing about the same things that I did when I was 13, as if that's normal."

One of the more notable Singular tracks is from Act I, "Sue Me." Sneakily disguised as a story about a romantic relationship, the song is Carpenter's response to being sued by her ex music managers: "That's my shape, I made the shadow/ That's my name, don't wear it out though/ Feelin' myself can't be illegal." Its tongue-in-cheek and snarky nature would inevitably embolden Carpenter to continue writing more confessional songs with attitude, whether she's responding to media scrutiny in "because i liked a boy" from 2022's emails i can't send, or warning a suitor to be careful in Short n' Sweet's "Please, Please, Please."

Singular: Act I and Act II further helped demonstrate different facets of Carpenter's musicality, with the former leaning into pop tendencies and the latter embracing an R&B flair. And as her final albums with Hollywood Records, she used Singular: Act I and Act II to indicate that she wasn't going to let any sort of previous perceptions hold her back. Their coming-of-age themes showcased Carpenter as an artist coming into her own — regardless of whether listeners wanted to keep her in the Disney box or not.

While the world was going through a period of change amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so was Carpenter. She signed with Universal Music Group's Island Records in 2021, and soon she would be able to fully introduce the world to who Sabrina Carpenter is as an artist.

As she noted herself to Variety earlier this year, her 2022 LP, emails i can't send, "marked the beginning of a really freeing and artistic time for me." Once again, she co-wrote every song on the album; this time, though, she only had one co-writer for each track, and even wrote two songs solo ("emails i can't send" and "how many things") — proving that she was more assured as a songwriter than ever.

As a result, Carpenter's knack for confessional songwriting is on full display. emails i can't send represents a reflective time capsule of sorts; one that brings the curiosity of her earlier work with the perspective and wisdom of a young adult. Her growing fame meant there was more attention on her personal life, and emails i can't send allowed her to reclaim her narrative and express her side of the story.

Carpenter's candidness struck a chord with listeners, and upon the release of emails i can't send in July 2022, it was clear Carpenter was on a new trajectory. The album debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200, which marked her highest entry on the chart to date (as of press time); the 2022 stretch of her Emails I Can't Send Tour sold out in less than a day. And once  "Nonsense" was released as a single that November, her place as a rapidly rising star was solidified.

"Nonsense" was initially written as a means to an end after Carpenter was writing a sad song and had writer's block. Now, the track is the epitome of Carpenter's lyricism, weaving together her wit and humor with an infectious hook. First gaining traction on TikTok because of its catchiness, it's become a beloved part of Carpenter's canon thanks to her inventive and bespoke outros during her live shows. It's since become a tradition for fans to check to see what outro she created for each performance, adding to the fan fervor.

Carpenter further satiated fans' taste for her cheeky lyricism in March 2023, when she released emails i can't send fwd:, the deluxe version of her album, which featured a new track called "Feather." She took the playful, flirting energy of "Nonsense" and infused "Feather" with buoyant, airy production that mimics the feeling of self-liberation after moving on from a relationship. Earning Carpenter her first pop radio No. 1, "Feather" proved that the singer's audacious style was taking hold — and it set the stage for an even bigger 2024.

After her own extensive — and very sold out — tour in support of Emails I Can't Send, Carpenter's rising star status was further confirmed by pop's current queen, Taylor Swift. The singer earned a coveted opening slot on Swift's monumental Eras Tour in Mexico, South America, Australia, and Asia.

Just after her last Eras Tour show in March 2024, Carpenter hinted that her own new era was beginning. "I'm starting to feel like I've outgrown the songs I'm singing," she admitted to Cosmopolitan, "which is always an exciting feeling because I think that means the next chapter is right around the corner."

That chapter began with "Espresso," which dropped a day before her debut Coachella performance. Doubling down on the playful, self-assured vibe of "Nonsense," the song immediately hinted that big things were coming for Carpenter, debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 3.

Upon announcing her sixth album, Short n' Sweet, Carpenter released "Please Please Please." Combining her now-signature playful, carefree lyricism with an airy, disco-tinged sound, "Please Please Please" didn't just present Carpenter as a confident superstar —  it became her first Hot 100-topping smash.

Carpenter has referred to Short n' Sweet as the "hot older sister" of emails i can't send. "It's my second 'big girl' album; it's a companion but it's not the same," she explained to Variety, to whom she also admitted she feels a "sense of separation" from her work prior to emails. "When it comes to having full creative control and being a full-fledged adult, I would consider this a sophomore album."

It's apt, then, that her Short n' Sweet collaborators — including songwriters Julia Michaels, Amy Allen and Steph Jones — are largely the same as the team from emails i can't send. "I've really honed in on the people that I love making music with," she told Rolling Stone in June.

Even more telling of the direction she's heading is her work with one of pop's hottest producers — and Swift's right-hand man — Jack Antonoff, for the first time. At a GRAMMY Museum event with Antonoff himself, Carpenter debuted the country-infused "Slim Pickins," presenting yet another pop style from Short n' Sweet. And as "Slim Pickins," "Espresso" and "Please Please Please" indicate, Carpenter's knack for infectious and edgy lyrics isn't just the throughline across Short n' Sweet — it's become the epitome of both her artistry and her stardom.

Just like her metaphorical friend the tortoise, Carpenter's long but steady journey has clearly paid off. As she's figured out who she is on her own terms, she's manifested the bonafide superstardom she's always imagined.

"I never had the plan B, and it wasn't even a thought in my mind that it wouldn't work out," she told Rolling Stone. "I just always knew it was about not if it would happen but when it would happen."

For Carpenter, every chapter of her artistry has built on the last; she's refused to rest on her laurels and continuously pursued new directions. She's creating work that wholeheartedly reflects her, and growing a loyal fan base because of it. Her next album might be named Short n' Sweet, but her time as a pop superstar will be anything but.

Between album anniversaries, surprise announcements and exciting new tracks, this week's New Music Friday (Aug. 23) is a full-blown celebration of tunes past and present.

On the album front, high-profile new releases include Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet, Thomas Rhett's About a Woman, Lainey Wilson's Whirlwind and All Time Low's The Forever Sessions Vol. 1. Plus, Warren Zeiders serves up his sophomore album, Relapse, and Randy Rogers Band celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 2004 LP Rollercoaster with a remastered re-release.

Meanwhile, Travis Scott and Ariana Grande each commemorate major anniversaries by dusting off vault tracks from some of their earliest works, blink-182 tease the second part of their latest album, Jessie Reyez links up with Lil Wayne and more.

Below, dive into some of this week's most exciting new releases, including samplings of electronic, rap and country.

Travis Scott — 'Days Before Rodeo' (Tenth Anniversary Edition)

Released on August 18, 2014, Days Before Rodeo served as the buzzy prequel for Travis Scott's debut album, Rodeo, which would arrive the following year and officially crown the Houston MC as one of rap's fastest-rising stars.

A full decade later, Scott is revisiting Days Before Rodeo for a new 10th anniversary edition complete with — as the rapper revealed when announcing the release earlier this week —"COUPLE DBR SONGS FROM THAT ERA FROM THE VAULT." If the all-caps pronouncement didn't give away Scott's palpable excitement at revisiting his seminal mixtape, he added a string of giddy gibberish followed by "IM FCKING JUMPING THRU WALLS AHHHH" for good measure. 

The number of tracks Scott tacked onto the end of his 2014 mixtape — which is now available for the very first time on all streaming platforms, in its original form — actually ended up being more than just a couple, including "Mo City Flexologist," "Too Many Chances," Young Thug's "Yea Yeah" featuring Scott as a guest artist, "Serenade" and "Whole Lots Changed" featuring Yung Mazi. (As of press time, it appears the Days Before Rodeo deluxe edition is only available for purchase via Scott's official website.)

Ariana Grande — 'My Everything (Tenth Anniversary Edition)'

Also celebrating a seminal 10th anniversary, Ariana Grande honored her sophomore album, My Everything, on Aug. 22 — the exact day it was released in 2014. The fan-favorite LP catapulted Grande from promising young starlet to bonafide pop sensation, so it was only right that she celebrated it with a 10th anniversary edition.

Along with smash hits like "Break Free," "Bang Bang" and "Problem" and OG bonus cuts "Only 1" and "You Don't Know Me," Ari reached into her vault to finally gift fans with the official studio versions of "Cadillac Song" and "Too Close."

Co-written by Victoria Monét, the former finds the soon-to-be Wicked star caught up in a breezy, doo-wop-inflected daydream as she hits the road in her titular Caddy over a sample of the 1972 deep cut "How Love Hurts" by R&B family act the Sylvers. The latter, meanwhile, revisits the early magic a young Ari captured with producer Harmony Samuels as she teases, "Baby, tell me, do you feel it like I do?/ 'Cause we both know what could go down/ If we get too close" over a bouncing, elastic beat.

We're still more than a full lunar cycle away from the release of Coldplay's Moon Music, but that didn't keep Chris Martin and co. from sharing a second taste of their forthcoming 10th album in the form of "WE PRAY."

The British rockers first debuted the single live during their headlining set at Glastonbury 2024 this summer, and the official studio version features guest turns by Lil Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI. The special 12" vinyl and EcoCD formats — also out now — include five different versions of the song, including the live debut recorded from the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm.

Months after dropping her single "SHUT UP" featuring Big Sean, Jessie Reyez is back with "RIDIN," another high-profile collab — this time with Lil Wayne.

The mid-tempo jam is equal parts romantic and eyebrow-raising as the Canadian songstress warbles, "Hold me/ Since love always hurt me baby/ I'mma need you to choke me/ Since love always let me jump/ I'mma need you to hold me/ Let me deep inside" on the chorus.

Reyez then cedes the floor to Weezy, who gets the entire second verse to deliver a sexually charged stanza that officially adds "legs like a Twizzler" and "drive me like a Nissan" to the Kama Sutra of modern come-ons.

On Aug. 19, blink-182 surprised fans with the news that they were doubling down on their 2023 album ONE MORE TIME… — their first in nearly a decade to feature OG member Tom DeLonge — by adding eight more songs to the track list.

While the rest of ONE MORE TIME… Part 2 drops Sept. 6, the first two songs of the new batch are "ALL IN MY HEAD," a galloping banger that sees the pop-punk trailblazers questioning existence, touring and the relentless march of time, and "NO FUN," a slice of end-of-summer punk rock that blends equal doses of nostalgia and paranoia.

Mura Masa may already have three full-lengths under his belt, but the British producer's new album, Curve 1, marks his first studio set on his own Pond Recordings imprint as a fully independent artist.

Led by previously released singles like "Whenever I Want" and "Drugs" featuring Daniela Lalita, Curve 1 also features the GRAMMY winner collaborating with the likes of Singaporean synth-pop artist Yeule on "We Are Making Out" and 2000s R&B girl group Cherish, whose 2007 single "Killa" is sampled prominently on highlight "Fly."

Offering up a second taste of her forthcoming mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii attacks the mic with her trademark combination of ferocity and humor on "Boom Bap," a blistering freestyle that follows the deliciously braggadocious "Nissan Altima."

Also arriving in the wake of "Alter Ego," Doechii's recent collab with JT of City Girls, the Swamp Princess looks back at her journey to becoming one of hip-hop's most inventive wordsmiths on "Boom Bap" as she spits, "I gave my soul to this s—, ate lumps of coal for this s—/ Went on the road for this s—, played humble for this s—" in between name-checking the likes of J.Cole and producer Camper and blowing raspberries in the direction of her haters.

As Nate Smith sits atop Billboard's Country Airplay chart with "Bulletproof," he reaches for the rafters on his anthemic new single "Fix What You Didn't Break." A fitting follow-up to the recent duet version of "Bulletproof" with Avril Lavigne, the country upstart looked to the sounds that defined the early millennium for his latest release.

"I've always been a huge fan of big, epic pop rock songs of the 2000s — bands like Lifehouse, Goo Goo Dolls, 3 Doors Down were all influences in my early teens," Smith tells GRAMMY.com, describing his new single as "the perfect blend of 2000s rock and heartfelt country…This is easily one of my favorites I've released."

"Fix What You Didn’t Break" will be one of 16 tracks on Smith's forthcoming sophomore album, California Gold, which will be released Oct. 4.

Although they have yet to release an album, six-member girl group KATSEYE has already racked up a passionate global fanbase. Those fans have eagerly followed KATSEYE's journey so far, which span nearly three years and multiple continents.

KATSEYE is the result of a highly anticipated, first-of-its-kind partnership between American label Geffen Records — which counts Olivia Rodrigo and Camila Cabello on its roster — and HYBE Entertainment, best known as the home of BTS and subject of a new GRAMMY Museum exhibit. Thanks to the collaboration between two cultures with a track record of turning artists into household names, KATSEYE's Sophia, Manon, Daniela, Lara, Yoonchae, and Megan are poised for the global stage.

"This is the most ambitious project both HYBE and Geffen have ever been involved in," Geffen Records President Tom March (now Chairman and CEO of Capitol Records) said during a 2023 press conference, per Weverse Magazine. "We are hoping to create something that genuinely moves culture with a group that makes magazine covers and headlines festivals." 

Ahead of the Aug. 16 release of their debut album SIS (Soft Is Strong), GRAMMY.com rounded up everything you need to know about the rising stars, from their in-depth training process to their global roots.

They Competed Against More Than 100,000 Hopefuls

In late 2021, HYBE and Geffen kicked off a worldwide search for potential members of the group that would become KATSEYE. "In the city of dreams where stars are born, an unprecedented girl group will rise," boasted the promotional video. 

Through online and offline auditions in 15 cities around the world, more than 120,000 talented artists tried out. Only the top 20 girls were selected to become finalists — an acceptance rate tougher than elite universities. 

Revealing the finalists at an August 2023 press conference in Los Angeles, HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk said, "I have wanted to form an international group based on K-pop methodology for a while," per Billboard.

Geffen Records CEO John Janick shared the same sentiments. "To develop a global group with Bang, with the best of K-pop methodology, and our Geffen team, is truly special and will bring to life a first-of-its-kind experience in music," he said during the press conference.

They Went Through The Intense K-Pop Trainee System 

The 20 finalists were enrolled in what was dubbed "The Debut: Dream Academy," an "X Factor"-style survival show that was broadcasted in real time on social media for nearly three months in late 2023.

"Dream Academy" offered the finalists a crash course in the infamously rigorous K-pop trainee system, one where aspiring stars train intensely in everything from vocals to dance and foreign languages, all with the aim of developing into well-rounded artists. Through a combination of audience voting and evaluations from a panel of experts (which included executives from HYBE and Geffen), the show whittled down the 20 finalists to the debut group.

The show consisted of three rounds with distinct "missions" that tested each finalists on their dance and vocal prowess, as well as their teamwork and performance skills. The contestants were primarily based in Los Angeles but also had the opportunity to travel to South Korea to train directly in HYBE’s Seoul headquarters.

The final lineup was revealed live on Nov. 17, 2023, with a studio audience in Los Angeles and thousands of viewers watching in real time. The energy and anticipation was palpable as each member was announced one by one to tears of joy and screams of excitement. 

"I can’t even put it into words," expressed Lara after she was selected as part of the final lineup. "This is everything I ever wanted in my entire life."

The official group name of KATSEYE was also revealed on that date, signaling the transition from the trainee process to becoming a full-fledged group.

The entire training and development journey was documented by Netflix and will be released as a series under the name "Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE" on Aug. 21. The show promises to "pull back the curtain on the rigorous process of making a global music sensation."

KATSEYE Members Hail From Around the World

The six members of KATSEYE represent a mosaic of cultures and backgrounds from around the world. Sophia is from the Philippines, while Yoonchae was born in Korea. Manon was raised in Switzerland to Swiss Italian and Ghanian parents. 

The three American members also have global roots: Daniela is Venezuelan Cuban, Lara is Indian, and Megan is Chinese Singaporean.

While KATSEYE’s music is sung in English, the members are also fluent in their fair share of languages, allowing them to connect with fans around the globe. 

The diversity of the members even influenced the group name. KATSEYE is an alternate spelling of the stone cat’s eye, which "shows off a variety of colors depending on its direction, much like all of us who come from all different cultures and backgrounds," the members told Sweety High. 

Industry Elites Form Part Of Their Team 

Even ahead of their debut album drop, KATSEYE has already worked with some of the most prominent names in the entertainment world.

The group’s creative director is Humberto Leon, best known as co-founder of iconic fashion brand Opening Ceremony. His vision helped create "Dream Academy’s" whimsical Art Film of the finalists performing inside an empty school; he’s also had input on all the creative decisions for the group, from styling to posing.

"I want each and every one of them to stand out," Leon told the New York Times. 

KATSEYE’s first single, "Debut", was produced by three-time GRAMMY winner and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, who has written songs for icons like Taylor Swift and Adele.

Their Labelmates Are K-Pop Superstars

As part of HYBE Entertainment, KATSEYE is the successor to some of the biggest names in the K-pop world. HYBE is best known for launching BTS in 2013, when the label was still known as Big Hit Entertainment.

HYBE has since expanded and launched groups including TOMORROW X TOGETHER, LE SSERAFIM, and New Jeans, who have all achieved massive heights, from topping the Billboard charts to performing at Coachella.

Ahead of the "Dream Academy" competition, HYBE artists imparted words of wisdom to the contestants in a video letter. "The more challenges you face, you’ll have more worries," said Le Sserafim member Sakura, who made her own debut through a similar competition show in South Korea. "I think the most important thing is to have fun!" 

Read more: 5 Takeaways From The GRAMMY Museum’s "HYBE: We Believe In Music" Exhibit

KATSEYE's  Music Is About Self Confidence

Although the group has released just two singles so far, KATSEYE’s music has already honed in on themes of confidence and empowerment. The first single, aptly titled "Debut," is an upbeat pop anthem that boasts the group’s self-assurance despite being industry newcomers. Second single "Touch" is an R&B and drum-and-bass-influenced ode to independence.

Their debut single is "really just about sisterhood and being confident and strong and powerful and the best version of yourself," Lara told Teen Vogue.

Listeners can expect a continuation of this theme on their upcoming album, SIS (Soft Is Strong). "Our debut comes with a lot of confidence and a lot of willpower and passion," Sophia hinted in the group’s intro film.

In 2005, South Korean producer and songwriter Bang Si-Hyuk (aka "hitman" Bang) founded Bit Hit Entertainment. Only eight years later, he finished assembling what would come to be the label’s groundbreaking boy group, BTS. The rest is history, now chronicled in "HYBE: We Believe In Music," the first full-floor K-pop exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum, which runs through Sept. 15.

Following the success of Bit Hit’s premier act, and that of other artists under acquired labels SOURCE MUSIC and PLEDIS Entertainment, the company eventually evolved to become HYBE in 2021. "I think HYBE is very special in that they have gone beyond being just a K-pop company," says Kelsey Goelz, curator of the exhibit. "They have many different sub labels. They’ve come to America and gotten involved in the music business here, and then they’re also working in AI and gaming."

But beyond its global presence, one of K-pop’s ever-captivating elements is the sheer amount of blood, sweat, and tears that goes into making it possible, even when HYBE artists like ENHYPEN, SEVENTEEN, and LE SSERAFIM make it look easy. There’s a core humanity to this work ethic and dogged tenacity — to the level of artistry in general — that speaks to K-pop fans around the world.

While HYBE’s growth shows no signs of slowing down yet, the GRAMMY Museum exhibit takes a look back on the entertainment company’s legacy thus far. Read on for the five things we learned from the "HYBE: We Believe In Music" exhibit.

All photos Courtesy of the Recording Academy™️/photo by Rebecca Sapp, Getty Images© 2024.

In A Decade, BTS Built Themselves Into A Global Phenomenon

Let’s start with a history lesson: despite being around for almost a decade, HYBE’s story begins in earnest with the formation of one of K-pop’s breakthrough acts, BTS, in 2013. (At that point, the company was still a standalone label.) Led by rapper RM, the seven boys hopped off a yellow school bus with a bratty, adolescent attitude — and that’s where the GRAMMY Museum’s exhibit picks up.

There’s a lot that happened between then and their seven Billboard No. 1s. Luckily, a wallpapered timeline breaks down all the major global highlights: the first U.S. tour, their UNICEF campaign, a landmark performance on "Saturday Night Live," and the announcement of BTS as TIME’s 2020 Entertainer of the Year, to name just a few.

Sitting in the middle of the museum floor is a glass case of polaroids — in them, Jin, Suga, j-hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook toss up peace signs while sporting novelty hats designed to look like BTS’s lightstick. Nostalgic and deeply silly, these photos date back to 2017 and 2018, serving as a reminder of the colossal strides BTS has taken in the intervening years.

Learn more: Breaking Down Every Solo Act From BTS: Singles, Debut Albums & What's Next For The Septet

It Takes A Village To Make A K-Pop Music Video

When K-pop music videos are delivered to fans, they’re already finished products. Behind the curtain, it’s hard work to make them polished and perfect. Collected ‘fits and accessories throughout the exhibit get you up close and personal with creative details; then, to showcase the costumes in action, they’re paired with screens that play the finalized MVs.

Each customized artifact is an expression of its respective group’s individuality, from ENHYPEN’s King of Pop-inspired "Sweet Venom" ensembles to BOYNEXTDOOR’s slouchy cabbie caps. Other standouts include belts and chains from &TEAM’s angsty "Samidare," fromis_9’s opera-ready "#menow" jewels, and chunky necklaces featured in ILLIT’s runaway single "Magnetic." 

Everything Comes Back To The Music

HYBE’s proffered ethos is "we believe in music" — this motto gives the special exhibit its name, while also serving as a mission statement.

In a series of recorded interviews on view in the exhibit, HYBE’s idol songwriters share their process for and perspective on making music. The main takeaway: Inspiration comes in different forms. While writing, BTS’s j-hope pictures ideas as tree branches that sprout outward, while RM sees his rap verses as a realized world to live inside.

Literally, too, their lyrics mark the passage of time. If you’ve ever wondered why Suga circles back to motifs across the years, the rapper has all the answers for you here.

There’s also a conversation with WOOZI of SEVENTEEN, one of the K-pop industry’s most prolific idol composers with more than 150 credits to his name. It’s a penchant for plain language, he says, that makes the lyrics he writes really sing; the band’s beloved B-side "Hug," for example, gets its potency from everyday words and phrases. TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Yeonjun likewise fills visitors in on the origin story behind co-written "Maze in the Mirror," a misty reflection of their tough trainee days. 

This isn’t to say they haven’t had help, of course. Nearby, clips of HYBE producers Pdogg, BUMZU, and ZICO, settled in their respective studios, walk us through how the instrumentals for songs like BTS’s "ON" and SEVENTEEN’s "Lilili Yabbay" came to be. Peruse at your leisure — for those curious about the creation of K-pop’s biggest hits, this corner of the exhibit could easily take up the better part of a trip. 

Fans Make K-Pop Special

To some fans, K-pop is more than just the music. As a sincere few explain in an exhibit video, K-pop is something that has profoundly touched their lives, providing the basis for genuine friendships and community. Fans get to give a little bit of this positive energy back to their idols, particularly through online platforms like HYBE’s Weverse, where users can interact directly with artists. "I don’t think there’s another genre like K-pop that allows and enables that communication," Goetz, the curator, tells GRAMMY.com. 

In true form, the GRAMMY Museum offers an interactive experience. At the exhibit’s opening event, fans posed next to their idols (digitally) in a photo booth, yelled K-pop’s national anthem into prop mics, and hit the dance floor with perfect renditions of LE SSERAFIM’s "Perfect Nights" choreography. 

Before heading out, visitors could leave a mark of their own on the exhibit: after writing a message to their favorite artist via pastel Post-its and baby No. 2 pencils, fans loudly and proudly displayed them on the walls.

HYBE’s Story Is Just Getting Started

According to another timeline, the story so far has three chapters. There was the era of Big Hit Entertainment, when BTS came into the picture; then, the establishment of HYBE, with its many labels. Finally, as the U.S. and Latin America enter the fold, we’re in the end game. Representing this future is L.A.-based girl group KATSEYE, a collaboration with Geffen Records and the most recent inclusion to HYBE’s roster.

But K-pop hasn’t entirely let go of its "K" just yet, if the special guests for the exhibit’s launch were any indication. As the sun set over the GRAMMY Museum’s rooftop terrace, rookie boy group TWS kicked things off; before performing high-energy five songs back to back, the six boys charmed the audience by cutely cruising through a moderated conversation in English and Korean. 

As the exhibit reveals, there’s a reason HYBE — and K-pop — went global in the first place. On top of the spectacle, their success has everything to do with the work that goes into making the effort seem effortless. Audiences root for real people, and that's what makes them keep coming back.