KATSEYE “Hootie Frutti” Dance: Why I Made My Own Choreography—and What YouTube Thought

I apparently have a very specific relationship with KATSEYE songs.

KATSEYE releases a song. I become obsessed with it. I hear the beat and immediately want to dance.

Then, instead of learning the official choreography like a responsible person, I start doing whatever my body thinks should happen.

And then the comment section finds me.

That happened when I danced to “Animal” by KATSEYE, and somehow I managed to do it again with “Hootie Frutti.”

So before the KATSEYE choreography police arrive here too, let me say this immediately:

My “Hootie Frutti” dance is my own choreography. I was never trying to perform the official KATSEYE dance.

I actually love their choreography. KATSEYE performances are ridiculously polished, and I respect how much control, synchronization and personality goes into making movement look effortless.

But when I first really listened to “Hootie Frutti,” I didn't want to watch somebody else's movements yet.

I wanted to feel the song first.

That's always been the part of dancing I love most.

Sometimes I want precision.

Sometimes I want choreography.

And sometimes the beat comes on and my brain basically says:

Okay, we're moving now.

“Hootie Frutti” was definitely that kind of song.

What Is “Hootie Frutti” by KATSEYE?

“Hootie Frutti” is a song from KATSEYE's third EP, WILD, released through HYBE x Geffen Records. The standard WILD tracklist places it third, after “PINKY UP” and “Animal” and before “Bel Air” and “That Way.” KATSEYE's official store describes the project as a more euphoric, untamed era centered on growth, transformation, self-discovery and self-determination.

That description actually made “Hootie Frutti” click for me even more.

The song feels untamed.

It doesn't sound interested in being elegant or subtle.

It's loud. Playful. Rhythmic. A little chaotic.

Basically perfect conditions for me to start dancing in a parking garage.

The official KATSEYE (캣츠아이) “Hootie Frutti” Official MV premiered through HYBE LABELS on August 13, 2026. When I saved the YouTube information for this article, the video had already reached 24,254,892 views and was showing as #1 on YouTube's Music Trending chart.

Obviously those numbers can continue changing, but the immediate response was huge.

You can watch the official KATSEYE “Hootie Frutti” music video here.

“Hootie Frutti” Surprised Me Because It Didn't Sound Like the KATSEYE I Expected

This was probably the biggest reason I immediately liked it.

Before really understanding KATSEYE's positioning, I used to mentally put them into the K-pop category.

I don't think I'm the only person who does that.

There is HYBE. There is the training system. There is intense choreography. There is synchronized performance. There is the visual precision people associate with K-pop.

But KATSEYE themselves make a more interesting distinction.

Their official site calls them the first global girl group formed using K-pop artist-development methodologies rather than simply describing their music as K-pop.

And in a 2026 Allure interview, Daniela was even more explicit: she said their music isn't K-pop, although it is heavily inspired by it. Yoonchae pointed instead to their training system as perhaps the most K-pop element of KATSEYE.

That actually explains why a song like “Hootie Frutti” makes sense for them.

KATSEYE's system may come from K-pop, but their sound doesn't have to stay inside one genre.

“Hootie Frutti” made that obvious to me.

So What Does “Hootie Frutti” Actually Sound Like?

My first reaction was that it felt almost dancehall-ish to me—not because I'm saying the song technically belongs to Jamaican Dancehall, but because it gave me that immediate this belongs in a room full of people moving feeling.

After researching it more, I would describe that first impression differently.

Korean coverage of the WILD highlight medley specifically highlighted the song's Portuguese-language opening and forceful, almost heart-pounding rhythm, while critical discussion around the finished EP has identified Brazilian funk as one of the track's major sonic reference points.

That makes much more sense to my ears.

The percussion feels physical.

The beat doesn't just sit underneath the vocals. It pushes the song forward.

There are accents that almost automatically suggest isolations, sharper directional changes and bigger movement.

I heard it and immediately thought:

Oh, I need to dance to this.

There Is Also an Interesting Brazil Connection

Here's something I found while researching this article that I think EYEKONS might find interesting.

KATSEYE visited Brazil earlier in 2026 for Lollapalooza Brasil in São Paulo. During that trip, the members talked enthusiastically about their first experience in the country, including the people, culture, food and energy they encountered there.

Months later, “Hootie Frutti” arrives with a Portuguese intro and a sound drawing attention for its Brazilian rhythmic influence.

I want to be careful here:

I found no reliable source saying their Brazil trip directly inspired “Hootie Frutti.”

So I'm not going to pretend that happened.

But the timing is interesting.

And to me, it makes KATSEYE's “global girl group” identity feel less like a marketing label and more like something you can actually hear developing in their music.

Their pop world keeps getting wider.

“Hootie Frutti” Also Makes More Sense Inside the WILD Era

This was another thing I didn't fully appreciate until I started researching the album instead of only listening to the song.

KATSEYE's official description of WILD focuses heavily on becoming more euphoric, untamed and self-determined.

And before the EP came out, the members were already talking about this era as a more authentic version of themselves.

In their Allure interview, Megan explained that each release had allowed KATSEYE to become increasingly raw and authentic, while the group described WILD as a major departure from where they started.

That gives “Hootie Frutti” another layer.

It isn't just:

Here's KATSEYE trying a crazy beat.

It fits an entire era built around loosening up.

Being less controlled.

Showing more personality.

Getting weirder.

Taking bigger swings.

That might also explain why I connected with this song so quickly.

The entire idea of WILD is basically:

Stop holding yourself back.

That is also one of my favorite things about dancing.

Why I Made My Own “Hootie Frutti” Choreography

I love KATSEYE's official choreography.

I just didn't want to learn it first.

There are songs where I immediately want to study the real routine because I want to understand the choreographer's timing, textures and musical choices.

Then there are songs where I need to know what my body hears before I know what somebody else's body heard.

“Hootie Frutti” was one of those.

I started listening for accents.

I played with the rhythm.

Some movements became sharper.

Some got bigger.

Some were intentionally dramatic.

I wasn't trying to imitate KATSEYE.

I was asking:

What would Jeremy Melodious do with this song?

And apparently the answer was enough movement to trigger a full YouTube investigation.

My “Hootie Frutti” YouTube Comment Section Became Part of the Performance

When I took screenshots for this article, my YouTube Short had reached around 68,000 views, about 1,100 likes and 135 comments, while the analytics snapshot showed it still moving at roughly 2,300 views per hour.

Those numbers were exciting.

But the comments were way more entertaining.

My comment section basically separated itself into three groups:

People who thought I ate.

People who were confused but entertained.

And people who desperately needed me to know that this was NOT THE OFFICIAL DANCE.

Honestly, all three groups made the video better.

I'm preserving the comments as they appeared because correcting everyone's spelling would destroy half of their personality.

The Supportive Comments Were So Sweet

One of my favorites came from @coffeeman12336, who wrote:

“If this guy was in the hootie frutti mv he would have the time of his life”

Correct.

Put me inside that music video with KATSEYE, the set, the styling and that beat and I probably wouldn't come home.

@Biggietime wrote:

“Bro dances better than me”

Then @ZeetheCateYT-j9c said:

“I NEED TO DO THIS”

I love that comment because one of the greatest things dance can do is make another person want to move.

Before dance became social media content for me, that's what it was.

You hear something.

It hits your body.

You move.

That's it.

@Silliest_stringz wrote:

“SO GOOD”

@eyekonic-starlu said:

“Sir I haven't even learned/seen the dance.. YOU ARE SO GOOD”

And @TheNeens21 officially announced:

“You ate that and left no crumbs🎉”

Then things escalated.

@DuniaRawashdeh wrote:

“Diva!!!!”

@AuroraB-1234 asked:

“WHO IS THIS DIVA💅✨”

And @kk_loves_demonslayer gave me:

“HOLY UNDERRATED”

At that point I apparently wasn't just a man dancing anymore.

I had entered the diva economy.

One Comment Almost Killed Me

@Singer4lyf wrote:

“OMG MY BRAIN JUST ALMOST DIED FROM HOW POSSIBLY DIVA ONE PERSON CAN BE”

I don't know what the medically recommended amount of diva is.

Apparently I exceeded it.

Then @Garlic.eater55 wrote:

“THE ACTUAL FIRST PERSON I SAW THAT DOES K-POP/GIRL GROUPS DANCES WITH EFFORT KEEP UP THE WORKK❤”

I don't want to use that comment to compare myself with other dancers because everybody brings something different.

But I really appreciated one word:

effort.

If I'm going to dance dramatically, I want to commit to it.

Half-energy can look more awkward on camera than doing something completely ridiculous with full confidence.

And clearly I chose full confidence.

Then We Entered the Great “Over-Dancing” Debate

@CHOCOL4TEMILK-q4w defended me with:

“Theres no such thing as "over dancing " their just really energetic”

This actually became one of the most interesting parts of the discussion for me as a dancer.

What exactly is over-dancing?

People use that term for completely different things.

Sometimes they mean the movements are too large.

Sometimes they mean somebody is hitting too many accents.

Sometimes they mean the facial expressions are too intense.

And sometimes they simply mean:

This person's energy level is higher than the version I personally prefer.

I think a better question is:

Does the amount of energy make sense for the music?

“Hootie Frutti” feels huge to me.

The rhythm is aggressive.

The track is playful.

The entire WILD concept is deliberately untamed.

So I didn't want to dance small.

Daniela Somehow Got Dragged Into My Comment Section Too

@afsaseid3298 wrote:

“Ok so ppl say Daniela over dances nope this is over dancing(this comment is not supposed to be funny btw)”

And suddenly Daniela caught a stray because I decided to dance in a parking structure.

I actually don't want my video used as a reason to criticize Daniela.

Her performance energy is one of the reasons KATSEYE is so fun to watch.

If somebody thinks I'm doing too much?

Fair.

But I would rather people judge my performance as my performance instead of turning it into a competition with a KATSEYE member.

Dance would get incredibly boring if everybody performed with exactly the same intensity.

And Then the Choreography Police Clocked In

This is where the comments became comedy.

@nathanielcutway2632 wrote:

“That is not the dance”

Correct.

We are off to a strong start.

Then @guntarsmednis informed me:

“Excuse me sir that's the wrong dance please do it CORRECTLY”

The capitalized CORRECTLY really completes the experience.

@Lol-qtr was a little more diplomatic:

“I’m not hating I’m just saying this isn’t the real dance and it kinda makes no sense”

And I actually understand that reaction.

Because my on-screen text said:

“Dancing to Hootie Frutti by KATSEYE.”

Technically true.

But if you're an EYEKON and you see:

KATSEYE + Hootie Frutti + dance video

you can reasonably expect that I'm about to do the “Hootie Frutti” choreography.

Then I start doing Jeremy choreography.

If I posted the exact same video today, I'd probably change one word:

“My choreography to Hootie Frutti by KATSEYE.”

That little word—my—changes the entire expectation.

And that's actually an interesting digital-media lesson.

Sometimes viewers aren't responding to what you created.

They're responding to the difference between what they expected and what you delivered.

Some People Were Extremely Concerned About My Choreography Choices

@napietak wrote:

“Why cant you just learn the official choreo it’s annoying”

Then @Alice-Deea said:

“That's not how to dance, sorry.”

And @LourdAsprecFanpage-oli gave me the concise:

“This is literally corny asf 😡💔”

I respect the efficiency.

But @CAPCUTQUEEN-r4c clearly had more to get off their chest:

“AGAIN STOP DANCING IT WRONGGGG BRO JUST DANCE IT RIGHT ITS THAT EASY JUST LOOK IT UP DONT DANCE LIKE A 2YR OLD BRO”

The urgency is what gets me.

You would think I had accidentally entered the KATSEYE World Choreography Championships and submitted the wrong routine.

Then @dolorescantu8303 ended their review in two words:

“Its mid”

You can't win everybody.

That's okay.

Honestly, including these reactions makes the entire story more believable.

If I only quoted people calling me a diva for 2,000 words, this would just become a very elaborate compliment folder.

People Were Divided on “Hootie Frutti” Itself Too

Not every disagreement was about me.

Some people were arguing with the actual song.

@Niniplayznumber1fan asked:

“Is it me or hootie frutti is SO BAD”

Meanwhile @JusttK41 watched my version and wrote:

“I lwky like this better then the og 😜”

That's actually consistent with the larger reaction I've noticed around “Hootie Frutti.”

This is not a neutral background-pop song.

It makes choices.

The unusual title, Portuguese intro, heavy rhythm, highly stylized production and maximal energy are exactly the elements that will make one listener obsessed and another listener immediately say:

Absolutely not.

Even professional criticism has been divided. Pitchfork's review of WILD, for example, was sharply skeptical of “Hootie Frutti” and criticized the way it uses Brazilian-funk aesthetics.

I obviously landed on the opposite side.

I love it.

But I actually think the disagreement makes the song more interesting.

I would rather hear pop music that gives people something specific to react to than something everybody politely calls “nice” and forgets five minutes later.

This Exact Thing Already Happened to Me With “Animal”

The funniest part?

We've been here before.

When KATSEYE released “Animal,” I also felt the song out and danced to it in my own way.

And the comments basically gave me the same message:

Jeremy. Please learn the choreography.

So apparently the formula is now:

KATSEYE releases song → Jeremy becomes obsessed → Jeremy ignores choreography → Jeremy starts dancing → comment section files complaint.

At least I'm consistent.

If you're an EYEKON who found me through “Hootie Frutti,” you can read the previous chapter in my article I Can't Stop Dancing to “Animal” by KATSEYE.

Someone Said I Was “Better Than Grant”

Of all the comments, this one needed its own moment.

@Notavamoya wrote:

“Better than Grant”

Thank you.

But no.

We are not starting a Jeremy-versus-Grant war.

Grant Gilmore is credited alongside Sohey Sugihara for performance direction on the official “Hootie Frutti” music video, while Sienna Lalau receives contributing choreography credit.

These are people helping construct KATSEYE's actual performance identity.

I am a man dancing in a parking garage.

We have different responsibilities.

What I do find interesting is that professional choreography and freestyle often begin with the same question:

What is the music asking the body to do?

The answers can be completely different.

That's what makes choreography interesting.

The People Behind the KATSEYE “Hootie Frutti” Music Video

I also want to credit the people behind the camera because a KATSEYE music video this detailed does not happen because the members show up and somebody presses record.

According to the official HYBE LABELS video credits:

Looking at the credits also makes something obvious:

KATSEYE choreography isn't separate from KATSEYE's visual identity.

Movement, styling, cinematography, editing, hair, makeup, color and production design are all working together.

That is why their videos feel like complete worlds instead of simply performance clips.

As somebody who studied Media Studies at UC Berkeley and now works across music, dance and digital content, that is probably the part of KATSEYE I find most fascinating.

They aren't only releasing songs.

They're building visual systems around songs.

My UC Berkeley Brain Has a Theory About Why Songs Like This Become Bigger Than the Recording

This is where my Berkeley brain enters the conversation.

I graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Media Studies, not Music, and I did not study under Professor Jocelyne Guilbault.

I want to say that clearly because I don't want to manufacture some academic relationship that never existed.

But her research gives me a really interesting lens for thinking about what happened underneath my “Hootie Frutti” video.

Jocelyne Guilbault is Professor Emerita of Ethnomusicology at UC Berkeley, and her work has spent decades examining popular music, audiences, circulation, creative agency, pleasure and the social meaning of partying, particularly in Caribbean musical contexts. Her current research asks what can be learned when partying becomes a space where people experience freedom through simply having fun.

Brazilian funk and Caribbean traditions are not interchangeable, and I'm not using her scholarship to pretend they are.

What interests me is the larger idea:

A song's cultural life doesn't stop at the recording.

People do things with music.

They dance to it.

They learn it.

They freestyle to it.

They recreate choreography.

They make jokes.

They argue about who did the choreography correctly.

They remix it.

They build memes around it.

They decide somebody “ate.”

They tell somebody else to never dance again.

And eventually the audience becomes part of the story surrounding the song.

That is basically exactly what happened to my “Hootie Frutti” video.

Why KATSEYE Fans Care So Much About the “Correct” Choreography

This might be my favorite insight from the entire experience.

Why did so many viewers care that I wasn't doing the official dance?

Because with a group like KATSEYE, choreography isn't just decoration added after the music is finished.

For fans, movement becomes attached to the song itself.

You remember the hook.

But you also remember the hand movement.

The dance break.

The formation.

The facial expression.

The member who absolutely owns one specific eight-count.

The music and choreography become linked in your memory.

So when somebody sees:

KATSEYE + “Hootie Frutti” + dancing

there is an expectation.

They're expecting the dance.

Then I appear doing something completely different.

Some viewers probably experienced that almost like hearing somebody sing the correct song with an entirely different melody.

When I think about the critical comments that way, they actually make more sense.

And I think that's a compliment to KATSEYE's performance team.

Their choreography is memorable enough that fans feel ownership over it.

Why I Think My “Hootie Frutti” Dance Connected

I can't tell you exactly why YouTube continued recommending my Short.

Nobody outside YouTube knows the exact weighting of every recommendation signal.

But looking at the audience response, I can identify something simpler.

People had something to react to.

The concept was immediately understandable.

The song was fresh.

My entire body was visible.

I committed to the movement.

And because it wasn't the choreography many fans expected, there was tension.

Somebody watches.

Somebody loves it.

Somebody opens the comments.

Somebody writes “WHO IS THIS DIVA.”

Someone else replies that I'm dancing completely wrong.

Another person defends me.

Now the video isn't only a dance anymore.

It's a conversation.

I've seen versions of that dynamic across my other viral dance content too, including my Zesty Sturdy Dance.

Different song.

Different audience.

Same larger lesson:

Personality gives people something to talk about.

My Favorite “Hootie Frutti” Comment Still Explains Everything

After all the discussion about technique, official choreography, genre, over-dancing and whether I apparently qualify as a diva…

I still keep coming back to @coffeeman12336:

“If this guy was in the hootie frutti mv he would have the time of his life”

Because that's basically this entire article.

I love “Hootie Frutti.”

I love dancing.

I would have had the time of my life.

Sometimes it really isn't more complicated than that.

Will I Actually Learn the Official “Hootie Frutti” Choreography?

Probably.

Eventually.

I basically said the same thing after “Animal,” so nobody should create a calendar reminder.

But I genuinely want to learn it.

Freestyling and learning choreography challenge two completely different parts of me.

When I create my own movement, I'm asking:

What do I hear?

When I learn somebody else's choreography, I'm asking:

What did they hear—and can I understand their choices well enough to perform them accurately?

Both make me a better dancer.

I'm just happy my first memory of “Hootie Frutti” was letting myself move before worrying about what I was supposed to look like.

That's the part of dance I never want to lose.

Where to Follow KATSEYE

If you found this article because of my dance, go support KATSEYE and the people who actually created the music.

Listen to KATSEYE's WILD, visit the official KATSEYE website, browse the official KATSEYE shop, follow KATSEYE on Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, YouTube, join the group on Weverse, or sign up for the official KATSEYE newsletter.

Their official site describes KATSEYE as a global group built from members with very different cultural backgrounds, which is one reason their expanding sound is so interesting to watch.

Final Thoughts on My KATSEYE “Hootie Frutti” Dance

I genuinely love “Hootie Frutti” by KATSEYE.

It surprised me.

The rhythm felt different from what I expected.

The WILD era helped me understand why.

KATSEYE themselves have talked about becoming more authentic and raw, while the official album concept is explicitly built around feeling more euphoric, untamed and self-determined.

“Hootie Frutti” sounds like that idea turned into a dance song.

So I heard it and did exactly what the song made me want to do.

I danced.

Some people thought I ate.

Somebody called me underrated.

Multiple people promoted me to diva.

One person's brain apparently almost died from the amount of diva occurring.

Somebody said I was better than Grant.

Other people urgently requested that I stop whatever I was doing and learn the actual choreography.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, a dance I filmed by myself in a parking garage became a conversation with KATSEYE fans all over YouTube.

That's the part I love.

You can create something alone.

But once people react to it, joke about it, criticize it, defend it and make it part of their own experience, it isn't completely yours anymore.

It becomes shared.

And after years of dancing online, I think that's still one of the coolest things about music.

You don't have to move exactly like everybody else to make somebody feel something.

You just have to mean it.

And yes, choreography police.

I heard you.

I'll learn the real dance.

Eventually.

— Jeremy Melodious

Frequently Asked Questions About KATSEYE “Hootie Frutti”

What is “Hootie Frutti” by KATSEYE?

“Hootie Frutti” is a track from KATSEYE's third EP, WILD, released through HYBE x Geffen Records. The standard version of WILD places the song third in the tracklist.

Is Jeremy Melodious doing the official KATSEYE “Hootie Frutti” choreography?

No. My original “Hootie Frutti” video features my own choreography and interpretation of the song. I love KATSEYE's official performance, but I wanted to experience the music through my own movement first.

What genre is KATSEYE's “Hootie Frutti”?

KATSEYE's larger project is categorized as pop, but “Hootie Frutti” incorporates a Portuguese introduction, extremely percussive dance production and sonic elements that have been associated with Brazilian funk. I initially heard it as having a dancehall-like party energy, although I would not technically categorize it as Jamaican Dancehall.

Is KATSEYE K-pop?

KATSEYE officially describes itself as a global girl group formed using K-pop artist-development methodologies. In 2026, Daniela explained that their music itself isn't K-pop but is heavily inspired by it, while Yoonchae highlighted their training system as a major K-pop influence.

Who directed the “Hootie Frutti” music video?

The official HYBE LABELS credits name Alfred Marroquin as director, Humberto Leon as creative director and João Moraes as visual director.

Who choreographed KATSEYE's “Hootie Frutti” performance?

The official MV credits list Grant Gilmore and Sohey Sugihara for performance direction and Sienna Lalau for contributing choreography.

Why did Jeremy Melodious make his own “Hootie Frutti” choreography?

I wanted to feel the rhythm before learning somebody else's movements. The percussion and energy immediately gave me movement ideas, so my first instinct was to create rather than copy the official routine.

Where can I watch Jeremy Melodious dance to KATSEYE?

You can find my KATSEYE dances and other current videos through my Jeremy Melodious YouTube channel.

Related Blogs

1. I Can't Stop Dancing to “Animal” by KATSEYE — The closest companion to this article and basically chapter one of my ongoing relationship with KATSEYE choreography.

2. How Dance & Fashion Shaped My Life, My Energy, and Who I Am Today — The deeper story behind why dance, musicality and self-expression have been part of my identity for years.

3. Zesty Sturdy Dance: How My Video Hit 2.3 Million Views in 3 Days — Another behind-the-scenes look at what happens when dance, personality and an unpredictable comment section collide online.

4. What Is the Low Cortisol Song? — My perspective on another music-and-movement moment and why songs can take on a completely different life through social media.

5. Jeremy Melodious TikTok: My Viral Dance & Creator Journey — The bigger story behind my dance content, viral moments and what I've learned from putting myself online.

You can also explore all of my Music blogs, browse my Viral Video Trends, or visit the complete Jeremy Melodious Blog.