Teahouses and raves have not often been mentioned in the same breath, but Katseye brought the hyper-pop dance party to a beyond-brightly-colored tearoom set with the quintet’s live rendition of “Pinky Up” on the American Music Awards.
The galvanizing number came shortly before the group won best new artist on the CBS/Paramount+ telecast.
Kateye’s performance was one of the most highly anticipated of the night, given the devotion of the group’s fan base, so it was not a surprise that “Pinky Up,” appearing two-thirds of the way through the three-hour telecast, featured some of the most elaborate production values of the night.
Before the group came out, a group of extras mimed drinking tea and feasting on pastries, with pinky fingers aloft — per the song’s innate spoofing of the etiquette stereotypically associated with tea drinking. And maybe pinky fingers weren’t the only thing getting high in this milieu, as the number further exploded in a riot of EDM rhythms and pink hues. The five members burst out of a giant pink teddy bear, and even their costumes were festooned with tiny bear faces, like the Grateful Dead’s mascot had suddenly infiltrated the world of girl groups.
The group’s acceptance speech for new artist of the year was mostly delivered in English, but with touches of other languages from the members’ different backgrounds. “We’ve always been on a mission to celebrate diversity and represent our people and our culture, so thank you so much for giving us the platform to do so,” said Lara Raj.
