KATSSERALLIT: The Clapback Crossover of The Century

KATSSERALLIT: The Clapback Crossover of The Century

by Alanna Chen

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2 min

Iconic by mistake? More like Iconic on PURPOSE.

LE SSERAFIM, ILLIT and KATSEYE’sΒ ICONIC BY MISTAKEΒ marks the first-ever collaboration between three HYBE girl groups. On paper? A crossover engraved into the history books of K-pop. In reality? It’s so much more than that.Β 

It’s notΒ just-another-collab; it’s the internet’s publicly most scrutinised pop groups joining forces to reclaim every single thing they’ve each been relentlessly criticised for.Β 


Rather than shying away from the discourse, they’ve built an entire music video out of it.Β 

Creds: Pinterest

When hate comments ARE the concept:Β 

Hate Comments = Creative Brief

(Shoutout to The Haters xx)

Featuring: Chaewon from LE SSERAFIM

Graves, dentists, police officers, exploding trucks and cornfields.Β 


At first glance, it reads like a child’s attempt at something cinematic with lots of wow factor, but that’s actuallyΒ the whole pointΒ - it’s the same visual overload that circulates on hate threads, does rounds on compilations, and gets clipped in an attempt to bring the girls down.Β 

Chaewon from LE SSERAFIM laying on her tombstone isn’t dramatic staging; it’s a direct visual response to the funeral wreaths lining the streets on her birthday.Β 


Wonhee inhaling helium to mirror her vocals getting mocked and clipped for herΒ β€œbaby voice” and KATSEYE performing on a literal cornfield nods directly to how beingΒ β€œcorny” became a shorthand way to dismiss them forΒ β€œdoing too much” in their performances.Β 


The video doesn't only welcome the criticism with open arms, itΒ absorbsΒ it whole.

It’s Deeper Than Chaotic Symbolism

(We’re Actually Proving The Point)

Featuring: ILLIT

As fun as it is to decode every frame like a puzzle, the real message is ironically in how quickly we started decoding everything in the first place.

The video is about being over-analysed… and the first thing we did was over-analyse it. The visuals are about scrutiny… and the response was instant scrutiny. The concept is about interpretation… and the internet responded with 400 interpretations per minute.


The music video is us (the fun police) watching us watch it; it’s one big irony loop. Mic drop.

Creds: Reddit

The Problem With Being Perceived

(The Main Character Pandemic)

We’re zooming out to the bigger picture because it only makes sense to - the real issue isn’t the commentary itself, but the fact that everything now exists to become commentary.


If we’re looking for more analogies, we can learn from the Bean Soup theory: you post a video to TikTok about making soup, and it goes viral… but the comments are no longer about the bean soup.Β 

All of a sudden, everyone feels entitled to have an opinion regardless of whether they were ever the intended audience for the soup in the first place, and then it’s no longer about soup.Β 


Daniela’s dancing beingΒ β€œtoo much” or ILLIT’s teeth beingΒ β€œuncanny” when they’re simply doing their thing never asked for a Reddit post or thread on X - if you don’t like it, you’re not obligated to engage.Β 


You’re allowed to just… scroll.Β 

Creds: Reddit

When criticism is the concept, the joke gets flipped on the hatersΒ - ICONIC BY MISTAKE isn’t about surviving the discourse - it’s about redesigning it.


Being mean is a choice, digital footprints are forever and kindness is free (and much less effort than clipping a hate edit for TikTok), so why feed into the hate?Β 

Let’s be girls girls, Beauties x

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