Katseye Break Through a Giant Pink Teddy Bear to Perform ‘Pinky Up’ at 2026 AMAs
Katseye delivered a fever dream performance of “Pinky Up” at the American Music Awards in Las Vegas on Monday evening, and later won their first ever AMA for New Artist of the Year.
The superstar group rolled up on the awards show stage via a massive pink teddy bear outfitted with with giant speakers for paws. In a setting that brought their music video for the hit single to the AMAs, Katseye interrupted a curious tea party to sing their high-energy track amid a cascade of color and floating stuffed animals.
In their acceptance speech for New Artist of the Year, each member thanked the Eyekons, their families, HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk, and more, while offering a short thank you in their respective second languages. The group is also nominated for Best Music Video with “Gnarly,” which is up against releases from Rosalía, Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Tyla.
View this post on Instagram
The AMAs mark the first awards show appearance from Katseye since the 2026 Grammy Awards, when they performed “Gnarly” as part of the Best New Artist nominee medley. While that was only a few months ago, a lot has changed for the group since then. In February, Hybe and Geffen Records announced that Manon Bannerman, one-sixth of the group, would be taking a temporary hiatus.
Their AMAs performance is their first televised appearance as a five-piece, while “Pinky Up” marked the group’s first musical release without Bannerman. The single arrived just in time for Katseye’s Coachella debut in April. “Coachella has been our number one dream since we became a group,” Lara Raj said at the festival. “I’m so happy you guys get to witness that.”