For promotional purposes, Orange Caramel performed "Catallena" on several South Korean music programs in 2014, including M!

[3][4] In late 2013, the group's record label, Pledis Entertainment, announced that Orange Caramel were preparing for a comeback the following February.

On 18 February of that year, the group posted a teaser on their official Facebook page, announcing the release of their third single, titled "Catallena".

[6] The teaser showed the leg of a woman hiding behind a pink wall, with her wearing a polka-dot styled vintage skirt, stockings and high-heels.

[15][16][17] The track is instrumented by Nile Rodgers & Chic-esque guitars and makes use of a compressed synth bassline, which was compared to English rock band New Order's song "Blue Monday" (1983).

[4] During the song's lyrics, the group voice their fascination towards a charming "Catallena" woman in spite of being straight, singing, "She's so great, I've fallen for her / Even as a girl".

Jakob Dorof, writing for Vice, praised the "mass" production of the track, which he labelled as "clever" and said made it "feel dang near handmade".

[4] In PopMatters, Scott Interannte lauded the track for its "odd smashing of genres and styles";[15] writing for Billboard, Jeff Benjamin shared a similar view, citing the song as "a mishmash of peculiar sonic elements".

[21] Reviewing for Dazed, Taylor Glasby regarded it as "the queen of the disco" and wrote that "the comical, twisted and wonderful 'Catallena' was a tune that welded itself to your brain."

Labelling the song as "more of a novelty side-project", he felt that it "brimmed with confidence" and represented the group "turning a corner".

[25] In addition, the song debuted at number three on the component Download Chart, selling 111,510 digital units in its first week of release.

[30] The music video for "Catallena" was uploaded to Pledis Entertainment's YouTube channel on 12 March 2014, preceded by a 30-second teaser released on the same platform five days prior.

[21] As the clip progresses, they are enticed by a drag queen octopus character known as "Catallena", played by South Korean comedian Kim Daesung, who is famous for cross-dressing on the show Gag Concert.

[21] Scott Interrante opined that the clip was "playful" and "quirky," writing that the "brightly-colored, cool-costumed video [...] brings out the group's weird sense of humor perfectly.

"[15] Glasby labelled the video as "the cleverest "trick," writing, "Not once did it ever seem ridiculous; rather, it shone like a beacon of intelligence, creativity, humour and empathy in a tumultuous year.

[15][40] Prior to the song's release, Orange Caramel held a "surprise premiere" in Gangnam, Seoul on 11 March 2014, to discuss the single with their fans.