Katseye

• 1. Introduction

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  More than 120,000 people applied to join Katseye, a girl group based in Los Angeles, and only six of them made the final lineup. The group did not form the usual way, through old friends or a single audition room. It was assembled over several years, partly on camera, by the entertainment company Hybe working with Geffen Records. Along the way came a gemstone, a Netflix series and a loud fashion identity. How did that search actually work? Who are the six young women it produced? And why did so many fashion, beauty and food brands line up to work with them?

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• 2. A Gemstone Name

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  The name Katseye comes from chrysoberyl, specifically the variety called cymophane, which most people know as cat's eye. Group member Sophia explained this in an interview with InStyle. The stone is famous for an optical effect in which light seems to shift and reflect differently depending on the angle of view. She compared that to the group, where each member brings a different personality, talent and background.

  The original plan was to spell the name Catseye. During an interview with the Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM, it was revealed that Lara had suggested switching to a K. The members felt the new spelling looked more distinctive and stylized. The logo and branding were designed by Husky Fox, a graphic design studio based in Seoul, which combined elements of the gemstone with the idea of six different backgrounds joined together.

  Several of those six had been in front of cameras long before they ever heard the word Katseye.

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• 3. Six Backgrounds

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  Sophia Laforteza began singing at the age of three, and her mother is the Filipino musical theater actress Carla Guevara Laforteza. In 2022 Sophia appeared as a contestant on the game show Family Feud Philippines.

  Daniela Avanzini was born in Atlanta and started competitive dancesport at three. She appeared on America's Got Talent in its eighth season in 2013. In 2016 she became a Top 10 finalist on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.

  Megan Skiendiel was born and raised in Honolulu and trained in professional dance from a young age. Lara Raj, performing under that stage name, began acting and singing early. In 2018 she appeared in a campaign video for Michelle Obama's Global Girls Alliance, an initiative of the Obama Foundation.

  Swiss-born Manon Bannerman gained a following in 2021 by posting fashion and lifestyle clips on TikTok and Instagram. She also did modeling work in Switzerland. Yoonchae Jeung, the youngest member, is a native of South Korea and became a K-pop trainee in 2020.

  Daniela described the group to i-D as "the first American girl group to make American pop music but trained to do the crazy choreography of K‑pop." Four of the members also broke ground inside Hybe. Lara, Sophia, Daniela and Manon are the first Indian, Filipina, Latina and Black artists signed to the company, respectively.

  Sophia is listed as the group's leader, though the lineup itself was settled by a long and very public competition.

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• 4. Dream Academy

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  In November 2021, Hybe and Geffen Records launched a worldwide audition process under their joint venture, Hybe x Geffen Records. They wanted contestants from around the world. Auditions took place in 2022 across South Korea, the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. The partnership aimed to build a group that would "transcend national, cultural, and artistic boundaries". Hybe founder Bang Si-hyuk told the Korea JoongAng Daily that he intended to promote the resulting group to the American market.

  Twenty contestants were chosen for the reality series The Debut: Dream Academy. Before it aired, they trained for a year in Los Angeles, California, using methods common in the Korean idol trainee system. A series of performance-based missions then decided who would stay.

  The series premiered on the 19th of August 2023 and concluded on the 18th of November. Sophia Laforteza, Lara Rajagopalan, Yoonchae Jeung, Megan Skiendiel, Daniela Avanzini and Manon Bannerman became the six members of Katseye.

  The Netflix documentary Pop Star Academy: Katseye, directed by Nadia Hallgren, premiered on the 21st of August 2024. It serialized the group's formation and its preparation for a debut EP. The documentary arrived after the group's first single had already been released.

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• 5. The Debut Year

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  Before Katseye released a single note, Teen Vogue named the group one of twelve "Girl Groups to Watch in 2024". In June 2024, Hybe confirmed that the first EP would arrive that August. The group worked with several songwriters and producers, including Ryan Tedder and Omer Fedi.

  The first single, "Debut", came out on the 28th of June 2024. Its music video was filmed in Medellín, Colombia, and directed by Gregory Ohrel. The upbeat pop track explores confidence and sisterhood, echoing the bond between the members.

  On the 26th of July, "Touch" followed. This melodic drum and bass R&B track discusses the "complexity of love" and sounds quite different from "Debut", with the members' vocals in front. It reached number 22 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and entered the Billboard Philippines Hot 100. In September 2024, its choreography went viral as a dance challenge on TikTok.

  The five-track EP SIS (Soft Is Strong) was released on the 16th of August 2024. It debuted at number 119 on the Billboard 200, and Katseye landed at the top of the Emerging Artists chart. An Asian tour began in South Korea on the 12th of September. From the 21st of September, Megan stopped touring because of a back injury. On the 14th of November, the group released "Flame", the theme song for the Netflix animated series Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld.

  The next move came on the 7th of March 2025, when Katseye was added to the Wango Tango lineup for the 10th of May, before any new music had been announced.

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• 6. Beautiful Chaos

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  Lollapalooza in Chicago, scheduled for the 3rd of August 2025, was added to the group's calendar soon after. Then, on the 30th of April, came "Gnarly", the lead single for the second EP, Beautiful Chaos. Reactions were mixed at release, yet the song drew significant attention and gave Katseye its first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. A remix featuring the rapper Ice Spice followed on the 6th of June.

  On the 20th of June, the second single, "Gabriela", arrived. Charli XCX co-wrote it, and it was described as a contemporary twist on Dolly Parton's "Jolene". The music video was styled as a telenovela and included a cameo from the actress Jessica Alba. The song peaked inside the top 40 of the Hot 100.

  Beautiful Chaos itself was released on the 27th of June 2025, alongside a music video for the third single, "Gameboy". It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. That made it the group's first top-ten entry and its highest-charting release to date.

  On the 7th of November, Katseye earned two nominations at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. One was Best New Artist, and the other was Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Gabriela". That same month, the group began the Beautiful Chaos Tour, its first concert tour. On that tour, the members debuted a new song titled "Internet Girl".

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• 7. Praise, Pause and Wild

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  When "Internet Girl" was officially released on the 2nd of January 2026, critics split. Some praised its "campy" and satirical approach to internet culture, while others criticized its heavily stylized production and lyrics. Commentary around the track raised concerns that the group's songs favor shock value and viral marketing over artistic cohesion. Some people questioned whether the music reflects artistic intent or label-driven decisions.

  On the 20th of February, it was announced that Manon would take a temporary hiatus to focus on "personal health and wellbeing". The statement drew significant media coverage and public response. Outlets placed it within wider discussions about work-life balance and health in high-intensity performance careers. Some online commentators noted that Bannerman, the group's only Black member, had engaged with posts about the mistreatment of Black women in the industry.

  On the 13th of March, Katseye began a run of South American festivals with a set at Lollapalooza Argentina in front of approximately 100,000 people. The next day came Lollapalooza Chile. Later that month the group played Estéreo Picnic in Colombia and Lollapalooza Brazil.

  On the 9th of April, to coincide with a Coachella performance, the group released a single titled "Pinky Up". Before the set, the festival showed a video of the active members announcing a new EP, Wild, set for release on the 14th of August.

  On the 25th of May, Katseye won all three awards it was nominated for at the 2026 American Music Awards and performed "Pinky Up" at the ceremony. The Wildworld Tour, built around the new EP, is scheduled to run from September to November 2026.

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• 8. Y2K Style and Sponsors

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  Humberto Leon, the group's long-term creative director, says he draws inspiration from art, film and history rather than only from other musicians. Low-rise jeans, crop tops and archival pieces pull from the late 1990s and early 2000s, a look often called Y2K fashion. Stars of that era supplied references, such as Devon Aoki for Megan and Shakira for Daniela.

  Leon says the group's diverse backgrounds guided the look, and he adds the phrase "Without tokenizing them". Examples include a bindi for Lara and waist beads for Manon. Manon described the process this way: "I have locs sometimes. Humberto is always like, 'Yeah, let's do it.' He's always asking if I have new ideas".

  In September 2024, Katseye made its first New York Fashion Week appearance at the Coach Spring Summer 2025 show. That led to promotional work for Coach, including a campaign with the South Korean streetwear brand Matin Kim, whose clothing line was sold only in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Mel Ottenberg, editor-in-chief of Interview Magazine, called Coach a perfect match for the group's brand. He pointed to its blend of "punkish and preppy" styles through denim looks.

  In April 2025, the group appeared in the Fendi For Yourself campaign, which celebrated the brand's 100th anniversary and featured the Baguette and Peekaboo handbags. In May, Glossier launched its first lip oil line, Lip Glaze, with six tinted oils, one shade for each member. Also in May, the group performed "Gnarly" at the Urban Outfitters "UO Haul" event in New York on the 20th, and Urban Outfitters offered a neon blue vinyl of Beautiful Chaos limited to 3,000 copies.

  June 2025 brought Pandora charms, each chosen by a member to represent an individual motif, and a Lush bath bomb with six collectable soaps. In August, a merchandise collaboration with the Philippine fast food chain Jollibee launched. The next month, Jollibee added Katseye-themed menu items in its stores in the United States and Canada.

  The Gap Fall 2025 "Better in Denim" campaign, also in August, showed the group dancing to a re-recorded version of Kelis's "Milkshake", with original choreography by Robbie Blue. It reached over 400 million views and 8 billion impressions across platforms in under two weeks. Gap CEO Richard Dickson called it a "cultural takeover". The ad earned more views in its first three days than the brand's previous four releases combined. It also drew praise for its message of unity and cultural celebration.

  In November 2025, Katseye recorded public service announcements for MTA New York City Transit's subway system. In December, Google's Year in Search review ranked the group second in its U.S. "Trending Musicians" list. TikTok named Katseye its "Global Artist of the Year", citing over 30 billion views for the group on the platform.

  In January 2026, the group promoted Laneige's new JuicePop Box lip tints. In February, Katseye appeared in State Farm's commercial for Super Bowl LX. The group also released the "Gabriela Smoothie" with Erewhon, with proceeds supporting the Malala Fund by Malala Yousafzai. That month Katseye also became Global Ambassadors for L'Oréal's Matrix Essentials, promoting a campaign called "Matrix Moves".

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