Katseye (pronounced "cat's eye"; stylized in all caps) is agirl group based in Los Angeles, United States. The group is composed of six members: Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia, and Yoonchae. With members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States, Katseye is often described as a "global girl group".[1][2]
The group was formed through the 2023 reality competition series Dream Academy, a collaboration between Hybe Corporation and Geffen Records. The group's formation process was later chronicled in the NetflixdocuseriesPopstar Academy: Katseye, which recounted the audition process, intensive training, and formation of the group. Katseye debuted in June 2024 with the single "Debut", followed by their breakthrough single, "Touch". They released their first extended play (EP), SIS (Soft Is Strong), later that year. In April 2025, they released "Gnarly" which, despite receiving mixed reactions on release, garnered significant attention and earned the group their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second EP, Beautiful Chaos, released in June 2025, debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, their highest-charting release to date.
Katseye is noted for their fashion styling, with influences notably stemming from Y2K fashion. Their growing brand image has lead to multiple endorsements and campaigns tying into the style, including a campaign with the Fendi Baguette and Gap's low-rise denim. Humberto Leon acts as the group's creative director, taking inspiration from broad influences and utilizing the group's diverse backgrounds. In turn, Katseye have worked with companies spanning industries and nations, from the British soap company Lush, to the American clothing retailer Urban Outfitters, to the Philippine fast food chain Jollibee, tying back to the group's position as a "global" girl group.[3]
Name
In an interview with InStyle, group member Sophia explained that the name Katseye is derived from the gemstone chrysoberyl, specifically the cymophane variety, which is commonly known as "cat's eye". She explained that the gemstone's distinctive optical effect, where light appears to shift and reflect differently when viewed from various angles, corresponds to the composition of the group's members' diverse personalities, talents, and backgrounds.[4] The group was initially planned to be named "Catseye," but during an interview with LA radio station KIIS-FM, it was revealed that Lara suggested altering the spelling to "Katseye," which the members felt gave the name a more distinctive and stylized appearance.[5]
Several members of Katseye had experience in professional dance, television, and the entertainment industry before debuting with the group. Sophia, born to Filipino musical theatre actress Carla Guevara Laforteza, began singing at age three, and later made a television appearance on the game showFamily Feud Philippines as a contestant in 2022.[6][7]Atlanta-born Daniela began competitive dancesport at age three, and notably appeared on America's Got Talent season 8 in 2013,[8][9] and became a Top 10 finalist on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation in 2016.[10] Born and raised in Honolulu, Megan was also trained in professional dance from a young age.[11] Lara, under the stage name Lara Raj, began acting and singing at an early age, featuring in a campaign video for Michelle Obama's Global Girls Alliance, an initiative for the Obama Foundation in 2018.[12][13] Swiss-born Manon gained popularity through short-form video content on TikTok and Instagram, where she posted fashion and lifestyle clips beginning in 2021.[14] She also pursued modeling work in Switzerland.[15] Yoonchae, the group's youngest and only South Korean member, joined Hybe in 2020 after passing the audition process, where she was a K-pop trainee before joining the lineup of Dream Academy.[9][15]
Logo used prior to debut
Formal preparations for the group began in November 2021, when Hybe and Geffen Records launched a worldwide audition process for a girl group with "contestants from around the world", as part of the joint venture Hybe x Geffen Records.[16] With auditions held across South Korea, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom in 2022, the partnership aimed to create a group that would "transcend national, cultural, and artistic boundaries".[17][18] In an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, Hybe founder Bang Si-hyuk expressed his intentions to promote the resultant group to the American market.[19] From more than 120,000 applicants, twenty contestants were selected to participate in the reality competition series The Debut: Dream Academy, which determined the final lineup through a series of performance-based missions.[2] Prior to the series premiere, the contestants were trained for a year in Los Angeles, California, through methods prevalent in the Korean idol trainee system.[20] Premiering on August 19, 2023, the competition concluded on November 18, with Sophia Laforteza, Lara Rajagopalan, Yoonchae Jeung, Megan Skiendiel, Daniela Avanzini, and Manon Bannerman selected as the six members of Katseye.[21]
2024–present: SIS (Soft Is Strong) and Beautiful Chaos
Logo used since debut
Katseye's formation and preparation for their debut EP were serialized in the documentary Pop Star Academy: Katseye, which premiered on August 21, 2024.[22][23] Distributed by Netflix, the documentary was directed by Nadia Hallgren.[21][24]
In June 2024, Hybe confirmed that the release of the group's first EP was set for August that year.[25][26] For the EP, Katseye collaborated with several songwriters and producers, including Ryan Tedder and Omer Fedi.[27][28] Two singles preceded its release. The first single, "Debut", was released on June 28, with a music video filmed in Medellín, Colombia, directed by Gregory Ohrel.[29][30] The single is an upbeat pop track that explores themes of confidence and sisterhood in reference to the members' bond as a group.[27] It was met with a lukewarm response commercially, with the music video for the single receiving 2.33 million views in three days, underperforming the viewership of music releases of Korean acts in a similar timeframe.[28] The second single, "Touch", was released on July 26.[31] The melodic drum and bassR&B track discusses the "complexity of love" and deviates from the sound of "Debut", emphasizing the members' vocals.[32][33][34] The single ranked at number 22 on the BillboardBubbling Under Hot 100 chart and entered the Billboard Philippines Hot 100 chart.[35][36] "Touch" attained further success after its choreography went viral as a dance challenge on the video-sharing platform TikTok in September 2024.[37][35][38]
Katseye in September 2024
The full EP, titled SIS (Soft Is Strong), was released on August 16.[39][40] With five tracks, the EP debuted at number 119 on the Billboard 200 as Katseye landed atop the Emerging Artists chart.[41] In support of the EP, the group embarked on an Asian tour, which began in South Korea on September 12.[42][43] Megan would refrain from touring from September 21, owing to her back injury.[44] On November 14, Katseye released "Flame", the theme song for the Netflix animated series Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld.[45]
On March 7, 2025, Katseye was added to the lineup of Wango Tango 2025, scheduled for May 10.[46] On March 19, they were added to the lineup of Lollapalooza in Chicago, scheduled for August 3.[47]
Katseye released a new single, "Gnarly", on April 30.[48] "Gnarly" became the group's first entry on the BillboardHot 100.[49] The song was released as the first single from their second EP, Beautiful Chaos.[50] On June 6, Katseye released a remix of "Gnarly" featuring rapper Ice Spice.[49] On June 20, they released "Gabriela", the EP's second single.[51] The track was accompanied by a music video styled as a telenovela and featured a cameo from actress Jessica Alba.[52][53] Co-written by Charli XCX, "Gabriela" was described as a contemporary twist on Dolly Parton's "Jolene".[54] On June 27, Beautiful Chaos was released, alongside a music video for the EP's third single, "Gameboy".[55] The EP debuted in the fourth spot of the Billboard 200, their first entry in the top ten of the chart.[56] In a review for Pitchfork, Joshua Minsoo Kim described the record as "ordinary" and "disappointing", but noted "Gnarly" as promising.[57]
Endorsements
In September 2024, Katseye made their first New York Fashion Week attendance at the Spring Summer 2025 show for the American fashion company Coach, which in turn placed them in several promotional endorsements and content for the brand's released collection.[58][59] Subsequently, Katseye were featured in Coach's collaboration campaign with the South Korean streetwear brand Matin Kim, which launched a line of ready-to-wear clothing exclusively for Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.[60]Interview Magazine's editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg describes Coach, known for its blend of both "punkish and preppy" styles through denim looks, as a perfect match for Katseye's own brand.[58]
In April 2025, Katseye was featured in Fendi's Fendi For Yourself campaign, launched in celebration of the brand's 100th anniversary.[61] The campaign highlighted two of Fendi's most popular handbags, the Baguette and the Peekaboo, both regarded as cultural symbols within the fashion industry.[62][63] In May, Katseye partnered with Glossier to launch the brand's first lip oil product line titled 'Lip Glaze'.[64] The collaboration featured six tinted oils, each shade corresponding to one of the group's members.[65] In the same month, the group launched a collaboration with Urban Outfitters, where they performed live at the "UO Haul" event in New York on May 20, to showcase their single "Gnarly".[66] Additionally, the group released an exclusive neon blue vinyl edition of their EP Beautiful Chaos, limited to 3,000 copies, for pre-order through Urban Outfitters.[66][67]
In June 2025, Katseye partnered with jewelry brand Pandora to release various charms selected by each member to represent individual motifs.[68] In the same month, Katseye partnered with Lush to release a bath bomb and six collectable soaps.[69] In August, they were featured in Gap's Fall 2025 denim campaign, dancing to Kelis' "Milkshake".[70] They also launched a merchandise collaboration with Philippine fast food chain Jollibee.[3]
Katseye is widely labeled as a "global girl group",[71][16] blending stylistic traits of Western pop with the presentation attributed to K-pop. As Daniela described them in an interview with i-D, they’re “the first American girl group to make American pop music but trained to do the crazy choreography of K‑pop.” The group includes the first Indian, Filipina, Latina, and Black artists to be signed under Hybe: Lara, Sophia, Daniela, and Manon, respectively.[72] Before the group's debut, Teen Vogue named Katseye as one of twelve "Girl Groups to Watch in 2024".[73]
Katseye is noted for their distinctive fashion styling, often cited as a defining feature of the group alongside their music.[74][75] With low-rise jeans, crop tops, and archival pieces, the group draws sartorial influence of late 1990s and early 2000s pop culture, often referred to as Y2K fashion.[76] Katseye's long-term creative director, Humberto Leon, states drawing inspiration from art, film, and history rather than solely musical influences for the group. In particular, the style of celebrities prominent in the early 2000s, such as Devon Aoki for Megan, and Shakira for Daniela, served as key references for the image and appearance of the group's members.[77] "Without tokenizing them", Leon cites the appreciation for the group's diverse backgrounds as a forerunner for their image, often incorporating items such as the bindi for Lara and waist beads for Manon.[78] Members have highlighted the group’s identity and openness to these influences, with Manon stating, ‘I have locs sometimes. Humberto is always like, 'Yeah, let’s do it.' He’s always asking if I have new ideas".[77]
↑ Lee, Sung-mi (December 20, 2024). 'HMA 2024', 부문별 본상 투표 시작→팝업까지...다채로운 이벤트 진행['HMA 2024' Starts Voting for Main Prize by Sector → Up to Pop-Up...Various events are held]. Biz Enter (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 2, 2025.
↑ Benjamin, Jeff; Denis, Kyle; Diaz, Angel; Flores, Griselda; Havens, Lyndsey; Lamarre, Carl; Lipshutz, Jason; Mamo, Heran; Newman, Melinda; Nicholson, Jessica; Roiz, Jessica (May 16, 2025). "Billboard's 21 Under 21: See Who Made the 2025 List". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025.
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