Read this to learn all about KATSEYE, from their origins, to their songs, to fun-facts about their members.
Introduction
Recognized for their huge growth by being nominated for the Best New Artist award at the 2026 Grammy’s, KATSEYE has taken the world by storm. From drawing in the biggest daytime crowd in Lollapalooza history (85,000+) to taking home a Moon Person for Best Push Performance at the 2025 VMA’s, KATSEYE’s impact on the industry has been clear and profound. Beyond their musical talent and performance abilities, fans connect with the group because they are young, from many different nationalities and backgrounds, and active on social media. Their group also heavily resonates with K-Pop fans as they are a global girl group, but take a lot of tropes and influences from K-Pop groups.
In this article, we will be talking about KATSEYE’s origins with HYBE, their influences, their members, and the music that they have made.
ORIGINS – Dream Academy
Dream Academy is a series that premiered on YouTube in the US along with other international streaming services that shows girls in a competition to form the world’s first global girl group. HYBE, a K-pop agency, and the music label Geffen Records collaborated to create Dream Academy, where over 120,000 submissions to attend were received. They weeded these applications down to only 20 girls, aged 14-21, who appeared on Dream Academy. These girls reigned from a huge variety of countries such as the USA, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Belarus, Switzerland, and more.
Throughout Dream Academy, members were judged and critiqued based on “missions”. These missions consisted of popular songs being reimagined into a challenge for the girls, who recorded the lyrics and danced in order to create a sort-of music video for each challenge.
For the first mission, members were divided into either singing or dancing based on their strongest attributes. The 20 members created videos for 4 different songs, with 2 focusing on vocals and 2 focusing on dance. After the first mission, two members were eliminated.
For the second mission, members traveled to Korea to learn more about the influences of the future group, and to complete a mission based on Le Sserafim’s songs, “ANTIFRAGILE” and “Fearless”. For this mission, they sang while they were dancing, with choreography from Le Sserafim. After this mission, 4 contestants were eliminated, and one decided to leave the Academy.
The third mission consisted of 3 different groups performing original choreography to 3 different songs, including “Confident” by Demi Lovato, “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, and “Buttons” by The Pussycat Dolls. This mission aimed to highlight both dancing and singing among the girls, which are both extremely important when the group aims to be K-pop inspired. After this mission, 3 girls were eliminated, and the remaining 10 continued to the finale.
THE FORMING OF KATSEYE – Dream Academy Finale
At the finale of Dream Academy, it was announced that 6 of the 10 girls remaining would go on to create the girl group. They announced the name of the group at the finale, revealing to everyone that the group would be called KATSEYE.
Members lined up as the host revealed who would be invited to join KATSEYE. The names called were Sophia, Lara, Yoonchae, Megan, Daniella, and Manon. These girls said their goodbyes to the other contestants, and celebrated making it through Dream Academy successfully.
At the finale, it was announced that the group would debut, releasing their songs and music videos, in 2024. These girls already formed fans from around the world by participating in Dream Academy, so it was no surprise that their debut and music that followed ended up making charts and going viral on social media.
MEMBERS – About the girls who make up KATSEYE
Sophia Laforteza – Leader – 22 – Philippines – ⚓
Sophia, the leader of KATSEYE, was born in New York and raised in Manila. She comes from Filipino descent and is the second oldest member of KATSEYE. Throughout Dream Academy she was consistently the highest-ranked contestant and earned the first spot announced in KATSEYE. She is known for having amazing communication skills and is often looked to by other members to answer hard questions from press, handle group differences, and lead the group effectively.
Manon Bannerman – Main Visual – 22 – Switzerland – 👑
Manon is the main visual of KATSEYE, meaning that she is renowned for being the most beautiful member and often appears in the center of performances, promos, and other events. She is Swiss-Ghanian and was an underdog in Dream Academy, taking the sixth and final spot in the Dream Academy finale.
Daniella Avanzini – Main Dancer – 21 – Atlanta, USA – 🛡️
Daniella is the main dancer of KATSEYE. This is no surprise to many, as she went viral at a very young age for performing a dance with her partner Yasha on America’s Got Talent. In Dream Academy she stood out once again for her dance skills, and her combined dance and vocals earned her the fifth KATSEYE spot in the finale.
Lara Raj – Main Vocalist – 20 – Los Angeles, USA – 🔑
Lara is the main vocalist of KATSEYE and stood out early in Dream Academy for her vocal skills. She is from LA and of Indian descent and is highly respected for advocating for South-Asian women in the music industry. She also is a huge fashion inspiration for many, and wears lots of eye-catching outfits rather it’s for an event or just lounging around.
Megan Skiendiel – All Rounder – 19 – Honolulu, USA – 🍒
Megan is KATSEYE’s all-rounder and is known for having an amazing balance of dancing and singing skills. She is the second youngest member of KATSEYE and is of Chinese descent. Her stage performance is amazing, and she is also highly loved by fans for being authentic and funny on social media.
Jeong Yoonchae – Maknae – 18 – South Korea – 🐚
Yoonchae is KATSEYE’s youngest member. Her role is a trope derived from K-pop groups where the youngest member is recognized as the “maknae”. She is also known for being, similarly to Megan, an all-rounder, balancing her dancing and singing skills. She also uses her Korean heritage and first language to serve as the liaison and translator between KATSEYE and Korean media who want to highlight them.
MUSIC: EPs, Music Videos, Performances
KATSEYE debuted successfully in 2024 and has racked up an impressive catalogue of music and 33 million monthly listeners on Spotify. They have released two EPs: “SIS (Soft Is Strong)” in 2024 and “Beautiful Chaos” in 2025. Their breakout song, Touch, went viral on social media and many people danced to the choreography that they had in their music video for it. They had their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Gnarly”, which released ahead of their second EP in April 2025.
KATSEYE’s music hits a wide range of genres and blends electronic, hyperpop, and occasionally incorporates experimental / EDM touches into their music. Overall, they mix western pop with K-pop influences, highlighting their prominence as a global, K-pop inspired girl group.
KATSEYE has had a large number of successful and viral performances. They performed at Lollapalooza 2025, and brought in a record-breaking 85,000 people to the crowd of their daytime set. They have also performed at the VMA’s, on Good Morning America, and are currently on tour.
KATSEYE members’ different identities and global backgrounds appeal to a wide variety of fans, and their current Beautiful Chaos tour has sold out many prominent venues across the U.S.
FUN FACTS – About members, performances, and more
- Languages spoken by members in KATSEYE: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Korean, German, Tamil.
- Fandom name: EYEKONS
- Those emojis in their member descriptions? Each member has a charm that represents them. More information can be found on their website.
- Group Name Meaning: A cat’s eye is a gemstone that is iridescent in color. The different colors within the gemstone represent the uniqueness of each member. The name was chosen from a list by the members, and the idea to change the “C” to a “K” was Lara’s idea, to make the name look cooler.
- Sophia appeared in an episode of Family Feud in the Philippines.
- Manon has been a songwriter since she was 5 years old.
- Daniella placed 10th in the 13th season of So You Think You Can Dance, placed 2nd in Super Kids Europe., and participated in the 8th season of America’s Got Talent.
- Lara’s older sister, Rhea Raj, is also a singer.
- Megan is a former J-pop trainee.
- Yoonchae has said that BTS (K-pop group) is the reason that she wanted to go into music.
Conclusion
KATSEYE is making waves across the world, and draws lots of attention from Dream Academy fans, those who find them on social media, and fans who want to support members from their countries.
As they are currently on tour, they are performing some unreleased music and hinting towards new music coming soon.
Being nominated for “Best New Artist” at the Grammys, it is super exciting to see them rise and gain the attention that they deserve after working so hard in Dream Academy.
Be sure to keep up with KATSEYE’s tour, social media, website, and upcoming music!
