HYBE, the Korean entertainment company behind the K-pop industry giants BTS and NewJeans, along with Geffen Records, a major record label, have recently declared the final members of a brand new girl group, KATSEYE. The newly formed group has six members collectively, which include Daniela Avanzini, Manon Bannerman, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Jeung Yoonchae.
The U.S. record label and the Korean entertainment company began the process of forming KATSEYE on September 1, 2023, after narrowing down 20 candidates from a total of 120,000 submissions. The selected participants took part in the program titled The Debut: Dream Academy. After twelve weeks of the audition program, Geffen Records and HYBE finally created the six-member girl group through expert judgment and online voting from fans. Let’s learn about the six members of HYBE’s KATSEYE.
Manon Bannerman
Manon Bannerman is originally from Switzerland. She is 21 years of age. She speaks Swiss German and English and she started writing songs at the age of 15. During the process of The Debut: Dream Academy, she performed Robyn and Billie Eilish’s “Dancing on My Own/Happier Than Ever”, The Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons” and LE SSERAFIM’s “Fearless”.
Daniela Avanzini
Another member of KATSEYE, Daniela Avanzini, is 19 years old. She is from the United States. The young girl is extremely passionate about dancing. She previously took part in competitions such as So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation and America’s Got Talent as a child. During her Dream Academy journey, she performed the songs “Fearless” by LE SSERAFIM, “Pink Venom” by BLACKPINK, and “Buttons” by the Pussycat Dolls.
Lara Raj
Lara Raj, the third member of the girl group, is an Indian American, who is from the United States. She is 18 years old and previously appeared in a campaign for Michelle Obama’s Global Girls’ Alliance. During the audition process for the program, Dream Academy, she gave performances on “Antifragile” by LE SSERAFIM, “Still Into You” by Paramore and “Confident” by Demi Lovato.
Sophia Laforteza
Sophia Laforteza is a 20-year-old young woman from Manila, Philippines. She fluently speaks both Tagalog and English. She has been singing since 3 years of age and is quite determined to become an icon. During her mission in Dream Academy, she performed “Still Into You” by Paramore, “Buttons” by the Pussycat Dolls and “Antifragile” by LE SSERAFIM.
Megan Skiendiel
Megan Skiendiel is from Honolulu and is 17 years of age. She is passionate about singing, dancing, acting and modelling as well. She started dancing when she was just 4 years old. During her time at Dream Academy, Megan impressed everyone with her performances on “Pink Venom” by BLACKPINK, “Confident” by Demi Lovato and ‘Antifragile” by LE SSERAFIM.
Jeung Yoonchae
The sixth member of KATSEYE is Jeung Yoonchae. She is a 15-year-old young girl, originally from South Korea. She dreams of becoming a true inspiration for the audience through her singing. During her Dream Academy missions, she went on to perform “Antifragile” by LE SSERAFIM, “OMG” by NewJeans and “Confident” by Demi Lovato.
A docuseries about the creation of KATSEYE will be released on Netflix in the Summer of 2024.
