The experiment was a remarkable success. In 2023, the Hybe Corporation and Geffen Records set out on a quest to create a massively popular global girl group. The following year, their process was documented on the Netflix series “Popstar Academy: Katseye.” That June, the sextet Katseye debuted.
But this was no ordinary pop act. Members of the multilingual, multinational group — Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung, each known by their first names — have backgrounds in South Korea, the Philippines, Cuba, India, the United States and beyond. In the year since their first song, “Debut,” dropped, they've reached huge heights: performing at Lollapalooza; an EP, “Beautiful Chaos,” peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard 200; going super viral for their new Gap campaign and winning an MTV Video Music Award. In November, they'll embark on their first tour. It's sold out.
“Things have happened very fast recently, but it’s an amazing feeling,” said Lara recently. “When things get wild, we have each other to lean on, which is awesome. And we’re very grateful for that.”
The group talked to The Associated Press about their whirlwind year, representing their home countries, their super viral Gap ad and more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
AP: You debuted last summer and a lot has happened in the time since. Do you feel like veterans?
SOPHIA: We're very lucky to experience so much in such a short amount of time in our career. It’s only been a year. And everything is so fast-paced and moving so quickly. But I feel like we’re still very new to this and we’re so very fresh and learning so much. Still have a lot of room to learn about different things.
AP: Your Gap ad went super viral — it's all over my TikTok “For You” page. It feels more like a music video than an advertisement.
MANON: That’s what I loved so much about the Gap campaigns. ... Even way back in the days, they used to have those dancing commercials. And I was so excited when our team told us we would do it, because I was like, “Oh this is about to hit.”
SOPHIA: The Gap campaign truly is something that us, as Katseye, truly align with. It’s all about the confidence and inclusivity and expression. And to see its impact, and to see our pure intentions as a group and what we stand for and what we want to give out to the world, like really happen, it’s really beautiful to see.
AP: In the first three days, 400 million total views, 8 billion total impressions (according to Gap) ...
MEGAN: Isn't there only 7 billion people in the world?
SOPHIA: Aliens are watching our Gap campaign, everybody! Animals, or pets ... my dog watched it.
AP: When something like that happens, does it change the way you think of your next steps?
SOPHIA: It motivates us more to continue to do what we want to do, because it’s the proof of our impact, you know what I mean? It’s proof that we can make something out of what we love to do, and what our purpose is as musicians and as artists with an influence.
MANON: People want to see diversity. People want see themselves represented on the TV, on billboards. And I really hope that people high up see that and see that it works, and implement that.
LARA: We’ve all, growing up, had to tell ourselves, “OK, if we’re not going to see that, if other people aren’t going to do it for us, and represent us, we have to be the ones to do it.”
SOPHIA: Our goal is to truly break barriers for those who look like us, those who have the same personality, the same upbringing.
AP: Are there inherent pressures in doing that?
LARA: Totally. 100%. I feel like it’s an honor more than anything else: “Wow, I get to be the one.”
AP: I want to talk about “Gnarly.” You must've known that song was going to polarize.
MANON: The very first day it dropped, I’m not even going to lie, I was texting the group chat and I was like, “Is it over? Are we over?” Because no one liked it. But then a week later...
DANIELA: A couple days later! Literally like two days...
AP: It changed and everyone loved it. And then you hit them with “Gabriela” and “Gameboy.” Something completely different.
MANON: We want to keep doing that. We don’t want to give our fans the same song we imagine over and over.
AP: What's your relationship with “Popstar Academy” like, now that it has been over a year?
SOPHIA: Watching it, I felt I transported to that moment and relived the moments, but also saw it in a different perspective, so it kind of brought different feelings to the surface. And it was a very interesting experience. It was our experience curated in a way that wasn’t controlled by us. ... It took time for us to accept that that’s what is brought into the world.
LARA: There is a lot of beauty to the documentary. ... Every time I see that I’m like, wow, here's this version of myself before our lives blew up. ... That’s beautiful and also really sad and intense to look at, like, it’s just a very nuanced, very gray-area feeling surrounding that documentary.
MANON: What I’m grateful for is that it toughened us up a bit and gave us thick skin.
AP: So, what's next for Katseye? What are you hungry for?
LARA: I'm hungry for a world tour in our countries. Like seriously, I want to perform in India so, so bad. ... I really want to take the girls to where my family’s from in India. I’m hungry for that. And obviously headlining Coachella.
MEGAN: I'm hungry for awards.
LARA: You know what else I’m hungry for is a vision, some sort of creative direction where we can get like really weird and ugly in a way. ... As women, we always have to be so pretty. ... I really want us to get ugly, nitty-gritty.
DANIELA, SOPHIA, LARA, MANON (in unison): Raw.
LARA: My favorite artists are like so raw at the camera ... I see their true emotions.
SOPHIA: Rage.
LARA: I see their rage, and like, when they’re not so done up. I really want us to show that, and I think we’ll show that when the time is right.
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AP Music Writer Maria Sherman contributed to this report from New York.