Katseye

Katseye (stylized in all caps) is an American girl group formed through the reality show Dream Academy, a collaboration between Hybe UMG and Geffen Records. The group consists of six members: Manon, Sophia, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae. The group debuted in 2024 with the single "Debut", which will be followed by the extended play SIS (Soft Is Strong).

Pre-debut activities and formation
In November 2021, Hybe Corporation and Geffen Records opened their applications for a girl group with "contestants from around the world" as part of the joint venture Hybe x Geffen Records. With auditions held across South Korea, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom in 2022, the partnership aimed to create a group that will "transcend national, cultural, and artistic boundaries". 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.

From over 120,000 applicants, twenty contestants were selected to compete in the reality show Dream Academy, which determined the six-member lineup of the girl group through a series of "missions". 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. Premiering on August 19, 2023, the competition concluded on November 18, with Sophia Laforteza, Lara Raj, Yoonchae Jeong, Megan Skiendiel, Daniela Avanzini, and Manon Bannerman being selected to form the girl group Katseye.

2024–present: SIS (Soft is Strong) and Pop Star Academy: Katseye
Katseye's formation and their preparations for their debut EP were serialized in the documentary Pop Star Academy: Katseye, which is slated to air in summer 2024. Distributed by Netflix, the documentary was directed by Nadia Hallgreen. Hybe and Geffen unveiled the timeframe of the group's debut on June 14, 2024, setting the release of the group's first extended play (EP) for August 2024, following the release of two singles set to be released in June and July. For the EP, Katseye collaborated with several songwriters and producers, including Ryan Tedder and Omer Fedi.

The first of the two singles for the EP, "Debut", was released on June 28, with a music video filmed in Medellín, Colombia, directed by Gregory Ohrel. The single is a pop track that explores themes of confidence and sisterhood in reference to the members' bond as a group. 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. Following the release of the single, Hybe and Geffen announced that the group's first EP, titled SIS (Soft Is Strong), will be released on August 16.

Public image
In an interview with the British magazine i-D, member Avanzini described Katseye the first American girl group "to make American pop music but trained to do the crazy choreography of K-pop". Bannerman also noted the diversity of the group's line-up, with Raj, Laforteza, Avanzini, and herself, as the first Indian, Filipino, Latina, and Black artists respectively to be signed under Hybe. Prior to the group's debut, Teen Vogue named Katseye as one of twelve "Girl Groups to Watch in 2024".

Members

 * Manon
 * Sophia
 * Daniela
 * Lara
 * Megan
 * Yoonchae