Katseye's First VMA Win: Meet the Rising Girl Group

The Rise of Katseye: A New Era in Pop Music

Katseye's journey has been anything but conventional. Formed in 2023 through a collaboration between HYBE and Geffen Records, the group emerged from "The Debut: Dream Academy," a global competition that attracted over 100,000 participants. After 12 weeks of intense challenges, six talented young women—Sophia, Daniela, Megan, Lara, Manon, and Yoonchae—were chosen to form the group.

Since their official debut in 2024 with the single "Touch" from their EP SIS (Soft Is Strong), Katseye has quickly become one of pop music’s most anticipated new acts. Their second EP, Beautiful Chaos, released in June 2025, marked a significant evolution for the group. Tracks like “Gnarly,” “Gabriela,” and “M.I.A.” showcased their growing musical diversity and individual strengths.

As Sophia, the group's leader, explained in an interview with Variety in June 2025: “Beautiful Chaos is the season we’re all in. It’s very much us, but it’s also us constantly evolving and finding ourselves. It’s a big transitional part of Katseye, in discovering who we are and the different sides of us.”

Their success was further highlighted when they won their first MTV VMA award for Push Performance of the Year for “Touch.” This achievement underscores their rapid rise and the impact they're making on the global music scene.

The Members of Katseye

Sophia

At just 21 years old, Sophia Laforteza serves as the group's leader. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she has been singing since she was three years old. For her, music is more than just a passion—it’s her first love. “We can’t fake this,” she told Rolling Stone in June 2025. “We all have that shared goal of Katseye’s success, and we really nurtured our friendship a lot. We got really lucky.”

Daniela

Daniela Avanzini, 20, hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in a Cuban-Venezuelan household where dance played a central role. Her family emphasized cultural heritage, and she learned to dance at a young age. “My mom was the one who taught me how to dance when I was three,” she shared in a Billboard Philippines cover profile. “I would watch her dancing as well when I grew up.”

Her early exposure to Latin culture influenced her artistry, especially on the track “Gabriela,” where she performed a verse in Spanish. “I’m just so excited to finally be able to have sung in my native language and share that part of me with the rest of the world,” she said. She also emphasizes confidence on stage: “As long as I feel confident, that’s all that matters,” she told ELLE in August 2025.

Megan

Megan Skiendiel, 18, grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she developed a passion for dancing, modeling, acting, and playing the ukulele. In Katseye, she has become one of the group’s most dynamic performers, known for her high-energy choreography and bold stage presence. “I like to be very free, but at the same time I love showing a little skin and being hot and confident,” she explained to ELLE.

She also discussed how adapting to the group changed her approach. “It was definitely a journey to adjust to doing all of the skillsets together,” she told WWD in an August 2024 interview. “It’s not just dancing and singing together, but you also have to think about group chemistry and how to convey the story behind what we’re doing.”

Lara

Lara Raj, 19, was raised in New York and Los Angeles. As an Indian American and openly queer pop star, she has become a strong voice for representation. She spoke about growing up without role models who looked like her in the entertainment industry and her desire to fill that gap. “Being Indian, there’s not many girls or just people in the entertainment space to have as a role model,” she told WWD. “I want to be that person.”

Her commitment to authenticity has shaped her contributions to Katseye’s music. “I don’t have to put on a facade of any kind when talking to anyone anymore,” she told Rolling Stone. “I think that’s a beautiful thing, and you can see that more within the album.”

Manon

Manon Bannerman, 23, was born in Switzerland and brings a blend of Swiss, Italian, and Ghanaian heritage into her artistry. She described Beautiful Chaos as a project that focused on attention to detail and authenticity. “We’ve paid a lot more attention to detail. It’s been a really fun experience and it feels authentic to us,” she told Rolling Stone.

Beyond her music, Manon is deeply committed to representing her culture. She recalled a moment that profoundly impacted her: watching a young Black girl point to her on the screen and say, “I love her.” “All my life, growing up in Switzerland, that is something I wanted to see on TV,” she said. “Seeing that was just super surreal.”

Yoonchae

Yoonchae, the youngest member at 17, grew up in Seoul, South Korea. She initially struggled to stand out during Dream Academy but has since transformed into a confident performer. “I really do think confidence was the biggest thing that I changed,” she said in a Billboard Philippines cover profile. “After we became Katseye, I learned how to show more of myself and to showcase the real side of me to the world.”

She also reflected on her growth: “Before, I used to look at the comments and see people’s reactions in order to try and be that person who the Eyekons loved. Eventually, I realized that it wasn’t the real me. And both my sisters and the Eyekons really loved how I act in real life too, so I think that’s how I learned how to act authentically, be myself, and be confident about everything.”