Multi-ethnic Katseye begin Asia promo tour dreaming of inspiring girls everywhere
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(Clockwise from bottom left) Lara Rajagopalan, Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman, Daniela Avanzini, Megan Skiendiel, and Jeung Yoon-chae from global girl group Katseye.
PHOTO: KATSEYEWORLD/INSTAGRAM
SEOUL – Katseye, a multinational and multi-ethnic K-pop girl group formed by Hybe in collaboration with Geffen Records, kicked off their ambitious Asia promotion to broaden their reach.
The six-member group comprise Daniela Avanzin, whose father is Venezuelan and mother is Cuban and who grew up in Los Angeles in the United States; Megan Skiendiel, whose father is American and mother is Chinese Singaporean and who grew up in Hawaii; Lara Rajagopalan, who was born in India and grew up in Los Angeles; Manon Bannerman, whose father is Ghanaian and mother is Swiss-Italian and who grew up in Zurich; Sophia Laforteza from Manila, the Philippines; and Jeong Yoon-chae from Seoul, South Korea.
The six were selected through global audition programme The Debut: Dream Academy, which attracted 120,000 applicants from around the world. The group debuted in the US on June 28.
Katseye began their Asian promotional tour with a press conference conducted at Hybe’s headquarters in Seoul on Sept 11. Over the next two weeks, the group will travel to the Philippines and Japan, meeting fans and appearing on music shows.
“Our strength is that we are a global girl group representing many different countries. We’re very diverse and can bring something unique to the table, something that isn’t really out there yet,” said Bannerman.
Leader Laforteza explained how Katseye differentiate themselves from other K-pop groups and overseas pop stars. “Our diverse cultural backgrounds allow us to approach a broader audience. We are different from overseas pop artistes, as we have been trained through an amazing structure of the K-pop methodology. We have synchronised choreographies, and can work with one another in harmony as a team.”
Regarding the K-pop training system, members recalled that it was undoubtedly challenging, but they learnt a lot through the process.
“All six of us benefited a lot from the process and it pushed us to challenge ourselves every single day,” said Laforteza.
Rajagopalan, recalling her days as a trainee, said: “The No. 1 thing I learnt was discipline and how hard you have to work to achieve what you want.”
In response to a question about the group’s direction, she said: “We want to give importance to all parts of the world. There’s no specific market that we are mainly trying to target.”
Bannerman said that members hardly feel any language or cultural barriers among themselves, as they have learnt how to be a group through living together and learning new things.
Skiendiel, stressing how all the members are open to embracing new information, added: “Wherever we go, we learn a couple of phrases to show respect to our fans and build bonds.
“Our ultimate goal is to be a No. 1 global girl group.”
She also emphasised that Katseye can be an inspiration for all girls as the group can represent them.
“As I grew up in Switzerland as a mixed girl, I didn’t see a lot of people in the entertainment industry who looked like me. So I had a hard time believing that this could become a reality,” she said.
“Being in a girl group where literally any single girl out there could look at us and see herself in us is inspiring to me. We can show those girls that with willpower and hard work, it’s possible to fulfil any dream.” THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK