Katseye discusses their whirlwind year and, yes, that Gap ad

By Liam McEwan

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