{"id":2086926,"date":"2026-08-10T20:58:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T17:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2086926"},"modified":"2026-08-10T20:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T17:58:25","slug":"a-timeline-of-katseyes-lineup-from-forming-on-dream-academy-to-hiatuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2086926","title":{"rendered":"A Timeline of KATSEYE\u2019s Lineup, From Forming on \u2018Dream Academy\u2019 to Hiatuses"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\tKATSEYE has had a truly wild run in the short time since the girl group formed in 2023, from emerging through a cutthroat competition series to scoring multiple chart hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and, ultimately, seeing multiple members announce plans to temporarily step away from the lineup.<\/p>\n
\n\tComprised of members Sophia, Manon, Lara, Yoonchae, Megan and Daniela, KATSEYE was originally conceptualized by HYBE x Geffen as the music industry\u2019s very first \u201cglobal\u201d girl group. Whittling down tens of thousands of applicants from all different countries and cultural backgrounds, the entertainment company \u2014 which is also responsible for K-pop phenoms such as BTS and ENHYPEN \u2014 selected just 20 young women and girls to compete on a web show called \u201cDream Academy,\u201d through which they eventually locked in a lineup of six.<\/p>\n
\n\tWith Sophia representing her home in the Philippines, Manon hailing from Switzerland and Yoonchae bringing her South Korean heritage \u2014 meanwhile Lara, Daniela and Megan respectively grew up in the U.S. in families of Indian, Latin American and Asian descent \u2014 KATSEYE hit the ground running with built-in worldwide appeal. But having millions of eyes on you as you work to keep up with a grueling slate of rehearsals, recording sessions and performances is undoubtedly taxing \u2014 and at different points in 2026, HYBE x Geffen would announce that more than one of the members needed to take a break from the band at the height of its momentum, fueled by smashes like \u201cGnarly,\u201d \u201cGabriela\u201d and \u201cPinky Up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s unknown how KATSEYE\u2019s membership will continue to evolve from here, even in a temporary capacity, but EYEKONs will definitely be there to support the girl group through it all. Keep reading to see an updating timeline of the band\u2019s lineup below.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
Nov. 17, 2023: KATSEYE Forms on \u2018Dream Academy\u2019 Finale<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Christopher Polk\/Billboard\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\tKATSEYE\u2019s lineup was determined via a combination of fan voting and executive label decisions on the live finale of HYBE\u2019s Dream Academy<\/em>, on which Billboard<\/em>\u2018s own Tetris Kelly announced the names of the trainees who\u2019d won a place in the group following an arduous run on the competition series: Sophia, Manon, Yoonchae, Megan, Daniela and Lara. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe process of casting, training and developing those six young women was also chronicled in Netflix documentary Pop Star Academy<\/em>, as were the stories of dozens of other recruits who\u2019d competed to be a part of HYBE\u2019s global girl group experiment. KATSEYE would go on to drop debut single \u201cDebut\u201d in June 2024, followed by EP SIS (Soft Is Strong) <\/em>that August.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tShortly after performing at the 2026 Grammys \u2014 where KATSEYE was nominated for best new artist, which ultimately went to Olivia Dean \u2014 HYBE announced that Manon would be taking an indefinite break from the band.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAfter open and thoughtful conversations together, we are sharing that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and wellbeing,\u201d the company\u2019s February 2026 statement read. \u201cWe fully support this decision \u2026 The group will continue scheduled activities during this time, and we look forward to being together again when the time is right. Thank you to our EYEKONS for your continued love, patience, and understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\n\n
May 14, 2026: Manon Takes \u2018Topmodel\u2019 Side Quest<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\tAfter KATSEYE performed at Coachella and began the rollout for EP Wild<\/em> sans Manon, the Swiss singer embarked on a side quest of her own with an appearance on season 21 of Germany\u2019s Next Topmodel<\/em>. She served as a guest judge alongside host Heidi Klum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\n\n
June 25, 2026: Sophia Warns Against \u2018Assumptions\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\tAs months went by with Manon still absent, Sophia shared a much-needed message to fans about making \u201cassumptions\u201d amid the situation. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBecause we did announce that it is about her well-being, it\u2019s not our place or anybody else\u2019s place to rush her,\u201d Sophia told Allure<\/em> in June 2026. \u201cWe want to give her all the time that she needs, all the space that she needs, and so we don\u2019t want to make any assumptions, set anything in stone\u2026 She really deserves that, and the door is always open.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\n\n
June 30, 2026: KATSEYE Denies Manon\u2019s Hiatus Was \u2018About Race\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\tThe members of KATSEYE once again addressed their bandmate\u2019s hiatus in an interview with Vanity Fair<\/em>, shutting down speculation that Manon \u2014 who is the only Black woman in the group \u2014 stepped away or was asked to leave for any race-related reason.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe can definitely say that in our situation, in no way was it about race,\u201d Sophia said at the time. \u201cThat goes against everything that we stand for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe safest space that we had was within the six of us,\u201d Lara added, subtly dismissing rumors that she or any of the other members had wanted to boot Manon from the lineup. \u201cPeople just have no idea what goes on. They just don\u2019t. It\u2019s nothing but love between us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\n\n
Aug. 4, 2026: Sophia Skips \u2018Wild Hearts\u2019 Premiere<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Michael Buckner\/Variety\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\tAt the premiere of KATSEYE\u2019s Wild Hearts <\/em>movie premiere, only four ladies were present on the red carpet: Lara, Megan, Daniela and Yoonchae. <\/p>\n
\n\tSophia and Manon were both absent from the event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
\n\n
Aug. 7, 2026: Sophia Announces Hiatus<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\tThree days after missing the Wild Hearts <\/em>premiere, Sophia announced that she was pressing pause on her involvement in KATSEYE to focus on her mental health. \u201cIt truly breaks my heart to have to miss out on a lot,\u201d she wrote on her Instagram Story in August 2026. \u201cMaking this decision wasn\u2019t easy, but I\u2019m learning that health has to come first. I\u2019m realizing that if I don\u2019t take care of my mind and body now, I won\u2019t be able to keep doing what I love the most for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn a statement of its own, HYBE wrote, \u201cSophia has been receiving the utmost support, and following thorough consultations with medical professionals, it has been advised that she take dedicated time for extended rest and ongoing care to ensure a full recovery\u2026 We sincerely appreciate your understanding and continued support for Sophia, and we look forward to her being back with KATSEYE.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/P106QP5P-e1786388728883.jpg?w=1024″] KATSEYE has had a truly wild run in the short time since the girl group formed in 2023, from emerging through a cutthroat competition series to scoring multiple chart hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and, ultimately, seeing multiple members announce plans to temporarily step away from the lineup. Comprised of members […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2086926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2086926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086926\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2086926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2086926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2086926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Billboard](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2HpFicp.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Tetris](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/P115ULAQ-e1786390592571.jpg?w=300\")
![\"Lara](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/P107GTWS-e1786389135742.jpg?w=300\")