Katseye is one of the newest additions to the modern pop world, consisting of six members from around the globe. The group was put together by the K-pop company HYBE in a collaboration with Geffen Records. HYBE has produced groundbreaking groups like BTS, Le Sserafim, and Enhypen and is exploring new territory with Katseye, consisting of girls from many different ethnic backgrounds who are based in LA. The group features Lara Raj who’s Indian, Sofia Laforteza who’s Filipino, Megan Skiendiel who is Chinese-American, Yoonchae Jeung who’s South Korean, Daniela Avanzini who is Cuban-Venezuelan, and finally Manon Bannerman who is Swiss.

This group is one the newest examples of the development of the music industry in modern day. Because of the way the company puts together groups like this, it is becoming more common for survival and competition reality shows to create groups with talents across the board. Rather than being an undiscovered artist waiting for a record deal, these groups are set up for success with choreographers, song-writers, and social media teams.

Manufactured groups are actively becoming more common in today’s music industry. While these groups are very common inside of the world of K-pop, American audiences are starting to see more of these groups be put together in the U.S. Katseye is one of the first global groups to be manufactured by HYBE inside of the U.S., but another one of these groups under the project name PRELUDE: The Final Piece, is set to debut by the end of 2026. Instead of the usual forming of a band with the idea of finding band mates and producing your own music, groups created by companies are becoming more and more common.

As an example of company manufacturing, Katseye was developed from the survival show, Dream Academy, where the final six girls were selected through judge and fan voting results. Overall, about 120,000 people auditioned for the program, 20 candidates were selected, and six were in the final lineup. With record-breaking hits from their debut EP, “Soft is Strong,” with light pop songs such as “Touch” and “Debut,” Katseye has captivated audiences across the globe. This summer, the band released their new EP “Beautiful Chaos”  which launched the group in a whole new direction with their new genre and feel showcased in their single “Gnarly.”

Social media and the Internet has gone a long way in promoting Katseye and showcasing the group’s talents. The group’s growing popularity is because in large part they are able to be recognized due to their immense online presence and following on socials such as Instagram and TikTok. Their team is consistently posting on socials throughout the week, keeping up with trends, and promoting new music and collaborations to promote the group and enhance their popularity.

Following their recent Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and their MTV Video Music Awards performances, Katseye seems to only be going up. The group has performed at huge shows such as Lollapalooza-Chicago, and even set a record for the most people at a daytime performance with about 85,000 attendees. While performing at several huge festivals across the world, Katseye will begin their “Beautiful Chaos” tour this November, taking place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as feature shows throughout Asia.