Being in a pop group is a lot of work. Aside from the endless press, appearances, performances, choreo rehearsals and travel, there’s the trickiest work of all: managing personalities and relationships in an often high-pressure situation. Currently on-hiatus KATSEYE member Manon Bannerman hinted as much in a new NYLON cover story about the international girl group that was completed before the singer announced in February that she was taking a temporary hiatus to “focus on her health and well-being.”
“Being in a group, it’s just about good communication and setting good boundaries and building a friendship, but also work relationship, and always remembering that it’s a shared goal that we have,” Manon told the magazine, which noted that remaining members Yoonchae Jeung, Sophia Laforteza, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj and Megan Skiendiel declined to answer additional questions about Manon’s hiatus when the news broke of her hiatus after the initial interview was completed.
“There’s six of us, so obviously not everyone’s always going to be on the same page about everything,” Manon added. As an example, she noted that during photo shoots two members might have their eye on the same outfit, leading to a tough decision about who gets to wear what. “But I think we all are at, or have been learning and are finally coming to, a point where for the group’s sake, you give and you take. You pick your battles,” she told the magazine.
KATSEYE came together in 2023 via the reality competition series The Debut: Dream Academy, in which 20 candidates were cut down to the final six-member group, who’ve gone on to release two EPs — 2024’s SIS (Soft Is Strong) and 2025’s Beautiful Chaos — with the latter launching their first two Billboard Hot 100 hits: “Gnarly” (No. 82) and “Gabriela” (No. 26).
Since their formation, the group told NYLON that they’ve tried several methods of sorting out any differences, including a majority-rules method. Though when it came to tough decisions on new songs or choreo, that approach has sometimes felt too exclusionary and potentially divisive.
“We’ve learned that if even just one person doesn’t feel good about a certain thing, we need to heavily consider and communicate about it — because it’s not about the majority enjoying it and just having the people who don’t enjoy it adjust,” said Sophia. “If we don’t feel comfortable, we don’t feel passionate. We don’t feel good about something. We need to help that person see another perspective or adjust everything overall because it really is hard to perform a song if you don’t enjoy it.”
When all is said and done, Sophia said it’s all about professionalism and mutual respect. “We’re only as strong as our weakest member,” she told the magazine. “We need to make sure that we’re all showing up for each other and all going at the same pace. We cannot leave anybody behind.”
That all-for-one approach was in evidence in the announcement of Manon’s hiatus in February, when HYBE and Geffen posted a notice on the Weverse fan community that read: “After 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 well-being. We fully support this decision. KATSEYE remains committed to showing up for one another and for the fans who mean everything to us. 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.”
After missing out on a run of South American shows last month, Manon is also expected to sit out the group’s performance at the Coachella Festival this weekend in Indio, Calif. on Friday (April 10) and the following weekend (April 17). At press time it was unknown if Manon will be on hand for future shows this summer, including the Governors Ball Festival on June 5 in New York, the Hinterlands Music Festival in Saint Charles, Iowa on July 30 and the 88rising Festival: Head in the Clouds in Los Angeles on Aug. 8.
