Katseye is having the best year ever and the Grammys just proved it
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Katseye have only existed for two years, but they have already achieved more than some groups that have been around for much longer.
On Friday, members Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeung were nominated in the Grammy’s best new artist category, as well as best pop duo/group performance. The honor caps what has been a great year so far for the girl group, formed via a reality competition show called “The Debut: Dream Academy.”
The competition was a partnership with HYBE, a South Korean entertainment company that also manages BTS, and Geffen Records.
Their journey was also chronicled in the Netflix documentary, “Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE.”
Though some elements of K-pop world were incorporated into the group’s formation and training, they call themselves a “global group,” nodding to the members’ varied roots.
Avanzini, Skiendiel and Raj are all Americans from diverse backgrounds. Bannerman is from Switzerland and of Ghanaian, Swiss and Italian heritage. Laforteza is from Manila, and Jeung is from South Korea.
Katseye dropped their first EP, “SIS (Soft Is Strong),” in August 2024, and it included their breakthrough single “Touch.” Their second, “Beautiful Chaos,” was released in June. While both were strong performers – their latest EP peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart – it was their starring role in Gap’s viral “Better in Denim” ad that cemented their popularity.
They take their fairly newfound fame pretty seriously.
“Making a genuine impact on culture is our biggest goal,” Raj said in a recently published BBC Radio 1 interview. “A big thing about us is being versatile. We switch it up with every project we put out. Even on each EP, every song is different and that is important to us.”
After the Grammy nominations were announced, the group took to their Instagram stories to express their delight.
“So honored to be nominated and in this company,” they wrote on a video of 2025 best new artist Grammy winner Chappell Roan introducing the category and its nominations.
The group’s fellow best new artist nominees included Olivia Dean, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young – which you could call some pretty EYE-conic company.
The-CNN-Wire
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