In late June, the six-piece girl group KATSEYE debuted their first single, fittingly titled “Debut.” One month later, they followed it up with “Touch,” a pop earworm that’s beginning to make the rounds on TikTok. The group has already amassed one million monthly listeners on Spotify, but their origin story is not one of overnight success. Geffen Records and BTS label HYBE put 20 young girls through a K-pop trainee-level program to form KATSEYE from an intense star search and audition process — and it was all captured for the eight-part Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, out Aug. 21.
“The people that created BTS have this vision to take the ‘K’ out of K-pop and make it global,” an expert commentator shares in the trailer. It’s reported that 120,000 people from around the world auditioned for The Debut: Dream Academy, hoping for a chance to be in the group. But the bar was set high. Early in the clip, a choreographer tells a room full of hopeful stars: “You’re already good. I need you to be better.” The trainees internalized this pressure, with one declaring, “I think everyone is a threat,” and another saying: “I literally perform for my life each time I dance.” The final dancer and singer featured in the trailer raises the stakes even higher, adding: “If I make the girl group, that’s when my life starts.”
KATSEYE, in its current form, is made up of members Manon, Sophia, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae. They were selected from the group of 20 contestants, then 10 finalists, who participated in a three-month streamlined audition process that streamed online last year. “The girls know they can be eliminated at any moment, for any reason,” another woman states in the trailer. Nadia Hallgren, who helmed the 2020 Becoming documentary on Michelle Obama, directed Pop Star Academy. A synopsis for the series describes KATSEYE as HYBE and Geffen’s “first global girl group.”
Just before the series premieres, KATSEYE will release their debut EP SIS (Soft Is Strong) on Aug. 16. The project will feature both “Debut” and “Touch,” as well as songs titled “My Way,” “I’m Pretty,” and “Tonight I Might.” The songwriting and production credits across the two songs they’ve already released feature pop heavy-hitters Ryan Tedder, Cashmere Cat, Omar Fedi, and more.
“When we stepped into [his] studio, we got a little pep talk from him,” KATSEYE leader Sophia recently told Teen Vogue about Tedder. “He put each and every one of us in a head space that was just, ‘Go for it. You’re a star. Imagine you’re on the stage, and the whole crowd is there, and you’re singing to them.’ He really helped us tap into our artistry.”
POND Creative*