A new Nylon cover story on Katseye is landing with a lot more weight than anyone anticipated when it was first shot.
The interview, completed before Manon Bannerman announced her temporary hiatus in February, captures the group in a candid moment about what it actually takes to make a six-member pop group work. And reading it now, some of what Manon said hits differently.
“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 Nylon. “There’s six of us, so obviously not everyone’s always going to be on the same page about everything. 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.”
When the hiatus was announced after the interview wrapped, the remaining five members, Yoonchae Jeung, Sophia Laforteza, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, and Megan Skiendiel, declined to answer additional questions about Manon’s situation. The Nylon piece notes that gap explicitly, leaving her earlier quotes to carry the weight of everything fans have been reading between the lines ever since.
What the group did speak to was their approach to decision-making, which turns out to be more thoughtful than a simple majority vote. “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,” said Sophia. “It’s not about the majority enjoying it and just having the people who don’t enjoy it adjust. 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.”
Sophia’s most quoted line from the piece lands with particular resonance given the circumstances: “We’re only as strong as our weakest member. 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.”
HYBE and Geffen’s February announcement echoed that same language, stating that “KATSEYE remains committed to showing up for one another and for the fans who mean everything to us.” Whether that commitment extends to Manon’s return remains the question every Eyekon is sitting with.
Katseye formed in 2023 through the reality competition The Debut: Dream Academy, which narrowed 20 candidates to the final six. Since then the group has released two EPs, with 2025’s Beautiful Chaos producing their first two Billboard Hot 100 entries: “Gnarly” at No. 82 and “Gabriela” at No. 26. Their new single “Pinky Up” dropped April 9 without Manon featured in any of the promotional material.
Katseye performs at Coachella on Friday (April 10) and again on April 17. Whether Manon will appear at either show remains unknown. Future festival dates, including Governors Ball on June 5, Hinterlands on July 30, and the 88rising Head in the Clouds Festival on August 8, are also unconfirmed for her at this point.
For now, her words from that Nylon interview are the last extended thing she said publicly about being in this group. Fans are holding onto every one of them.
