The international pop group created by HYBE and Geffen Records, Katseye, contains six fierce personalities. That feels appropriate, given the name of the group. Almost any one of them could probably do a solid job of leading the others. However, there are some who would probably excel just a little better than others. So among Manon Bannerman, Sophia Laforteza, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Rajagopalan, Megan Skiendiel, and Yoonchae Jeong, here is the official answer to who the leader of Katseye is.
The Leader of Katseye Is Sophia
A Teen Vogue article published in tandem with the debut of the group originally confirmed that Sophia is the leader. However, even before this had been confirmed, it had long been presumed that she would make a strong leadership candidate. One clue was provided by the finale of the 2023 survival competition, The Debut: Dream Academy, the series that created Katseye. (We have a full summary of The Debut: Dream Academy at K-Pop Answers, if you’re curious to learn more!) President of HxG Mitra Darab said something during the finale that suggested that Sophia could be the leader.
Darab stated, “To me, Sophia is just an all-around leader. The way she caries herself on stage, off stage — she’s just an example for everyone. I think she’s incredible. She’s a star.” That was both high praise and a direct indication that HYBE and Geffen viewed Sophia as a strong candidate to be the leader of the group. Furthermore, Sophia was just intensely popular throughout The Debut: Dream Academy, finishing the series with the first place ranking. It always made sense for Sophia to be the leader of Katseye.
At one point, there was speculation that the group may have no leader at all. After all, many pop groups outside of South Korea have no leader. American girl group Fifth Harmony, for example, had no official leader. Of course, that ultimately proved not to be the case.
In summary, Sophia is the official leader of Katseye, as originally confirmed by Teen Vogue in June 2024. For more about the group, check out how old the Katseye members currently are, when they are expected to debut, what their MBTIs currently are, and where the members are each originally from.
