Meet Sophia Laforteza, K-pop girl group Katseye’s lead vocalist with big dreams

Sep 8 , 2024

Hailing from various countries, Katseye’s 6 members include the first Indian, Filipina, Latina and Black artists to sign to the Hybe label

New girl group Katseye recently debuted their Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: Katseye, which chronicled their journey to stardom. More than two years in the making and having been selected from among 120,000 K-pop hopefuls, the sextet is touted as one of the first truly global female pop groups, with members hailing from various countries.

Sophia Laforteza, Lara Rajagopalan, Yoonchae Jeong, Megan Skiendiel, Daniela Avanzini and Manon Bannerman competed throughout the reality series The Debut: Dream Academy to form the group.

Among the most talked-about members of the group is lead vocalist Sophia Laforteza. Here’s what to know about her.

How was K-pop girl group Katseye founded?

Clockwise from top left: Katseye’s Yoonchae Jeong, Lara Rajagopalan, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman and Daniela Avanzini. Photo: @sophia_laforteza/Instagram

The group emerged as a collaboration between American record label Geffen and global entertainment company Hybe, the latter founded in South Korea and having ties to famous-infamous record executive Scooter Braun. Members were selected to appeal to a worldwide audience and have undergone intense K-pop training. They come from diverse backgrounds, with Rajagopalan, Laforteza, Avanzini and Bannerman, respectively, the first Indian, Filipina, Latina and Black artists to sign to the Hybe label.

Talent scouting took place in several major cities across the globe and was documented in the Netflix series. Audiences got a taste of what the group had to offer with Katseye’s EP Soft is Strong debuting ahead of the docuseries’ launch.

What is Sophia Laforteza’s background?

Sophia Laforteza of Katseye in a post shared in August. Photo: @sophia_laforteza/Instagram

Growing up with a love of music, Laforteza, 21, was already used to singing and dancing in front of a camera before she auditioned, per J-14. Watching her mother, Filipina singer and actress Carla Guevara, likely helped spark Laforteza’s yearning for the spotlight. She trained in various disciplines from a young age, including tap dancing, ballet, singing and musical theatre. Laforteza’s father was also a dancer before becoming a professional chef.

Sophia Laforteza went from a K-pop fan to an idol herself

“Hyped to be at Hybe,” Katseye’s Sophia Laforteza told her followers in October 2023. Photo: @sophia_laforteza/Instagram

It was a stroke of luck that Laforteza even auditioned for the group. She revealed in an interview that she wasn’t much of a K-pop fan until a few months prior, when she became hooked on BTS’ single “Butter”. “A few months before I auditioned, I suddenly became a big K-pop fan. I was learning all these things and absorbing all this knowledge,” she told NME in January.