Katseye, the international K-pop girl group formed through a collaboration between HYBE and Geffen Records, will debut in the United States on June 28.

It marks the first attempt from both labels to enter the mainstream US pop market with a global girl group. The industry is eager to see if this six-member multinational K-pop group will demonstrate the potential for globalising HYBE’s training and development system.

According to HYBE and Geffen Records, Katseye’s debut single will be released on the 28th of June.

“In an announcement, HYBE and Geffen Records said, “They will showcase all they have prepared for their fans and embark on a new journey together.

Katseye was brought together through the reality competition show The Debut: Dream Academy, which aired on YouTube last year.

The six members, who triumphed over a field of around 6,000 contestants, hail from a variety of countries: Daniela, Lara and Megan are from the USA, Manon is from Switzerland, Sophia is from the Philippines and Yoonchae is the only South Korean member.

During the 90-day audition process, they demonstrated their readiness to become global pop stars by being judged on dance, singing, teamwork, concept interpretation and artistic expression.

Last Friday, the group unveiled their team logo in a trailer on the HYBE Labels YouTube channel.

Even before their debut, Katseye have been attracting a lot of attention from fans who have been following their journey.

On HYBE’s global superfan platform Weverse, Katseye attracted fans from 220 regions,
and amassed nearly 300,000 registered fans.

The Joint Venture Partnership Details

HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) and Geffen Records (a subsidiary of Universal Music Group) announced an unprecedented joint venture partnership in 2021 to create the world’s first U.S.-based global girl group modeled on the K-pop training and development system. This marked the first time a major U.S. record label and a K-pop entertainment company combined their expertise in artist discovery, training, music production, marketing, and global distribution to assemble, develop, and introduce an international girl group from the ground up.

Key Points of the HYBE-Geffen Deal for Katseye

  • HYBE led the global audition process, receiving over 120,000 submissions from around the world, and oversaw the training, development, and fan engagement aspects of creating the group based on their K-pop system.
  • Geffen Records handled the music production, marketing, and global distribution operations for the group.
  • The joint venture aimed to debut a new girl group, named Katseye, that would transcend national, cultural, and artistic boundaries by combining HYBE’s K-pop expertise and Geffen’s industry network and resources.
  • The years-long process of assembling and developing Katseye was chronicled in an upcoming Netflix documentary series directed by Nadia Hallgren, set to premiere in Summer 2024.
  • After an audition program called “The Debut: Dream Academy”, the final 6 members of Katseye were announced in November 2023 – Daniela (USA), Yoonchae (South Korea), Lara (USA), Sophia (Philippines), Manon (Switzerland), and Megan (USA).
  • Katseye is set to make their official debut in the U.S. on June 28, 2024, with their first single release.
First Look | KATSEYE

From The Kpoppie Newsroom

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