KATSEYE, the worldwide woman group propelled to stardom by the 2024 Netflix present “Pop Star Academy,” revealed they are incessantly targets of on-line death threats and hate.
The diverse ensemble, based mostly in Los Angeles however made up of six younger girls from international locations throughout the globe — members hail from the United States, Switzerland, the Philippines and South Korea — advised the BBC that web scrutiny is a burden they bear.
Second-generation Indian-American Lara Raj, 20, admitted that on-line abuse takes a toll on the band, saying, “If a thousand people are sending you death threats … even if it’s not going to happen … it’s heavy, and it’s jarring.”
The relaxation of KATSEYE nodded settlement, earlier than the interviewer, Mark Savage, requested the ladies if they’d all acquired threats of this nature.
Without hesitation, all six members of the group confirmed death threats had been a typical prevalence, chorusing “yes” and “so many.”
Now a Okay-pop phenomenon, Raj and bandmates Daniela Avanzini, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung all earned their place in KATSEYE after an arduous 12-week audition program, “The Debut: Dream Academy,” which was streamed on YouTube.
Modeled on the Okay-pop artist growth course of and arranged by Okay-pop leisure chief HYBE and US label Geffen Records — the partnership behind the US distribution and promotion of megastars BTS — the hopefuls accomplished missions requiring them to choreograph, rehearse and carry out for hours a day.
Netflix adopted the 20 contestants from starting to finish, releasing a docuseries on its platform in August 2024.
Laforteza, who’s 22 and initially from the Philippine capital, Manila, advised the BBC the coaching program was “very rigorous, very demanding,” including that it “really equipped us for where we are now.”
The band, which acquired Grammy nominations final week for finest new artist and finest group efficiency, shared their considerations in regards to the energy of the web.
Laforteza and Raj stated social media permits them to see how they are perceived by swathes of individuals from around the globe, one thing none of the band believes to be protected; studying feedback could be “terrorizing on the mind,” based on Bannerman.
She described the “constant comparison between all of us,” earlier than the opposite band members defined how they are sometimes ranked on-line and pitted in opposition to each other in a points-based system they stated considers components together with how fairly they are, how they sing and the way they carry out. “It’s so dystopian,” Raj stated.
Nonetheless, KATSEYE are undeterred. “We’ve all come from different places with different cultures and upbringings yet we’re able to come together and create magic through music,” Laforteza stated.