And then there were five.
In a new video message, KATSEYE fans got a preview of the quintet (for now) of Yoonchae Jeung, Sophia Laforteza, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj and Megan Skiendiel, following the announcement of Manon Bannerman’s hiatus from the Grammy-nominated girl group on Feb. 20. The five remaining members of the group recorded a video for their South American fans ahead of their performance Friday at Lollapalooza Argentina.
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“Hola Argentina!” the fivesome says in unison while waving. “We can’t wait to see you at Lollapalooza on Friday!”
The video — posted to the Lollapalooza Argentina Instagram page — then continues with footage of KATSEYE performing “Touch” at last summer’s Lollapalooza, when they made their buzzy debut at the Chicago festival.
The social video appears to confirm what many fans had already assumed: that Manon will not return for the group’s scheduled performances at Lollapalooza stops in Argentina (Friday), Chile (Saturday) and Brazil (March 20) over the next week and a half. But in the comments section, some EYEKONS were still holding out hope. “it would be so good if u can bring manon,” one wrote, while many others added in Spanish: “y Manon?” (and Manon?). Some simply commented with GIFs and photos of the sixth member.
Next month, the group is set to make their Coachella debut in back-to-back weekends at the Indio, California, festival. KATSEYE’s label home of HYBE x Geffen Records has not yet said when Manon might return from the hiatus.
The hiatus was announced on Feb. 20 in a Weverse post, which read in part: “After open and thoughtful conversations together, we are sharing that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and wellbeing. We fully support this decision. KATSEYE remains committed to showing up for one another and for the fans who mean everything to us. The group will continue scheduled activities during this time, and we look forward to being together again when the time is right.”
At the Grammy Awards last month, the global girl group was nominated for best new artist as well as best pop duo/group performance for “Gabriela,” and they performed “Gnarly” as part of the medley of best new artist nominees.
