{"id":596451,"date":"2026-04-09T21:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596451\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:01:11","slug":"whats-going-on-with-katseye-manon-bannermans-coachella-no-show-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/596451\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s going on with Katseye? Manon Bannerman\u2019s Coachella no-show explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the pop girl group Katseye debuts at Coachella <\/a>this weekend, the milestone will feel bittersweet<\/a> for fans as bandmate Manon Bannerman is absent from the performance amid her extended hiatus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The six-member group, founded by music executives at the K-pop titan Hybe and Geffen Records on the 2023 survival competition Dream Academy: The Debut<\/a>, is currently facing boycott from fans \u2014 known as Eyekons \u2014 who are demanding transparency over Bannerman\u2019s abrupt hiatus announced in February.<\/p>\n

Consisting of Bannerman, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung, Katseye was conceptualized by the same team behind the K-pop megagroup BTS, regarded as one of the most successful boy bands of all time, to form a \u201cglobal, diverse and multitalented girl pop group.\u201d<\/p>\n

On February 20, Bannerman, 23, announced that she would be taking a \u201ctemporary hiatus from group activities to focus on her health and wellbeing.\u201d HxG \u2014 the acronym to symbolize the joint venture between HYBE and Geffen Records \u2014 said at the time that they \u201cfully support\u201d her decision.<\/p>\n

However, fans grew concerned as Bannerman\u2019s absence stretched on longer than expected. She did not appear in promotional materials for the group\u2019s new single \u201cPinky Up,\u201d released on April 2, and has since removed all references to Katseye from her Instagram bio. Bannerman did not feature in the single\u2019s music video released April 9.<\/p>\n

\"Daniela,<\/p>\n

Daniela, Megan, Manon, Sophia, Yoonchae and Lara Raj of Katseye perform onstage at the 2026 Grammys (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The omission sparked backlash online. \u201cWe want Manon,\u201d wrote one fan, as another criticized the promotional strategy, writing: \u201cNo one thought the hiatus would apply to their music and videos. Not acknowledging Manon\u2019s absence here is actually deranged.\u201d Another added: \u201cKATSEYE WILL ALWAYS BE SIX, I AM NOT GONNA SHUT UP ABOUT IT!\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after, Bannerman addressed her absence on the South Korean app Weverse, which fans use to communicate with artists. \u201cI\u2019m healthy, I\u2019m okay, and I\u2019m taking care of myself,\u201d she wrote<\/a>, then adding cryptically: \u201cSometimes things unfold in ways we don\u2019t fully control, but I\u2019m trusting the bigger picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Swiss-Ghanian performer said in a separate post that \u201cHxG and I are having positive conversations and I feel supported,\u201d she continued. \u201cI\u2019m happy and I\u2019m healthy. I\u2019ll share more soon. Thank you for always being there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even before her hiatus, some fans speculated that Bannerman was being treated differently from her bandmates. A Netflix documentary chronicling the Dream Academy selection process showed tensions during training, including moments when Bannerman missed rehearsals and other group members expressed resentment for her lack of prior dance and singing training, having initially been scouted for her social media presence.<\/p>\n

\"Manon<\/p>\n

Manon Bannerman is on a hiatus from the global pop group Katseye to focus on her \u2018wellbeing\u2019 (Getty Images for MTV)<\/p>\n

Fans and music industry commentators have also speculated that Bannerman, who is the only Black member of the girl group, exited the group as a result of the music industry\u2019s treatment of Black women. Through the boycott, fans have been using social media to demand answers from Katseye\u2019s representatives using the hashtags #JusticeForManon and #BoycottForManon. The Independent has contacted a representative for Katseye for comment.<\/p>\n

Since she stepped back from Katseye, Bannerman has been publicly supported by other Black members of girl groups, including Leigh-Anne Pinnock from Britain\u2019s Little Mix and Melody Thornton from The Pussycat Dolls.<\/p>\n

In an op-ed for Elle<\/a>, writer DeAsia Paige called Bannerman\u2019s exit a \u201cconsequence of the music industry\u2019s failure to fully see and support Black women in pop,\u201d while Rolling Stone writer Larish Paul said the mainstream music industry was a \u201cperpetual test\u201d designed to make Black women fail.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The final six candidates to form Katseye were unveiled in a pageant-style live show in November 2023 (Getty Images for HYBE x Geffen R)<\/p>\n

In a February 2026 interview with The Cut,<\/a> published days before her temporary exit announcement, Bannerman criticized the work-life balance culture in America and addressed the scrutiny she faced for being sick during rehearsals at the Dream Academy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing called lazy, especially as a Black girl, is not fair,\u201d Bannerman said at the time. \u201cNow I feel like I always need to put in extra work to prove something, even though I really don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the band was formed on The Debut: Dream Academy, fan voting determined the final six-person lineup, which was unveiled in a pageant-style live show in November 2023.<\/p>\n

A 2024 Netflix documentary about the process, called Pop Star Academy: Katseye, captured the physical toll of training and the stress of public scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Since their debut, the group has had chart success with singles \u201cGnarly\u201d and \u201cGabriela.\u201d The latter song saw the group nominated for Best Pop Duo\/Group Performance at this year\u2019s Grammys. They were also nominated in the Best New Artist category, which ultimately went to British singer Olivia Dean.<\/p>\n

Katseye will perform at Coachella April 10 and April 17 on the Sahara stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the pop girl group Katseye debuts at Coachella this weekend, the milestone will feel bittersweet for fans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,291153,291151,134,291152,291154,5601,136],"class_list":["post-596451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-daniela-avanzini","tag-dream-academy","tag-entertainment","tag-geffen-records","tag-group-activities","tag-katseye","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}