February 20th, 2026. That Friday marked the now three-month long, and still ongoing, hiatus of KATSEYE’s Manon Bannerman. KATSEYE is a global girl group, formed on the survival show Dream Academy, and is co-managed by HYBE Labels and Geffen Entertainment. The show’s intention was to take twenty contestants and select the top six to make the next big girl group. Six was once an essential pillar to their identity—Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, and Jeong Yoonchae. However, there’s been a crack in the pavement, and it started from the beginning.
Survival shows meant to form musical bands are inherently flawed. For one, pitting tons of contestants against each other in various competitions makes it difficult for them to adjust to being in a group setting. It’s a hard change for them when they’d been trained to out perform the others, to now needing to compliment one another.
Manon has had a track record of prioritizing her own well being above all-else, as one should. However, the demands that come along with having a big-label contract, and being a member of a group as large as KATSEYE, the expectations are raised significantly. And that may mean, the occasional skipping of a dance practice could be met with severe reprimand, or even, a forced hiatus.
Thousands of netizens speculate that Manon’s hiatus from KATSEYE was forced onto her by her company because they suspect she couldn’t keep up with her other members. This belief mainly stems from the narrative Dream Academy had portrayed: Manon was selected mainly due to her star quality, since her skillset was objectively lower than other contestants. So, some individuals online have come to the consensus that her hiatus was put onto her because she was holding the other five members back.
These opinions are also echoed by the juxtaposing claims from HYBE and Manon. HYBE said her hiatus was for health reasons, and Manon had claimed to be perfectly healthy. These opposing claims have left fans unsure of who and what to believe, leading them to subconsciously assume the worst—Manon’s being erased. Because after all, why would Manon go on a hiatus, when she’s supposedly perfectly healthy, at the height of her career, if there wasn’t another reason behind the scenes? She did say 2026 would be their year, after all. And she was at photoshoots, answering interview questions like normal just days prior to the news being broken. This insinuates she was unaware of the hiatus that was to come, so was it forced, after all?
Manon’s untimely departure is just one large crack in KATSEYE’s pillar, but its foundation has been unstable ever since the release of their single, Gnarly. Gnarly is a unique song, known for its memorable lyrics that are… something. Initially, the masses despised it. However, persistent marketing caused a switch up—the masses loved it. In observing this success, KATSEYE’s company decided to then release Internet Girl and Pinky Up, songs resembling that… experimental style. The commonality between all three releases is how they attract viewership, but fails to develop a musical identity. These songs signify how KATSEYE’s company values publicity over authenticity, demonstrating why Manon might’ve been forcefully removed—she wasn’t appealing to their vision of what KATSEYE should look like.
In truth, we, as mere consumers of media, are unable to accurately deduce the truth. These are all speculations influenced by exaggerated online uproar. So as fans, all we have the power to do is to pray that the “six member curse” doesn’t become true for KATSEYE.
