KATSEYE was supposed to spend August 29 onstage at Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Festival in California. Instead, the group is giving Megan Skiendiel time to recover before another major commitment: its upcoming world tour.
It was announced on August 28 that Megan had sprained her ankle during tour rehearsals and was advised by doctors to rest. The injury forced the multinational girl group to withdraw from the festival at Great Park in Irvine, where Devon Again was added to the lineup in its place.
“We know how much our fans were looking forward to seeing us and it breaks our hearts to disappoint anyone who made plans to be there,” the group said in a statement.
For most artists, missing a festival because of an injury would be an unfortunate but fairly straightforward development. For KATSEYE, the timing adds another complication to a year already marked by the extended absences of two members.
Manon Bannerman has been on hiatus since February to focus on her health and well-being. Sophia Laforteza, the group’s Filipino leader, later stepped away in August to prioritize her mental health and wellness.
With Megan now recovering from an ankle injury, only Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj and Yoonchae Jeung remain unaffected by a current health-related break.
It is an unusual position for a six-member group preparing to take a major live show on the road.
A fast rise, followed by a difficult year
KATSEYE arrived with expectations few new groups face.
HYBE and Geffen Records formed the group through The Debut: Dream Academy, a global audition project that drew around 120,000 applicants before narrowing the field to 20 contestants.
The final lineup brought together Daniela, Lara, Megan, Yoonchae, Sophia and Manon, six young women from different cultural backgrounds selected through a combination of audience votes and evaluator scores.
Their development was later chronicled in the Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE.
The group debuted in 2024 and quickly moved beyond the competition-show label. Its second EP, Beautiful Chaos, reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, while increasingly prominent performances put KATSEYE before audiences well beyond its original online following.
That momentum continued even as the lineup began to change.
Manon announced a temporary break in February 2026 without giving a date for her return. She subsequently missed performances and promotional activities, including KATSEYE’s Coachella appearance.
The remaining five continued working.
By June, they were performing at Governors Ball in New York. Then another absence followed.
Sophia announced in August that she would take an extended break after being advised to rest and receive ongoing care. Her condition is expected to be reassessed in September.
Sophia’s absence was particularly visible because of her role within the group. The Manila-born singer finished first in the Dream Academy finale and became KATSEYE’s leader.
When KATSEYE appeared on NBC’s TODAY on August 14, Daniela, Lara, Megan and Yoonchae performed without Sophia and Manon.
Asked about their absent members, Lara kept the focus on their health.
“As KATSEYE, it’s so important to us to always prioritize our well-being,” she said. “We stand by Sophia and Manon through and through. We ride for them.”
Less than two weeks later, Megan was injured in rehearsal.
Protecting the tour
Unlike the two hiatuses, Megan’s absence is tied to a physical injury with an immediate concern: allowing her ankle to recover.
The group has not announced that its world tour is being postponed because of the injury. For now, withdrawing from Daisy Chain Fields removes one performance from the schedule as Megan rests.
It also highlights a practical challenge KATSEYE has already faced for months.
A six-member pop group depends on choreography, vocal distribution and staging designed around a specific lineup. Every absence requires adjustments, particularly for performances built around synchronized movement.
KATSEYE has already had to adapt to performing without Manon and later Sophia. Megan’s injury adds another variable just as tour rehearsals are underway.
The members are also navigating all of this early in their careers. The oldest are in their early 20s; Yoonchae, the youngest, is 18.
That context matters more than the simple fact that KATSEYE is temporarily down several members.
The group’s rapid rise has come with the workload of an established pop act: recording, promotion, travel, festivals, television appearances, rehearsals and live performances, all while its members remain under constant scrutiny from a large online audience.
Their response to the recent absences has been notably consistent. Publicly, at least, health has taken priority over keeping all six members onstage.
That approach will continue to be tested as the tour approaches.
Manon has no publicly announced return date. Sophia is due for a medical reassessment in September. Megan is recovering from her ankle sprain.
What happens next will depend less on maintaining a full lineup than on when each member is ready to return.
For a group whose identity was built around six distinct personalities, that leaves KATSEYE entering its next phase differently from how it began.
The tour remains ahead. The immediate task is getting there healthy.