They’re part of a global phenomenon. Millions follow their every move, every performance, every post. But behind the curated content and camera-ready confidence, Sophia and Manon of KATSEYE are still learning what it means to grow, to doubt, to believe in themselves.
In this intimate conversation, the two open up about the quiet resets, the unseen sacrifices, and the private fears that follow them even into the spotlight. From transforming their smiles with Invisalign to confronting online criticism and internal pressures, they reflect on what it really takes to stay grounded while living in a world that constantly watches — and judges.
This isn’t the stage version of Sophia and Manon. This is a rare look inside the private worlds of two KATSEYE members — who they are when no one’s watching.
What’s one moment from the past year that no one saw — but meant everything to you?
Sophia: Something about me is, I used to walk a lot before I moved to L.A. to be in the group. And now I kind of do it more, I just find a space where I can be with myself and turn everything off. I either listen to music or have none at all. I love those memes that are like, “Oh my God, what dinosaur is this?” but it’s actually a butterfly. That kind of thing. It’s so little and you’re just like, that’s so stupid — but I feel like those moments where I actually sit and take it in, you kind of see how big the world actually is and how small you really are.
I feel like that really helps me — it’s such a reset for my mind. I find a lot of moments to do that. And I just realized, when people say “touch grass,” it is an actual thing. ’Cause it just makes you see that the world is actually bigger than everything. But recently, I’ve had a lot of moments like that because of all the noise that’s been happening, and it’s been like the perfect reset for my mind and my mental.
Manon: The first thing that comes to mind is—I was able to buy my mom a really, really nice gift. Something she’s never, ever received in her whole life. She gave me a call and was sobbing on the phone, just saying, “This is insane.” She was so proud of me, and I was crying too because I was just so happy that I’m finally in a position where I can do this for her. That moment really hit—it was kind of like, “Damn, I made it.”
What’s one inner fear or insecurity you’ve had to fight through silently, even while smiling on stage?
Sophia: You know what’s crazy? I feel like a lot of insecurities people have — especially for us, being in the spotlight and having a lot of eyes on us — are actually things people love about us. It’s a common thing, where something you love most about someone can also end up being something that bothers them, or even you.
When I was in the Dream Academy competition, people would tell me they admired my confidence, that it was something they really loved about me. But sometimes I see it from another angle, where I worry that maybe it comes off as too much, or I become hyper-aware of it when I shouldn’t — because it is something admirable about me.
A lot of times when I’m on stage and I’m fully confident, fully being the artist I know I am, I’ll still have those moments in my head like, “Oh my God, am I doing too much? Are people gonna say something?” And it’s wild how the thing that’s supposed to be your strength becomes something you question.So yeah, I think that’s something I’ve been realizing lately, especially being in this position and in a group—just constantly surrounded by all this noise. It’s really weird. It’s crazy how it works like that.
Manon: Honestly, an insecurity of mine was always my smile ’cause I have a little tooth gap. Even before I became a trainee, I was like, “The first thing I’m gonna do is fix my teeth.” I didn’t smile through, I just got Invisalign. No, but honestly, I always smile or laugh. I used to laugh like this [covers mouth]. And now I feel like Invisalign truly, honestly, has given me so much more confidence in my smile. That insecurity is now gone.
Sophia: They always talk about how I’m very bubbly, very smiley and bright. There’s one video where we were all like monitoring our performance and everyone was like this [straight face]. Then I was like [smiles really hard], I remember I first saw it and I was like, “What the heck?” Like, “Why am I smiling so big and everything?” But it was just me being myself, being happy about all of that. And it’s all in the smile.
It’s not normal to have thousands of strangers forming strong opinions about you — some of them unfair or even cruel. As a group, you’ve faced a lot of chatter and hate. Beyond just logging off, how do you really protect your peace?
Manon: It’s truly having five other girls in this group who go through the same thing, that gives us so much strength. Just knowing you’re not doing this alone and then hitting all of these milestones and knowing you’re doing it right. I think that gives me peace. Also, just not looking at all of that chit chatter. I honestly feel like when I do see hate, I know there’s like a billion comments that protect us, defend us and send us love. It’s just something that comes with what we do, unfortunately.
You’ve both faced assumptions — Sophia, that your mom handed you a career; Manon, that your looks got you through the door. What’s the part of your story people never see that would prove them wrong?
Manon: I think they don’t see how hard we work because Sophia works her a— off 12 hours a day and so do I, all of us. It’s really just our hard work that is keeping us here, or making us be successful and not literally anything else. Yes, Obviously looks help, or if you have any strength in another category that helps, but at the end of the day, it’s our hard work. It’s such a knife in the heart when we read those comments ’cause I work my ass off and if I were only pretty, I would not be here, like, that doesn’t do it.
Sophia: Probably that hard work is always gonna trump what you first bring to the table. I feel like all of us are extremely talented and all of us are extremely beautiful — inside and out. But this truly is something that requires superhuman ability and if it was easy, everybody would be doing it. So, the only thing that’s really keeping us here is our hard work, our fans, and our love for them.
It’s funny when people say things — for example, as if I didn’t get this by myself, when clearly, I’ve mentioned multiple times before, my parents had no idea that I auditioned for this. I’m always gonna acknowledge the fact that I’m so blessed, because I’ve learned so much from my mom and both my parents. Truly, a lot of my hard work comes from them. I’m so glad they passed down their talents to me and nurtured me to be where I am today. But you know, everybody takes everything they’re given — and I chose to run with it. Along with all the hard work, the both of us would literally not be here.
If KATSEYE decided to stop the hard work, not just me and Manon, but like every single member of KATSEYE, if we stopped what we were doing right now and just decided to chill and slack off, nothing. “Gnarly” wouldn’t be popping off, Beautiful Chaos would not be popping off. Nothing. We wouldn’t even have this Invisalign deal.
You both radiate confidence now — but what’s something you had to unlearn to feel worthy of that confidence?
Sophia: I think something I had to unlearn, personally, was getting my confidence solely from other people — and being dependent on that. Not saying that you shouldn’t at all, because community is so important, and the people you surround yourself with help uplift you. But what I learned is that people cannot have confidence in me if I don’t have confidence in myself — because I feel the same way about others.
You can believe in another person as much as you can, and you can root for them as much as you can, but it’s hard to help somebody who can’t help themselves. So I had to learn how to make the active decision to work on my self-confidence and learn about myself — what I need, what makes me happy, and what makes me feel good.
Because even just taking the step to help myself makes it so much easier for other people to root for me too — and to reveal the things I’m not seeing. It’s like you’re working with yourself, alongside the love from the people you love. And I think that’s truly what was going to bring up my confidence.
That’s something I really had to learn. Because a lot of times, you’re like, “You have to tell me that I feel this way — you have to tell me all of that.” But it really comes from within, and your own active decisions, a lot of the time.
Manon: I agree with that.
So, even with all the fame, all the talent, all the honor and all the glory, when people compliment you, is there a part of you that still struggles to believe it sometimes?
Manon: Yeah, like all the time. I think it’s because we are perfectionists, honestly. We tend to be really hard on ourselves. I see it when we have performances and the internet is obsessed, and we’re sitting in the rehearsal room like, “Could’ve done better.” I think we’re really, really hard on ourselves.
Sophia: Especially ’cause we hear so many comments that we kinda get used to hearing hate and good things, so sometimes it’s hard to believe what’s actually happening. Especially when we’re such perfectionists and we see ourselves a certain way—it’s like, “Oh, you’re just saying that to say that.”
It’s just — it’s harder for us to take compliments a lot of the time, even from our own team, just because we’re always in our heads and wanting the best for ourselves.
We’re all very young women who are learning confidence and learning what we need for ourselves. And it’s a journey that — thank goodness — we’re all going through together.
You recently partnered with Invisalign, a brand that’s all about transformation and confidence. What does that journey — both physical and emotional — mean to you personally?
Sophia: I would say that it’s an honor to partner with Invisalign because the both of us were actually already using it before the partnership even began, and so it felt truly authentic to have this going. One of the biggest reasons why we started Invisalign in the beginning was literally about transformation and confidence. I think that’s a big part about who we are and what we wanna give to the world as artists and as members of KATSEYE. We wanna spread confidence, and we wanna show that we are confident in ourselves. And even if it’s like through our smile, like through Invisalign — it really does amp it up a lot.
Before the cameras and the spotlight, was there a moment when you realized that confidence starts with how you feel about yourself, even in small things like your smile?
Manon: Always. I feel like all my life, even when I was still going to school, if I was doing my makeup and getting ready and putting on a cool outfit, I feel like that just boosts the confidence. For me, it’s about how I present myself to the world.
Sophia: For sure.
