Who is Manon Bannerman? All you need to know as global girl group member goes viral following KATSEYE documentary release

KATSEYE member Manon Bannerman recently made waves online after Netflix released the latest docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE on August 21, 2024. Her talent, visuals, vocals, and humility won hearts as viewers watched her hone her skills and train through the eight episodes of the docuseries.

The 22-year-old Manon Meret Bannerman hails from Zurich, Switzerland, and speaks English, Spanish, and Swiss German. During her audition at The Debut: Dream Academy, she performed on Fearless by the K-pop group LE SSERAFIM, Dancing on My Own/Happier Than Ever, and Buttons by The Pussycat Dolls.

In the docuseries, viewers noted that the casting director immediately termed Monon as a "superstar" after coming across her social media profile. The casting director texted her on Instagram to recruit her for The Debut: Dream Academy reality talent show.

Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE made waves online

The Netflix docuseries chronicles the journey of 20 female contestants competing against each other to win one of the six places in KATSEYE and debut as a Geffen Records girl group.

Produced by HYBE, Interscope Films, and Boardwalk Pictures, the series is directed by the Emmy-nominated filmmaker Nadia Hallgren.

Notably, he also directed the documentary Becoming of Michelle Obama based on her biography with the same name.

K-pop juggernaut, HYBE Corporation, partnered with the American label, Geffen Records, to launch their first global girl group through the talent reality show, The Debut: Dream Academy. Out of over 120,000 applications, only 20 made it to the final list, who then trained rigorously and competed fiercely for a spot.

Eventually, Lara, Daniela, Sophia, Manon, Yoonchae, and Megan debuted as the official members of the HYBE x Geffen Records' global K-pop girl group.

Here is the full list of 20 finalists:

Yoonchae, 15 — South Korea
Sophia, 20 — Philippines
Manon, 22 — Switzerland
Megan, 17 — US
Lara, 18 — US
Daniela, 19 — US
Ua, 15 — Japan (Eliminated)
Mei, 17 — Japan (Eliminated)
Nayoung, 21 — South Korea (Eliminated)
Marquise, 17 — Thailand (Eliminated)
Emily, 17 — US (Eliminated)
Samara, 17 — Brazil (Eliminated)
Ezrela, 20 — Australia (Eliminated)
Iliya, 21 — Belarus (Eliminated)
Celeste, 19 — Argentina (Eliminated)
Lexie, 19 — Sweden (Eliminated)
Brooklyn, 17 — US (Eliminated)
Hinari, 14 — Japan (Eliminated)
Adela, 19 — Slovakia (Eliminated)
Karlee, 19 — US (Eliminated)

KATSEYE debuted with their single, Debut, on June 28, 2024. They released their single Touch on July 26 and released their first-ever EP, SIS (Soft is Strong) on August 16, 2024.

About the author

Banhisha covers Korean entertainment in her role as a popular culture journalist at Sportskeeda. She specializes in K-pop news, and reporting on breaking developments in the Korean entertainment scene is her forte.

Banhisha has a degree in Journalism & Mass Communication along with 8 years of content writing and copywriting experience under her belt. After working as a digital marketing manager for over five years, Banhisha joined Sportskeeda to pursue her calling as a K-pop journalist.

A huge admirer of BTS, Banhisha’s journey as an ‘ARMY’ member has equipped her with critical insights that she brings to her writing. This is evident in the profile deep-dives and music reports she curates, which rely heavily on deep research work to present information in a new light.

Banhisha loves to read as much as she likes to write, and her favorite authors are Jeffery Archer, Hanya Yanagihara, Haruki Murakami, Khaled Hosseini, Taslima Nasrin, Orhan Pamuk, and Kazuo Ishiguro, among others. When not thinking and writing about K-pop, she trains for Boxing/MMA and plays Badminton.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande